MOLECULES AND LIFE. An Introduction to Molecular Biology

Transcription

1 MOLECULES AND LIFE An Introduction to Molecular Biology

2 MOLECULES AND LIFE An Introduction to Molecular Biology Mikhail V. Vol'kenshtein Institute of Molecular Biology Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow Translated from the Russian by Serge N. Timasheff Graduate Department of Biochemistry Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts A PLENUM/ROSETTA EDITION

3 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Vol'kenshtein, Mikhail Vladimirovich, Molecules and life. Translation of Molekuly i zhizn'. "A Plenum/Rosetta edition." Bibliography: p. 1. Molecular biology. I. Title. [DN LM: 1. Molecular biology. OT34 V917m 1970a] [OH506.V ] 574.8' ISBN-13: e-isbn-13: DOl: / The Russian text, originally published by Nauka Press in Moscow in 1965, has been extensively revised by the author for this edition. The present translation is published under an agreement with Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, the Soviet book export agency. MuxaUA BAaiJuMupo8U~ BOAbKellmmel~1l MoneKynbl H )!{H3Hb MOLEKUL Y I ZHIZN' MOLECULES AND LI FE A Plenum/Rosetta Edition Published by Plenum Publishing Corporation 227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y First paperback printing Plenum Press, New York A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation United Kingdom edition published by Plenum Press, London A Division of Plenum Publishin9 Corporation, Ltd. 4a Lower John Street, London Wl R 3PD, England All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher

4 This book is dedicated to s. I. Alenikova-Vol'kenshtein

5 PREFACE TO THE TRANSLATION The Russian edition of this book was published in the Fall of 1965; the manuscript had been finished a year earlier. Since then, many changes have taken place in molecular biology. No other field of science is currently undergoing as rapid a development. As a result, this book has been extensively revised for the translation, and much new material has been introduced. And yet, even this version will to some extent be obsolete at the time the translation appears in print. This, of course, cannot be helped. I believe, however, that the basic concepts of molecular biophysics which are the subject of this book will remain significant for a considerable length of time. M. V. Vol'kenshtein vii

6 Nature is not what you believe-- It is neither a mold nor a spiritless face. It has a soul, it has freedom, It has love, it has a tongue. F. I. TYUTCHEV Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, in which man is the laborer. I. s. TURGENEV PREFACE TO THE RUSSIAN EDITION Nature has been described as a "work of beauty and love" by the Russian poet Tyutchev, and as a "workshop" by Turgenev. Are these two descriptions mutually contradictory? Must we wonder at the beauty and charm of living nature, at the soft aroma of a rose, at the flight of a butterfly, at the thoughts of man, or are these amazing phenomena the rightful subjects of a scholarly examination? Nature is a magnificent workshop in which the development of matter under strict laws has led to the creation of living organisms, of highly complicated systems, characterized by an amazing structural and functional coordination. The culmination of this development on earth is the human mind, which at present can not only understand the laws of life, but can actively interfere with the surrounding nature and modify it to man's benefit. This is the aim of material science. True science, however, cannot exist without an esthetic appreciation of the objects examined. That very soul and freedom of nature, of which the Russian poet sings, from a scientist's point of view are expressions of the laws of biology, physics, and chemistry. This does not, however, render them any less attractive and in teres ting. This book has for its purpose the introduction to molecular biophysics. Molecular biophysics is, on one hand, a part of molecular physics and, on the other hand, a part of molecular biology, a new realm of science, developed during the last decades. The joint efforts of biologists, physicists, and chemists have made it possible to unravel the essence of a number of the basic phenomena of life, starting from the structure and properties of molecules which form organisms, and principally of proteins and nucleic ix

7 x PREFACE TO THE RUSSIAN EDITION acids. The achievements of molecular biology testify to the success of material science in a realm which, until recently, appeared totally enigmatic and mysterious. Further scientific developments should bring to mankind vast developments both in theoretical knowledge and in practical applications, namely, in agriculture, medicine, and technology. The purpose of this book is to explain molecular biophysics to all who might wish to learn about it, to biologists, to physicists, to chemists. This book contains descriptive sections, as well as sections devoted to rigorous mathematical treatment of a number of problems, some of which have been studied by the author and his collaborators. These sections may be omitted during a first reading. Each chapter has a selected bibliography. This book is far from an exhaustive treatise on molecular biophysics. It deals principally with questions related to the structures and functions of proteins and nucleic acids. M. V. Vol'kenshtein Leningrad, September, 1964

8 CONTENTS Chapter 1 Physics and Biology Physics and Life Molecular Physics Molecular Biophysics... 9 Thermodynamics and Biology Information Theory Chapter 2 Cells, Viruses, and Heredity The Living Cell Cell Division Viruses and Bacteriophages Basic Laws of Genetics Mutations and Mutability...,... " Genetics of Bacteria and Phages " Chapter 3 Biological Molecules Amino Acids and Proteins Asymmetry of Biological Molecules Primary Structure of Proteins Nucleic Acids Some Biochemical Processes in the Cell Chapter 4 Physics of Macromolecules Physical Properties of Macromolecules Rotational-Isomeric Theory of Macromolecules Macromolecules-Cooperative Systems xi

9 xii CONTENTS Crystalline Polymers Methods for Studying Macromolecules in Solution Polyelectrolytes Chapter 5 The Physics of Proteins Secondary Structure of Proteins Tertiary and Supramolecular Structures of Proteins Interactions Which Determine the Three-Dimensional Structure of Proteins Conformational Transitions of Proteins Theory of Helix-Coil Transitions Optical Properties of Proteins and Polypeptides Optical Activity of Polypeptide Chains Anomalous Dispersion of Magneto-Optical Rotation Chapter 6 The Physics of Nucleic Acids Biological Role of Nucleic Acids Secondary Structure of DNA, RNA, and Polynucleotides Denaturation of DNA Renaturation of DNA and Forces Which Stabilize the Double Helix DNA Reduplication Statistical Physics and Kinetics of DNA Reduplication Chapter 7 Protein Synthesis Problems of the Genetic Code Matrix Synthesis of Proteins The Genetic Code Point Mutations Problems of Regulation Chapter 8 Biological Specificity and Structure of Molecules Immunity Antibodies and Antigens Enzyme Reactions Nature of Enzymatic Action Allostery and Oxygenation of Hemoglobin N ucleoproteins and Synapsis of Chromosomes Chapter 9 Mechanochemical Processes The Nature of Mechanochemical Processes Muscle Action

10 CONTENTS xiii Molecular Theories of Muscle Action Motion of Cells and Mitosis Chapter 10 Problems of Molecular Biophysics Macromolecules and Biology Molecular Biophysics and Quantum Mechanics Chapter 11 Conclusion References Index