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CHEMICAL GENETICS OF VARIOUS PIGMENT MUTANTS IN MELILOTUS ALBA.
Abstract
Of the general approaches used to obtain information concerning intermediates involved in the metabolic processes occurring in living organisms, one of the most informative is a biochemical genetics approach. Simply put, this approach involves the study of the rela- tionships between the chemical constituents present in an organism and the genetic factors in that organism which control the metabolism of these same constituents. Consequently, genetically mutant organisms exhibiting "blocked" metabolic sequences provide the foundation for any biochemical genetics research. Metabolic "blocks" can, of course, be derived artificially through the use of metabolic analogues which compete with normal metabolites in the cell, thereby inhibiting the organism's growth. However, this artificial approach is limited in. scope since there are few such metabolic analogues available and, in most cases, some knowledge of the metabolic sequence to be artifi- cially blocked must be available at the outset to allow one to select a proper analogue. Natural metabolic "blocks" provided by the auxo- trophic mutants of an organism are far more efficient and useful in the study of the chemistry of biological processes. Furthermore, geneticists have often accumulated, cultured, and maintained a vast number of such mutants over the years. These mutants can provide the investigator with one of his most valuable resources in the study of the metabolism of living organisms.
Subject Area
Genetics
Recommended Citation
SPECHT, JAMES EUGENE, "CHEMICAL GENETICS OF VARIOUS PIGMENT MUTANTS IN MELILOTUS ALBA." (1974). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI7503450.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI7503450