New book on intermediary metabolism reveals intriguing complexity

"Metabolism is Not Boring!" asserts the introduction to a recent special issue of Science (Vol 330, 3 December 2010). On the contrary, the ways in which cells obtain energy, use external nutrients, and assemble the building blocks of macromolecules are crucial for life. And the basics of these processes—intermediary metabolism—are similar from the single-celled to multicellular organisms. This gives special importance to a new book by Harvard University's Dan Fraenkel on what studies of baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have taught us about intermediary metabolism.

Its topics include central metabolic pathways; catabolism; fermentation; respiration; the biosynthesis of small molecules, including cofactors and lipids; transport and compartments; storage molecules; aspects of inorganic ion metabolism; stress; issues of metabolic toxicity; and the global analysis of metabolism. In featured sections, the book also addresses the history of the field, describing the thinking that led to key experiments; and identifies areas where our knowledge remains thin.

Yeast Intermediary Metabolism meets a serious need: it provides a straightforward yet comprehensive treatment of ordinary metabolism suitable for students throughout their training in biology. The book is essential reading for yeast specialists but all investigators of eukaryote biology will find it an indispensable source of knowledge, distilled from Dan Fraenkel's many years of teaching and research.

More information:
Yeast Intermediary Metabolism was written by Dan G. Fraenkel (Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston) and published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (©2011). It is available in hardcover (978-0-879697-97-6), is 434 pages in length and has a trim size of 6 x 9 inches. For more information, see www.cshlpress.com/link/yeastintermet.htm

Provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory