Ebook: Tetrapyrroles: Birth, Life and Death

Excluding the biological polymers proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, modified tetrapyrroles are the biological molecules that have had the greatest impact on the evolution of life over the past 4 billion years. They are involved in a wide variety of fundamental processes that underpin central primary metabolism in all kingdoms of life, from photosynthesis to methanogenesis. Moreover, they bring colour into the world and it is for this reason that these compounds have been appropriately dubbed the ‘pigments of life’. To understand how and why these molecules have been so universally integrated into the life processes one has to appreciate the chemical properties of the tetrapyrrole scaffold and, where appropriate, the chemical characteristics of the centrally chelated metal ion. This book addresses why these molecules are employed in Nature, how they are made and what happens to them after they have finished their usefulness.

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Excluding the biological polymers proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, modified tetrapyrroles are the biological molecules that have had the greatest impact on the evolution of life over the past 4 billion years. They are involved in a wide variety of fundamental processes that underpin central primary metabolism in all kingdoms of life, from photosynthesis to methanogenesis. Moreover, they bring colour into the world and it is for this reason that these compounds have been appropriately dubbed the ‘pigments of life’. To understand how and why these molecules have been so universally integrated into the life processes one has to appreciate the chemical properties of the tetrapyrrole scaffold and, where appropriate, the chemical characteristics of the centrally chelated metal ion. This book addresses why these molecules are employed in Nature, how they are made and what happens to them after they have finished their usefulness.

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Excluding the biological polymers proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, modified tetrapyrroles are the biological molecules that have had the greatest impact on the evolution of life over the past 4 billion years. They are involved in a wide variety of fundamental processes that underpin central primary metabolism in all kingdoms of life, from photosynthesis to methanogenesis. Moreover, they bring colour into the world and it is for this reason that these compounds have been appropriately dubbed the ‘pigments of life’. To understand how and why these molecules have been so universally integrated into the life processes one has to appreciate the chemical properties of the tetrapyrrole scaffold and, where appropriate, the chemical characteristics of the centrally chelated metal ion. This book addresses why these molecules are employed in Nature, how they are made and what happens to them after they have finished their usefulness.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvii
An Historical Introduction to Porphyrin and Chlorophyll Synthesis....Pages 1-28
Biosynthesis of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid....Pages 29-42
5-Aminolaevulinic Acid Dehydratase, Porphobilinogen Deaminase and Uroporphyrinogen III Synthase....Pages 43-73
Transformation of Uroporphyrinogen III into Protohaem....Pages 74-88
Inherited Disorders of Haem Synthesis:....Pages 89-100
Heme Degradation:....Pages 101-115
Regulation of Mammalian Heme Biosynthesis....Pages 116-127
Tetrapyrroles in Photodynamic Therapy....Pages 128-148
Heme Transport and Incorporation into Proteins....Pages 149-159
Heme and Hemoproteins....Pages 160-183
Novel Heme-Protein Interactions— Some More Radical Than Others....Pages 184-207
Synthesis and Role of Bilins in Photosynthetic Organisms....Pages 208-220
Phytochromes:....Pages 221-234
Biosynthesis of Chlorophyll and Barteriochlorophyll....Pages 235-249
Regulation of Tetrapyrrole Synthesis in Higher Plants....Pages 250-262
Regulation of the Late Steps of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis....Pages 263-273
Chlorophyll Breakdown....Pages 274-285
Vitamin B12: Biosynthesis of the Corrin Ring....Pages 286-299
The Regulation of Cobalamin Biosynthesis....Pages 300-316
Coenzyme B12-Catalyzed Radical Isomerizations....Pages 317-329
Role of Coenzyme F430 in Methanogenesis....Pages 330-342
The Role of Siroheme in Sulfite and Nitrite Reductases....Pages 344-351
Back Matter....Pages 352-374
....Pages 375-389