6 Perspectives in Microbiology 



potential enzyme preparation. And just as the chemist will 

 feel uneasy when a special analytical procedure or method 

 for synthesizing a chemical compound is used by a person 

 with little experience and no more than a rudimentary 

 knowledge of chemistry, unaware of the rationale of the 

 operations and of the possible pitfalls in interpretation, 

 so the microbiologist is likely to be somewhat apprehen- 

 sive when his material is treated as a chemical reagent, 

 rather than as a mass of living organisms with their own 

 peculiarities and responses to environmental conditions 

 that have to be appreciated for the culture to be used to 

 best advantage. These are aspects that can be learned, and 

 it is comforting to know that many biochemists nowadays 

 are anxious to acquire a sound training not only in bio- 

 chemistry, but in the general principles of microbiology 

 as well. 



Even so, one might argue with considerable justification 

 that there is now developing a strong tendency to equate 

 "general" microbiology, as contrasted to "medical" micro- 

 biology, with biochemistry and to consider a study of 

 microorganisms as truly significant only if it is directed 

 towards biochemical investigations. I consider such a 

 tendency regrettable; however, this statement should not 

 be misconstrued to mean that I have little or no interest in 

 biochemical problems, or that I would advocate that the use 

 of microorganisms for biochemical studies be henceforth 

 curtailed. Not only would such an attitude be futile; it 

 would also be unscientific. The biochemist should not be 

 satisfied with our present level of understanding of bio- 

 chemical phenomena. He must obviously realize that many 

 types of reactions have not yet been analyzed with respect 

 to the nature of the enzymes involved. He must know that 

 the interpretation of enzyme specificity on the basis of the 

 general idea that it is related to the molecular configuration 

 of protein molecules leaves much to be desired and that a 

 satisfactory account of the specificity problem requires a 



