134 Perspecfives in Microbiology 



malian tissue, can now be more readily prepared by the use 

 of certain fungal and bacterial enzymes integrated with a 

 series of chemical transformations. Thus, many complex 

 problems in steroid organic chemistry have been success- 

 fully resolved by application of microbiology. 



Many challenging problems in this field remain; for 

 example, the mechanism by which the enzymes carry out 

 these transformations must still be unfolded. Hayano (9) 

 recently presented evidence which shows that in the adrenal 

 enzyme system dehydrogenation is not an intermediate step 

 in llp-hydroxylation. 



Further applications of microbiology will unquestion- 

 ably help in the preparation of new steroids that are diffi- 

 cult to synthesize chemically. Undoubtedly, the general 

 field of the microbiological transformation of organic com- 

 pounds will be widely exploited, and in this respect one can 

 anticipate many new and fascinating developments. 

 Possibilities also lie ahead in the discovery of new types of 

 microbiological reactions which then can be further ap- 

 plied to difficult problems in the field of organic chemistry. 



/References 



1. Colingsworth, D. R., Brunner, M. P., and Haines, W. J. A partial 

 microbiological synthesis of adrenal cortex hormones. /. Am. 

 Chem. Soc, 74:2381-2382, 1952. 



2. Eppstein, S. H., Meister, P. D., Peterson, D. H., Murray, H. C, 

 Leigh, H. Marian, Lyttle, D. A., Reineke, L. M., and Weintraub, 

 A. Microbiological transformations of steroids: III. Preparation of 

 11-epi-corticosterone and of 63-hydroxy-ll-desoxycorticosterone. 

 /. Am. Chem. Soc, 75:408-412, 1953. 



3. Eppstein, S. H., Peterson, D. H., Leigh, H. Marian, Murray, H. 

 C, Weintraub, A., Reineke, L. M., and Meister, P. D. Microbio- 

 logical transformations of steroids: VIL Preparation of lla-hy- 

 droxypregnane-3,20-dione and 1 1 a-hydroxyallopregnane-3,20- 

 dione. /. Am. Chem. Soc, 75:421-422, 1953. 



4. Fried, J. Personal communication. 



5. Fried, J., Thoma, R. W., Gerke, J. R., Herz, J. E., Donin, M. N., 



