STRUCTURAL AND CHEMICAL ARCHITECTURE OF HOST CELLS 203 



should develop his data. The analysis of the trinity, DNA, RNA, and protein, 

 in terms of structure, distribution, interactions, and biosynthesis, is clearly 

 far from complete. Nevertheless, the rate of increase of detailed knowledge 

 on these questions is almost virus-like in its rapidity. It should be evident 

 from this discussion that biochemistry has moved considerably beyond the 

 study of respiratory rates of intact cells, on the one hand, or the study of 

 single enzymatic reactions, on the other. Biochemistry is no longer the 

 chemistry of natural products or the mere dissection of enzymatic sequence. 

 At the cellidar level, both of these aspects are sufficiently developed to warrant 

 an approach to the problem of molecular behavior and interaction in func- 

 tional cellular systems. 



No biological problem presents greater opportmiities for such a bio- 

 chemical analysis than does that of virus multiphcation, m which the critical 

 problems are those of polymer characterization, activity, and biosynthesis. 

 As the preceding survey should indicate, these subjects are now among the 

 most active areas of biochemical investigation with all types of cells, and in 

 this sense the problems of biochemical virology have finally merged with the 

 major problems of cellular biochemistry. However, few biochemists and few 

 virologists operate in recognition of the existence of this development. Few 

 biochemists have elected to use the splendid biological systems and bio- 

 chemical opportunities provided by virus-infected cells. On the other hand, 

 few virologists accept the view that many of their major biological problems 

 can now be posed in chemical terms and require answers at this level. It is 

 doubtful that exhortation of biochemists to learn biology or of biologists to 

 attempt chemical investigation themselves or through collaboration with bio- 

 chemists will prove particularly useful. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this 

 survey will help somewhat to the end of enticing workers into biochemical 

 virology by making available much of the relevant data on their common 

 ground, the cell. 



References 



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Adams, M. H., and Park, B. H. (1956). Virology 2, 719. 



Adelberg, E. A. (1953). Bacteriol. Revs. 17, 253. 



Agren, G. (1956). Acta Chem. Scayul. 10, 152. 



Agren, G., and Engstrom, L. (1956a). Acta Chem. Scand. 10, 489. 



Agren, G., and Engstrom, L. (1956b). Acta Chem. Scand. 10, 876. 



Alexander, M. (1956). Bacteriol. Revs. 20, 67. 



Alfert, M. (1954). "Symposium on Fine Structure of Cells," 157. Interscience, New York. 



Alfert, M. (1956). J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol. 2, 109. 



Alfert, M. (1957). In "The Chemical Basis of Heredity" (W. D. McElroy and B. Glass, 



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 Alfert, M., and Bern, H. A. (1951). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. 37, 202. 



