Book: Energy-Transducing ATPases – structure and kinetics by Yuji Tonomura
I will not say much about this text (Yuji Tonomura's Energy-Transducing ATPases – structure and kinetics, which was actually compiled and published by Tonomura's colleagues after his death), mostly because the topic was so out of my range of understanding that I had a hard time comprehending the data and analysis that the book presented. The book covers a number of ATPases in detail, including the actin-myosin contraction mechanism, the sodium/potassium ATPase, the F1F0 ATPase (AKA ATP synthase), the magnesium/calcium ATPase, and others. However, I would like to say that even though I did not really retain all of the information presented in this text (there are lengthy discussions on the trypsin fragments of myosin and on the kinetics of different reactions, etc.), I did gain a greater understanding (starting from a level of understanding=0), or rather a greater appreciation, for how information gets from lab benches all the way to introductory biology textbooks. Tonomura dedicated his entire career to studying ATPases and he was one of many many scientists to do so. Test after test, reaction after reaction, experiments likely taking upwards of a year to prepare, execute, analyze, and condense (I'm making up this timescale for effect, but you get the picture. It's not a simple or straightforward topic to study). Considering the identification and characterization of the F1F0 ATPase, there is a stark contrast between the vast volume of data that was accumulated (and presented in the book) and the schematic drawing above. When I encountered a similar drawing to the one above in an introductory biology text, I (admittedly) never really thought of where that image came from. I guess I might say that I sort of assumed that when ATP synthase was discovered, we had this image and we understood fully the mechanism behind its action. After reading this advanced text, I feel as though I have a much greater appreciation for the genius mind that was able to recognize and describe this model (this model which I had taken for granted) from just the raw data. If you do have an interest in this text, and end up reading it, let me know how you feel about it, and what you took away from the experience. Perhaps I will return to this book once I have a better understanding of chemical kinetics and biochemistry after taking more biology classes and reading more accounts of these discoveries at a simpler level. But overall, it was a very interesting experience to read this detailed text, and I am glad that I spent the time to do so (even if it just proved to me how little I actually know).
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** ATP synthase image from http://creationrevolution.com/2011/10/your-motorgenerators-are-100-efficient/
** Image of book cover from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/energy-transducing-atpases-structure-and-kinetics-yuji-tonomura/1100956826?ean=9780521104814
Want your own copy?
Buy it directly from the supplier here
Or buy it through amazon.com here
** ATP synthase image from http://creationrevolution.com/2011/10/your-motorgenerators-are-100-efficient/
** Image of book cover from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/energy-transducing-atpases-structure-and-kinetics-yuji-tonomura/1100956826?ean=9780521104814