AbstractsChemistry

During the past ten years, the importance of the phenomenon of enzymtic adaptation has beoome more and more apparent. Besides being in itself of considerable interest, it possesses implications for general cellular physiology extending outside of the area in which adaptation was originally studied, that of variations in micro-organisms. Thus, advances in our understanding of genetic mechanisms have already been made through studies of enzymatic adaptation. It has been predicted that further knowledge of enzymatic adaptation will throw light on some of the mechanisms of cellular differentiation in animal tissues. Arguments have been advanced to link adaptive enzyme formation with detoxication mechanisms and antibody formation in higher animals.