Some Major Steps in the Understanding of the Chemistry and Biochemistry of Chl - Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Technological Applications - page 10

1.2.9 Smith, 1952

In 1952, Smith, prepared the first Pchl a -apoprotein complex (actually containing
a mixture of Pchlide a and Pchlide a phytyl ester) from etiolated barley, and
determined its absorption maximum at 650 nm. Later the complex was named
Pchl-holochrome by Smith and collaborators (Smith 1952 ).

1.2.10 Shemin and Kumin, 1952

In 1952, Shemin and Kumin demonstrated that the remaining carbon atoms as well
as the side chains of protoheme are derived from succinate, which led Shemin to
suggest that the carbon atoms of succinate enter porphyrin metabolism as succinyl-
CoA (Shemin and Kumin 1952 ).

1.2.11 Westall, 1952

In 1952, Westall, crystallized porphobilinogen (PBG) from the urine of a patient
with acute porphyria, and made pure PBG crystals available to other researchers
(Westall 1952 ). The availability of pure PBG crystals helped determine its chemical
structure (Westall 1952 ).

1.2.12 Shemin and Russell, 1953

In1953, Shemin and Russell proposed that glycine and succinate did not enter
porphyrin metabolism as individual compounds but as a new compound
δ -aminolevulinic acid (ALA) (Shemin and Russel 1953 ). That marked the involve-

ment of ALA as the first building block of tetrapyrroles.

1.2.13 Della Rosa, 1953

14 C-glycine and

In 1953, Della Rosa et al., demonstrated the incorporation of

14 C-acetate into MV Chl a .