Studies on the Dehydrogenase Enzyme Systems of Insects

Abstract

A. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY From the study of comparative biology, which deals with the systematic examination of the structural and functional similarities and diversities among living organisms down to the cellular level, has arisen the newer field of comparative biochemistry, which extends these studies to the molecular level. Through a multitude of diversities and variations of a secondary and adaptational nature, arises a concept of a common biochemical unity to which all living organisms conform. This concept becomes apparent not only from biological studies on a macroscopic level, but also from the principles of the biological conservation of energy. The task of the comparative biochemist is to extend our understanding of these biochemical phenomena throughout the biological phyla and to seek out similarities and differences in the chemical pathways upon which life ultimately depends.