| RefNo | EC/1976/11 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 11; A01406 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Clarke, Patricia Hannah: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1974 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Distinguished for her work on the biochemistry and genetics of bacteria, especially on the induction, repression and substrate specificity of the acyl amidase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Early work successfully refined and extended tests for bacterial enzymes and toxins for taxonomic purposes. By a comparison of oxidations by whole cells and cell free extracts she showed that intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle were taken up by specific permeases. In her study of acyl amidase, a structural and a regulator gene were revealed. They were closely linked. The enzyme has been characterised as a hexamer of MW 2000,000. Mutants which extend the range of utilisable substrates without loss of the wildtype range were isolated and analysed. They were selected by a series of stepwise mutations but the crucial mutation involved only one amino acid substitution in the enzyme. These studies are of great significance to our understanding of the evolution of protein sequences. All the work has been marked by a sound theoretical basis and elegant technique. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA859 | Clarke; Patricia Hannah (1919 - 2010); microbial biochemist | 1919 - 2010 |