Description
Twenty articles focus on the most significant sources of nitrogen in the biosphere macromolecules such as proteins, amino sugars, nucleic acids, and others. The articles review current research, questions pertaining to the stability of N-containing macromolecules, and the process that they undergo during diagenesis. Also discussed are the fates of proteins and amino acids in the natural environment, the distribution and biodegradation of chitin (an amino sugar), the amplification of DNA in ancient samples, and the fate of so-called "unidentified" organic nitrogen in soils and sedimentary rocks. Distributed by Oxford U. Press. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
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Found throughout the biosphere, nitrogen plays a key role in such biomolecules as proteins, amino sugars like chitin and peptidoglucans, DNA and RNO, and chlorophyll. Despite nitrogen's abundance, its fate once an organism dies is not always well understood. This book presents the latestresearch on the fate of nitrogen-containing macromolecules in the bio- and geosphere, and its strong emphasis on biogeochemical processes is unique. The volume discusses proteins and amino sugars, their occurrence, degradation, and preservation in arid, freshwater, and marine environments. Itincludes an overview of ancient DNA and the latest research on the fate of nitrogen in soil. It also the links between nitrogen, sedimentary organic matter, and biomacromolecules. Complete with a critical look at analytical methods, the book addresses key questions on the stability ofnitrogen-containing biomacromolecules and the transformations they undergo upon diagenesis.
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