Purine and Pyrimidine Metabolism

Abstract

It seems appropriate to begin this symposium on purine and pyrimidine metabolism with an examination of the conceptual framework which underlies much of the experimental work both in this field and on other aspects of intermediary metabolism as well. In order to do research in this or any other area, it is necessary to construct models and to make assumptions, generalizations and hypotheses. Often these are not stated or recognized explicitly but instead remain unspoken and implicit; however they are no less important or influential for remaining in the background. In this paper we shall try to make explicit some of the assumptions, generalizations and hypotheses which seem to be important and influential in current research on purine and pyrimidine metabolism, and to examine them critically. We shall attempt to assess the extent to which they are justified and the extent to which they are contradicted by experimental results.