Efraim Racker
Encyclopedia
Efraim Racker was an Austria
n biochemist
who was responsible for identifying and purifying Factor 1 (F1), the first part of the ATP synthase
enzyme to be characterised. F1 is only a part of a larger ATP synthase complex known as Complex V. It is a peripheral membrane protein attached to component Fo, which is integral to the membrane.
(then Austrian Galicia), but he grew up in Vienna
. His elder brother, Heinrich Racker
, was to become a famous psychoanalyst
. Efraim Racker was studying medicine at the University of Vienna
when Hitler invaded in 1938. Racker fled to Great Britain, where he took a job in a mental hospital in Wales. His research focused on the biochemical causes for mental diseases. During the war, Racker was given the opportunity to practice medicine, but he decided to move to the United States to continue his research.Kresge, Nicole, Robert D. Simoni and Robert L. Hill. "Unraveling the Enzymology of Oxidative Phosphorylation: The Work of Efraim Racker". Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol. 281, Issue 4. January 27, 2006. http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/281/4/e4
in Minneapolis from 1941 to 1942. While investigating the biochemical basis for brain diseases, he discovered that the polio virus inhibited glycolysis
in the brains of mice. He eventually left his research position for a job as a physician at the Harlem Hospital in New York City. In 1944 he became an associate professor of microbiology
at the New York University Medical School, where he continued his work on glycolysis.
In 1952 he accepted a position at Yale Medical School, but left after two years to accept the position of chief of the Nutrition and Physiology Department at the Public Health Research Institute
of the City of New York. It was here that Racker demonstrated that glycolysis was dependent on ATPase and the continuous regeneration of ADP and phosphate. Maynard E. Pullam joined Racker's staff in 1953, and decided to uncover the mechanism of ATP synthesis in mitochondria and chloroplast
s. Joined by Anima Datta and Harvey S. Penefsky, they set out to identify the enzymes used in ATP synthesis.
Racker left the Public Health Research Institute in 1966 to found the biochemistry department at Cornell University
. He continued his research at Cornell, and was awarded many honors and prizes, including the Warren Triennial Prize in 1974, the National Medal of Science
in 1976, the Gairdner Award in 1980, and the America Society of Biological Chemistry's Sober Memorial Lectureship. In addition, he was appointed to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and the National Academy of Sciences
. Efraim Racker died in 1991, leaving fellow colleague and friend Dr. Mossaad Abdel-Ghany to take care of his lab and graduate students, but not before coining the phrase, "Don’t waste clean thinking on dirty enzymes," which is one of the Ten Commandments of Enzymology.
. The complex making this restoration possible was named Factor 1 or F1 as it is a necessary coupling factor for ATPase activity. This discovery of the first enzyme of oxidative phosphorylation was identified and purified in 1960.
The factor that binds F1 to the membrane, Fo, was discovered later in conjunction with Yasuo Kagawa. This particle was found to be sensitive to the antibiotic oligomycin and thus named Fo. This discovery had the added benefit of silencing any critics of the role of F1 in oxidative phosphorylation because it conferred oligomycin sensitivity on the ATPase activity complex.
Once both of these factors were identified Racker was able to confirm Peter D. Mitchell
's hypothesis that contrary to popular opinion, ATP synthesis was not coupled to respiration through a high-energy intermediate but instead by a transmembrane proton gradient.
F1 is a critical part of ATP synthesis within the mitochandria. In its absence, Complex V is not able to create the proton gradient necessary to produce ATP. It is responsible for coupling the oxidation of nutrients to the synthesis of ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphates.
In September 6, 1991, Racker was felled by a severe stroke
, and died in Syracuse
three days after.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n biochemist
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
who was responsible for identifying and purifying Factor 1 (F1), the first part of the ATP synthase
ATP synthase
right|thumb|300px|Molecular model of ATP synthase by X-ray diffraction methodATP synthase is an important enzyme that provides energy for the cell to use through the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate . ATP is the most commonly used "energy currency" of cells from most organisms...
enzyme to be characterised. F1 is only a part of a larger ATP synthase complex known as Complex V. It is a peripheral membrane protein attached to component Fo, which is integral to the membrane.
Early life
Efraim Racker was born to a Jewish family in 1913 in Neu Sandez, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(then Austrian Galicia), but he grew up in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. His elder brother, Heinrich Racker
Heinrich Racker
Heinrich Racker , was a Jewish Argentinean psychoanalyst of Austrian origin. Escaping Nazism, he fled to Buenos Aires in 1939. Already a doctor in musicology and philosophy, he became a psychoanalyst, first under the direction of Jeanne Lampi-de-Groot, and later working with Ángel Garma and Marie...
, was to become a famous psychoanalyst
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
. Efraim Racker was studying medicine at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
when Hitler invaded in 1938. Racker fled to Great Britain, where he took a job in a mental hospital in Wales. His research focused on the biochemical causes for mental diseases. During the war, Racker was given the opportunity to practice medicine, but he decided to move to the United States to continue his research.Kresge, Nicole, Robert D. Simoni and Robert L. Hill. "Unraveling the Enzymology of Oxidative Phosphorylation: The Work of Efraim Racker". Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol. 281, Issue 4. January 27, 2006. http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/281/4/e4
Career
In the U.S., he accepted a position as a research associate in physiology at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in Minneapolis from 1941 to 1942. While investigating the biochemical basis for brain diseases, he discovered that the polio virus inhibited glycolysis
Glycolysis
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...
in the brains of mice. He eventually left his research position for a job as a physician at the Harlem Hospital in New York City. In 1944 he became an associate professor of microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
at the New York University Medical School, where he continued his work on glycolysis.
In 1952 he accepted a position at Yale Medical School, but left after two years to accept the position of chief of the Nutrition and Physiology Department at the Public Health Research Institute
Public Health Research Institute
The Public Health Research Institute was established in 1942 as an independent not-for-profit research organization affiliated with the New York City Department of Health. Dr. Ralph Muckenfuss, director of the Bureau of Laboratories of the Department of Health, was designated as the first director...
of the City of New York. It was here that Racker demonstrated that glycolysis was dependent on ATPase and the continuous regeneration of ADP and phosphate. Maynard E. Pullam joined Racker's staff in 1953, and decided to uncover the mechanism of ATP synthesis in mitochondria and chloroplast
Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...
s. Joined by Anima Datta and Harvey S. Penefsky, they set out to identify the enzymes used in ATP synthesis.
Racker left the Public Health Research Institute in 1966 to found the biochemistry department at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He continued his research at Cornell, and was awarded many honors and prizes, including the Warren Triennial Prize in 1974, the National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
in 1976, the Gairdner Award in 1980, and the America Society of Biological Chemistry's Sober Memorial Lectureship. In addition, he was appointed to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Efraim Racker died in 1991, leaving fellow colleague and friend Dr. Mossaad Abdel-Ghany to take care of his lab and graduate students, but not before coining the phrase, "Don’t waste clean thinking on dirty enzymes," which is one of the Ten Commandments of Enzymology.
Discovery
Racker and his associates, Anima Datta, Maynard Pullmand, and Harvey Penefsky, worked to isolate the enzymes involved in ATP synthesis. They observed that isolated mitochondrial fragments were capable of respiration but not able to synthesize ATP. Racker and his co-workers concluded that oxidative phosphorylation could be restored by addition of the supernatant from the centrifugingCentrifuge
A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by an electric motor , that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis...
. The complex making this restoration possible was named Factor 1 or F1 as it is a necessary coupling factor for ATPase activity. This discovery of the first enzyme of oxidative phosphorylation was identified and purified in 1960.
The factor that binds F1 to the membrane, Fo, was discovered later in conjunction with Yasuo Kagawa. This particle was found to be sensitive to the antibiotic oligomycin and thus named Fo. This discovery had the added benefit of silencing any critics of the role of F1 in oxidative phosphorylation because it conferred oligomycin sensitivity on the ATPase activity complex.
Once both of these factors were identified Racker was able to confirm Peter D. Mitchell
Peter D. Mitchell
Peter Dennis Mitchell, FRS was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.Mitchell was born in Mitcham, Surrey, England....
's hypothesis that contrary to popular opinion, ATP synthesis was not coupled to respiration through a high-energy intermediate but instead by a transmembrane proton gradient.
In September 6, 1991, Racker was felled by a severe stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, and died in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
three days after.
External Link
- Biography - The National Academies Press