Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

Citation

Nelson, D. L., & Cox, M. M. (2021). Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry (8th ed.). W. H. Freeman and Company.

Chapter Summary

The 8th edition has twenty-eight chapters: an opening chapter, then three parts on structure and catalysis (Chapters 2–12), bioenergetics and metabolism (Chapters 13–23) and information pathways (Chapters 24–28), followed by abbreviated solutions to problems and a glossary. The publisher describes this edition as organised around fundamental principles of biochemistry that are marked throughout the text, with trimmed topics, shorter chapters and an overall reduction in length compared with earlier editions.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of Biochemistry

The single introductory chapter that precedes the three parts and sets out the foundations on which the later chapters build.

Part I, Structure and Catalysis: Chapters 2–6

Chapter 2, "Water, the Solvent of Life", covers the medium in which biochemistry takes place. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 ("Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins"; "The Three-Dimensional Structure of Proteins"; "Protein Function") move from the building blocks of proteins to their structure and their roles. Chapter 6, "Enzymes", treats biological catalysis.

Part I, Structure and Catalysis: Chapters 7–9

Chapter 7, "Carbohydrates and Glycobiology", and Chapter 8, "Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids", describe two further classes of biomolecule. Chapter 9, "DNA-Based Information Technologies", introduces the technologies that use DNA as information.

Part I, Structure and Catalysis: Chapters 10–12

Chapter 10, "Lipids", is followed by Chapter 11, "Biological Membranes and Transport", and Chapter 12, "Biochemical Signaling", which close the first part with the membrane and the signals that cross it.

Part II, Bioenergetics and Metabolism: Chapters 13–16

Chapter 13, "Introduction to Metabolism", opens the second part. It is followed by Chapter 14, "Glycolysis, Gluconeogenesis, and the Pentose Phosphate Pathway", Chapter 15, "The Metabolism of Glycogen in Animals", and Chapter 16, "The Citric Acid Cycle".

Part II, Bioenergetics and Metabolism: Chapters 17–20

Chapter 17, "Fatty Acid Catabolism", and Chapter 18, "Amino Acid Oxidation and the Production of Urea", continue the catabolic pathways. Chapter 19, "Oxidative Phosphorylation", and Chapter 20, "Photosynthesis and Carbohydrate Synthesis in Plants", treat the two major energy-conversion processes.

Part II, Bioenergetics and Metabolism: Chapters 21–23

Chapter 21, "Lipid Biosynthesis", and Chapter 22, "Biosynthesis of Amino Acids, Nucleotides, and Related Molecules", cover the anabolic pathways. Chapter 23, "Hormonal Regulation and Integration of Mammalian Metabolism", brings the second part together.

Part III, Information Pathways: Chapters 24–28

Chapter 24, "Genes and Chromosomes", is followed by "DNA Metabolism" (25), "RNA Metabolism" (26), "Protein Metabolism" (27) and "Regulation of Gene Expression" (28).

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–6

• Water as the solvent of life: the subject of Chapter 2.
• Protein structure and function: three chapters on amino acids, three-dimensional structure and function.
• Enzymes: Chapter 6 on catalysis.

Chapters 7–12

• Glycobiology: the biology of carbohydrates, introduced with Chapter 7.
• DNA-based information technologies: a separate chapter, placed within the structure part.
• Membranes, transport and signaling: Chapters 11 and 12.

Chapters 13–23

• Metabolic pathways: glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, the pentose phosphate pathway, glycogen metabolism, the citric acid cycle, fatty acid catabolism and amino acid oxidation.
• Energy conversion: oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis.
• Hormonal regulation and integration: Chapter 23.

Chapters 24–28

• Information pathways: genes and chromosomes, and the metabolism of DNA, RNA and protein.
• Regulation of gene expression: Chapter 28.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Comprehensive coverage. Twenty-eight chapters take the reader from water and the major classes of biomolecules, through the metabolic pathways, to gene expression, including chapters on glycobiology, signaling and the integration of mammalian metabolism.
• Principles-based organisation. According to the publisher, the 8th edition identifies the fundamental principles of biochemistry throughout the text, written for students learning biochemistry for the first time.
• Study support. The publisher lists revised end-of-chapter problem sets, abbreviated solutions at the end of the book, annotated step-by-step figures, and online interactive molecular figures and "Skills You Need" activities that review prerequisite chemistry, biology and mathematics.

Limitations

• Size. Even after the trimming described by the publisher, the book is a full textbook of twenty-eight chapters, and a one-semester course cannot cover it all.
• Heavy for a short course. For a single semester, the same list contains a concise book designed for a one-semester first course; Lehninger works better when the course can select chapters from a full text.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is the large, comprehensive text among the biochemistry books. Essential Biochemistry is a concise book designed for a one-semester first course, and Biochemistry: The Molecular Basis of Life is an introductory text for students with limited chemistry background; both are gentler starting points. Fundamentals of Biochemistry and Biochemistry: Concepts and Connections are full undergraduate texts that treat the subject with more emphasis on chemistry, and Biochemistry by Berg and colleagues is another comprehensive text; Lehninger is a natural alternative to these as a main course text. The Molecules of Life explains biochemistry through the physical chemistry of macromolecules and The Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways explains metabolism through reaction mechanisms; either can be read alongside Lehninger's Parts I and II. Biochemistry: A Very Short Introduction and The Machinery of Life are brief, non-technical books for readers who want an overview before starting.

How to Use This Book

The book is written for students learning biochemistry for the first time, with background in introductory chemistry and biology. For a two-semester course, Part I (Chapters 2–12) and Part II (Chapters 13–23) can be taken in order, with Part III (Chapters 24–28) as the information-flow half. In a one-semester course, many instructors will choose from these parts; Chapter 9 on DNA-based technologies, Chapter 20 on photosynthesis and Chapter 23 on hormonal integration are natural places to select. Work the end-of-chapter problems as the chapters are read, check them against the abbreviated solutions, and use the online interactive molecular figures and prerequisite-skills activities where the chemistry is rusty.