Lynen, Feodor (Felix Konrad) (1911-1979)

German biochemist who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1964 for work on cholesterol and fatty-acid metabolism. He shared the prize with Konrad Bloch.

Lynen was born and educated in Munich, where he spent his whole career, becoming professor in 1953 and director of the Max Planck Institute for Cell Chemistry (later Biochemistry) in 1954.

Lynen in Munich and Bloch in the USA corresponded and worked out the 36 steps involved in the synthesis of cholesterol. Bloch found that the basic unit is the simple acetate (ethanoate) ion, a chemical fragment containing only two carbon atoms. In 1951, Lynen found the carrier of this fragment. Bloch then found an intermediate compound, squalene - a long hydrocarbon containing 30 carbon atoms. The final stage was the transformation of the carbon chain of squalene into the four-ring molecule of cholesterol.

Lynen also worked on the biosynthesis of fatty acids, isolating from yeast an enzyme complex that acts as a catalyst in the synthesis of long-chain fatty acids from acetyl coenzyme A and malonyl coenzyme A. He also elucidated a series of energy-generating reactions that occur when fatty acids from food are respired to form carbon dioxide and water.