Transcript The History of Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology for BSc Students
Spring Semester, Year 2010
北京理工大学校级精品课程 since 2008
• Instructor
• Xuefeng Pan, BSc, MSc, Ph.D, PDF,SRF
•
Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine since2004
•
Beijing Institute of Technology
•
Professor of Molecular Medicine
•
•
•
Hebei University, Health Science Center
Tel:13582661092 when in China
E-mail:[email protected]
Structure of the Course
I. Contents
Lectures comprised of Basics, Progress and Prospectives
1. The story of the Mol Biol
2. Nucleic Acid, Gene, Chromosome and Genome
(Genomics)
3. DNA Replication, Damage and Repairs
4. DNA Recombination and repair
5. Gene Expression,Regulations, protein and Proteomics
6. Cell Cycle and Controls
7. The Molecular Basis for some diseases
8. Biotechnology, Forensics
9. Some biological databases and applications
Two sessions / week
2 hours / session.
48 lessons, if two sessions per week, this will take ~12 weeks
II. Textbook and Main references
1、潘学峰，2009 现代分子生物学教程，科学出版社
2、References
潘学峰，2004《基因的自身维护与疾病的发生》，科学出版社
潘学峰，2010《基因的自身维护与疾病的发生》(第2版），科学出版
社
3.Genes VII/ GeneVIII ----by B. Lewin
4.Genome by Brown
5.
Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th Edition by B. Alberts)
6.
Molecular Cell Biology (4th Edition by H. Lodish)
7.
Molecular Biology (2nd Edition by R. Weaver)
8.
Instant Notes in Molecular Biology, 2nd Edition by P. Turner)
9.
Advanced Molecular Biology (by R. Twyman)
Journals
I do give you some research papers from the following Journals:
Nature and its sister journals
Science
Cell
Molecular Cell
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Nucleic Acid Res
DNA Repair
European Journal of Biochemistry
Mol. Microbiol Review
Annual Reviews of Biochemistry, Genetics etc.
Gene & Development
EMBO J
etc
III. Prerequisites:
you should be prepared with the following:
Organic Chemistry/Biochemistry, and either Cell Biology or
Genetics
IV. Evaluation and Mark
Examinations
Grading for this course will be based on performance on three scheduled
exams. Each exam will be weighted equally, and therefore constitute 33.3%
of the final grade
Writing assignments
For each third of the course, one research article related to the material covered
in lecture will be assigned.
Course Mark
3Exams +3 Writings(extra credit )
And then follow me to :
北京理工大学精品课程
Molecular Biology
北京理工大学2009年25门校级重点骨干学科唯一的生命
科学学科
国防科工委重点学科
北京理工大学校级精品英汉双语课程
一流的知识体系、一流的授课方法
1.
为学生建立一个系统性强、架构清晰、与国际接轨
的分子生物学知识体系。
1.
提高学生的学习能力和团队协作能力。
1.
提高学生的英语听力、理解力和表达能力。
1.
培育学生的诚信品格和享受学习的素养。
北京理工大学现代分子生物学重点
骨干课程
1. 启发式教学：逻辑思维导向型教学，即提出问题和回答
问题的方式授课。
2. 重点和难点讲解，其他课下自学。
目的：传授清晰的知识体系，培养积极的科学思维习惯。
Ask why and ask how…
目的1：提升学生的英语能力，包括Reading, listening, writing &
talking.
目的2：领受一流的知识体系。
Molecular Biology
• What is Molecular Biology?
Study of molecular underpinnings of the process of Replication; DNA
damage/Repair/ Recombination; Transcription and Translation of the
genetic material. Also:
Systems Biology: “-omics” inculding Gene+ “omics”
Transcrpt+ “omics”
Proto+ “omics” etc
• Biotechnology: DNA Recombination
Mechanism/Genetic Information/ Gene…
The central dogma of molecular biology where genetic material is
transcribed into RNA and then translated into protein, despite being
an oversimplified picture of molecular biology, still provides a good
starting point for understanding the field. ..
Why is called as Molecular Biology?
• Legend:
• Francis Crick: “I myself was forced to call
myself a molecular biologist because
when inquiring clergymen asked me what I
did, I got tired of explaining that I was a
mixture of crystallographer, biophysicist,
biochemist, and geneticist.”
The hybrid of Biochemistry and
Genetics
• 1900 to 1940: the central processes of metabolism were
described: the process of digestion and the absorption of the
nutritive elements derived from alimentation, such as the
sugars.
• 1900: Rediscovery of the laws of Mendel through the studies
of Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak in
1900, this science began to take shape.
• 1910: Tthanks to the adoption by Thomas Hunt Morgan, in
1910, of a model organism for genetic studies, the famous fruit
fly (Drosophila melanogaster).
• Thomas Hunt Morgan
• Morgan showed that the genes are localized on chromosomes.
• He continued working with Drosophila and, along with
numerous other research groups, confirmed the importance of
the gene in the life and development of organisms
Molecular Biology and Other
Subjects
•The chemical nature of genes and
their mechanisms of action remained a
mystery.
•Molecular biologists
committed themselves to
the determination of the
structure, and the
description of the complex
relations between, genes
and proteins.
What is a Molecular Biologist?
职业化的分子生物学家
充满了“无奈”与“悲哀”！
Big Turn in Man’s mind
• 1859 Charles Darwin introduces"On the Origin of
Species“"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection or The Preservation of Favored Races in the
Struggle for Life".
• Which characteristics are inherited?
• The mechanism of heredity had not been determined at
that time. His key premise was that evolution occurs
through the selection of inherent and transmissible rather
than acquired, characteristics between individual
members of a species.
Mendel and Mendelian Genetics
• Mendelian- Chromosome theory of heredity
• Born of Classical Genetics
• took him eight years (1856-1863) and he
published his results in 1865
• In 1900, Mendel's work was independently
rediscovered by DeVries, Correns, and
Tschermak. Each of them announced Mendel’s
discoveries and his own work as a confirmation
of them.
Mendel is here!
Lecture I---Lets start here!
The History of Molecular Biology
1865 Medelian Inheritance
Mendel published the results of cross breeding experiments he had
conducted on the garden pea Pisum sativum. By noting the
appearance or disappearance of traits, such as pod and flower
color, over several generations Mendel was able to postulate a
generalized set of rules governing inheritance. He proposed that
there are discrete units of heredity (which today we call genes)
which are transmitted from generation to generation, even though
some of these units are not necessarily expressed as an observable
trait in every generation.
Lecture I
The History of Molecular Biology
Lecture I
The History of Molecular Biology
Lecture I
The History of Molecular Biology
Laws of Mendelian Genetics
• The Law of Segregation: a gene pair defines each
inherited trait. Parental genes are randomly separated to
the sex cells so that sex cells contain only one gene of
the pair. Offspring therefore inherit one genetic allele
from each parent.
• The Law of Independent Assortment: Genes for different
traits are sorted from one another in such a way that the
inheritance of one trait is not dependent on the
inheritance of another.
• The Law of Dominance: An organism with alternate
forms of a gene will express the form that is dominant.
History of Molecular Biology
•
•
•
•
Hermann Joseph “H.J.” Muller
a proponent of Eugenics
X-ray mutagenesis
"The Problem of Genetic Modification" at
the Fifth International Congress of
Genetics in Berlin
• Hsien Wu (吴宪; 24 November 1893 - 8 August 1959)
•
an early protein scientist who was the first to propose that protein
denaturation was a purely conformational change, i.e., corresponded to
protein unfolding and not to some chemical alteration of the protein. This
crucial idea was popularized later by Linus Pauling and Alfred Mirsky.
• Wu was born in Fuzhou, Fujian, China and trained at MIT
(undergraduate) then at Harvard University (graduate) under Otto
Folin, developing the first assay for blood sugar (Folin-Wu method),
then returned to China and a position at Peking Union Medical
College, becoming head of the biochemistry department in 1924 at
age 30.
• Wu's son, Ray J. Wu, became a well-respected professor at Cornell
University, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Molecular Genetics
and Biology, and has been active in studying transgenic plants,
particularly rice.
The History of Molecular Biology
1869 DNA Isolated
Miescher isolated DNA for the first time.
Proteins? Or DNA?
The History of Molecular Biology
Medelian’s Law of Inheritance
But What’s the Gene?
the structure and function of the gene?
The History of Molecular Biology
But What’s the Gene?
the structure and function of the gene?
The Origins of Molecular Biology
1927 Genetic Damage is Inheritable
Muller in Edinburgh proved that X-rays cause mutations
that pass from one generation to the next.
1928 Transformation Discovered
Griffith unwittingly discovered transformation, a process involving the
uptake of genetic material by a living organism. Griffith injected mice with a
mixture of live, avirulent, rough Streptococcus pneumoniae Type I and heatkilled, virulent , smooth S. pnemoniae Type II and observed that this mixture
led to the death of the mice. Live, virulent, smooth S. pneumoniae Type II
bacteria were recovered from the dead mice, implying that genetic
information from the heat-killed virulent strain had somehow been
transferred to the avirulent live strain.
Breakthrough in the thinking
darkness The background
discovery
of the
By the 1930s, geneticists began speculating as to
what sort of molecules could have the kind of
stability that the gene demanded, yet be capable
of permanent, sudden change to the mutant forms
that must provide the basis of evolution...
It was generally assumed that genes would be
composed of amino acids because, at that time,
they appeared to be the only biomolecules with
sufficient complexity to convey genetic
information.
This hypothesis is eventually dead from its shaking
base and attractive complexity.
Avery’s Bombshell (1944):
DNA can carry genetic specificity
A story written for 16 years
1928 by Frederick
Griffith
1944 by Osward T. Avery
The transforming activity was destroyed
by deoxyribonuclease (available at the
time), but not by ribonuclease nor
various proteolytic enzymes
1941 "one-gene-one enzyme"
Beadle and Tatum jointly published the results of
their experiments with the fungus Neurospora crassa. They
concluded that ultraviolet light treatment somehow caused a
mutation in gene that controlled the synthesis of an enzyme
involved in the synthesis of the essential nutrient. They also
showed that the defect was inherited in typical Mendelian
fashion. These results ultimately led to the "one gene-one
enzyme" concept of biology, and Beadle and Tatum, along with
Lederberg, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and
Physiology in 1958. The "one gene-one enzyme" dogma has
since been modified slightly to state that one gene directs the
synthesis of one polypeptide, since it is now known that some
proteins are comprised of more than one polypeptide subunit.
Erwin Schroedinger (1944)
What is life?
WHAT IS LIFE? by Erwin
Shrödinger
First published in 1944.
Nobel laureate Erwin Shrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the twentieth century. A
distinguished physicist's exploration of the question which lies at the heart of biology, it was written for the layman, but
proved one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. The
philosopher Karl Popper hailed it as a 'beautiful and important book'. It appears here together with Mind and Matter, his
essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times. Brought together
with these two classics are Shrödinger's autobiographical sketches, published and translated here for the first time, which
offer a fascinating fragmentary account of his life as a background to his scientific writings.
'This book is a gem with many facets.., one can read it in a few hours; one will not forget it in a lifetime.' Scientific
American
'Erwin Shrödinger, iconoclastic physicist, stood at the pivotal point of history when physics was the midwife of the new
science of molecular biology. In these little books he set down, clearly and concisely, most of the great conceptual issues
that confront the scientist who would attempt to unravel the mysteries of life. This combined volume should be
compulsory reading for all students who are seriously concerned with truly deep issues of science.' Paul Davies
Mysterious Gene?
1950 Transposons
McKlintock publishes proof of mobile genetic elements (transposons)
in corn. She won the Nobel Prize in 1983 for this work.
1952 Viral Replication: Lederberg and Zinder described transduction,
which is the transfer of genetic information by viruses.
Dulbecco showed that single particles of an animal virus can produce
areas of cellular lysis called plaques. With Baltimore and Temin,
Dulbecco was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology
in 1975.
Hershey and Chase published data suggesting that only DNA is
required for T2 bacteriophage replication.
Luria and Human, and independently Weigle, described a non-genetic
host-controlled modification system in bacteriophage which ultimately
led to the study of bacterial systems of restriction and modification;
these studies in turn eventually led to the discovery of restriction
endonucleases, essential tools in the development of genetic
Structural Entity of Gene
Since 1953
1953 DNA Helix
Crick and Wilkins, together with Watson, proposed the doublehelix structure of DNA. The proposed structure was based on Xray crystallography studies on DNA performed by Franklin.
Crick, Wilkins, and Watson were awarded the Nobel Prize in
Medicine and Physiology in 1962.
1Biologist
1 Physics
Ph.D student
900words
Appear in
Nature
----------------------------Nobel Prize
inXXXX
Watson, J. D. and Crick, F. H. C. (1953). A structure for DNA. Nature 171, 737-738.
Thinking : what led to the success of
Watson and Crick?
•
Crick is best known for his work in the discovery of the
double helix, but since then he has made many other discoveries.
After his discovery of the double helix, Crick went to work on finding
the relationship between DNA and genetic coding. During this study
with Vernon Ingram, they discovered the function of the genetic
material in determining the specificity of proteins. In 1957, Crick
began work with Sydney Brenner to determine how the sequence of
DNA bases would specify the amino acid sequence in proteins.
•
Crick "established not only the basic genetic code, but
predicted the mechanism for protein synthesis" (McMurray, 427) This
worked led to many RNA/DNA discoveries and helped in the creation
of the DNA/RNA dictionary. In 1960 Crick began to study the
structure and possible functions of certain proteins associated with
chromosomes called histones. Crick finally left Cambridge
Laboratories in 1976 to become Kieckhefer Professor at Salk
Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California. It was there
that Crick began his present project of the study of the brain.
Rosalind Elsie Franklin: Pioneer Molecular Biologist
From www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/franklin.html
(San Diego Supercomputer Center)
1957 Recombination
Benzer, in an analysis of mutations of the rII gene in
bacteriophage T4, showed that recombination can occur
between mutations in the same gene and that genes
consist of linear arrays of subunits that can be altered.
Jacob and Wollman presented evidence of the circular
nature of the Escherichia coli chromosome by analyzing
the results of interrupted mating experiments between
conjugating bacteria.
Kornberg discovered DNA polymerase.
Kornberg demonstrated the synthesis of novel DNA in
cell-free bacterial extracts and later showed that a
specific enzyme is necessary to link the nucleotide
precursors of DNA and that the enzyme works only in the
presence of a DNA template.
1958 DNA Replication Mechanism
Meselson and Stahl used density gradient centrifugation to
demonstrate that the two parental strands of DNA unwind
during replication and combine with newly synthesized
daughter strands, exactly as predicted by Watson and Crick’s
DNA replication model.
最完美的分子生物学实验！The Best Molecular Biological
Experiment ever!
Functional Entity of Gene
Structure dictates function
Lecture I The History of Molecular
Biology
1959 Antibiotic Resistance & Control of Gene
Expression
Sawada et.al. showed that antibiotic resistance can be
transferred between Shigella strains and Esherichia coli
strains by extrachromosomal plasmids, and that this
transfer does not involve either transformation or
transduction.
Pardee, Jacob, and Monod demonstrated the inducibility
of the bacterial enzyme beta-galactosidase by altering
culture conditions. This observation led to other
experiments that elucidated the mechanisms involving
regulatory control of gene expression.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1960 lac Operon
Jacob, Perrin, Sanchez, and Monod proposed the operon concept
of gene regulation in bacteria. Jacob and Monod later proposed
that a protein repressor blocks RNA transcription of a specific set
of genes, termed the lac operon, unless an inducer, lactose, binds to
the repressor, thus altering its conformation and preventing the
repressor from binding to the operon site.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1961 Protein synthesis and RNA
Hall and Speigleman showed that DNA isolated from single-stranded T2
bacteriophage DNA can form hybrids with RNA from T2-infected Escherichia coli,
thus foreshadowing the later development of DNA-DNA and DNA-RNA
hybridization methods which have become a cornerstone of modern molecular
biology methods.
Crick, Brenner, and colleagues proposed the existence of a transfer RNA that
utilizes a three base code and participates directly in the synthesis of proteins.
Nirenberg and Matthaei demonstrated that the polynucleotide poly U directs the
synthesis of a polypeptide containing only phenylalanine residues. They concluded
from these experiments that the triplet UUU must code for the amino acid
phenylalanine. This was the beginning of the ultimately successful effort to
decipher the genetic code. Nirenberg, along with Holley and Khorana, was
awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1968.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
Brenner, Jacob, and Meselson demonstrated that ribosomes are the site
of protein synthesis and confirmed the existence of messenger RNA.
1966 Moving Genes & the Genetic Code
Beckwith and Signer tranposed the lac region of E. coli into another
microorganism. This demonstrated the feasibility of redesigning
chromosomes and moving genes.
Nirenberg, Ochoa and Khorana elucidated the genetic code.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
• 1967 Sense Strand
Gilbert isolated the lac repressor regulatory
protein postulated by Jacob and Monod and
Ptashne isolated the lambda repressor protein
from bacteriophage.
Szybalski and Summers showed that only one
strand (the sense strand) acts as a template for
transcription of RNA from a DNA template (see
the textbook by Dr Xuefeng Pan Sciense Press)
Dawn of Applied Molecular
Biology
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1970 Restriction Enzymes & Reverse Transcriptase
Smith and Wilcox reported on the characteristics of restriction enzymes,
which are enzymes that protect bacteria from the potentially harmful
effects of foreign DNA. They showed that a restriction enzyme isolated
from Haemophilis influenzae had the ability to recognize and cleave
specific DNA sequences.
Central Dogma Revisted?
Temin and Baltimore independently reported the discovery of reverse
transcriptase in RNA viruses. Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme that
uses single-stranded RNA as a template for the production of a singlestranded DNA complement to that RNA. This discovery demonstrated
the possibility of a flow of genetic information from RNA to DNA. Temin,
Baltimore, and Dulbecco were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine
and Physiology in 1975.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1972 Splicing & Recombinant DNA
Mertz and Davis confirmed that the EcoR1 restriction endonuclease
from Escherichia coli cuts DNA at a specific site four to six nucleotides
long. The DNA sequence that is cut by the restriction enzyme is
complementary to other DNAs cut by the same enzyme. This observation
paved the way for splicing together of dissimilar sequences and other
forms of genetic engineering.
Berg reported the construction of a recombinant DNA molecule
comprised of viral and bacterial DNA sequences. Along with Gilbert
and Sanger, Berg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1973 Plasmids as Vectors
Cohen, Chang, Helling, and Boyer demonstrated that if DNA is
fragmented with restriction endonucleases and combined with similarly
restricted plasmid DNA, then the resulting recombinant DNA molecules
are biologically active and can replicate in host bacterial cells.
Plasmids can thus act as vectors for the propagation of foreign cloned
genes. This discovery was a major breakthrough in the development of
recombinant DNA technologies and genetic engineering.
1975 Southern Blotting Edinburgh University- I have been working
at!
Southern described a new analytical tool involving the capillary
transfer of restricted DNA fragments from a sizing gel to a nitrocellulose
membrane, resulting in an exact replica of the DNA fragments in the gel
on the membrane. A specific radiolabeled probe is then applied to the
membrane under hybridizing conditions. Subsequent exposure of the
membrane to photographic film reveals which DNA fragments are
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
Southern blotting, as this technique is now referred to, allows
researchers to determine a physical map of restriction sites within a
gene in its normal chromosomal location and provides an estimate of
the copy number of a gene in the genome along with information on the
degree of similarity of the gene in question to other known homologous
sequences.
1977 Introns & DNA Sequencing
Chow and Roberts, and independently Sharp showed that in eucaryotic organisms
(and not procaryotes) genes are not continuous but instead are interspersed with
stretches of non-coding sequence which do not code for protein structure (these
interspersed regions of sequence are called introns). Roberts and Sharp were
awarded the Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1993.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
Gilbert and Sanger developed independent methods for
determining the exact nucleotide sequence of DNA. Sanger and
his colleagues used their own sequencing method to determine the
complete nucleotide sequence of the bacteriophage fX174,
the first genome ever completely sequenced. Along with Berg,
Gilbert and Sanger were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
in 1980.
he won twice! So he has published:
Sequence, SEQUENCE…..
Nester, Gordon, and Dell-Chilton demonstrated the transfer of
genes on the A. tumafaciens plasmid into infected plant cells,
paving the way for genetic engineering of plant species.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1980's Commercialization Begins
Molecular biology kits become available as the biotechnology industry
begins to flourish.
1981 Humulin
Eli Lilly receives FDA approval to market the first recombinant protein,
human insulin, for the treatment of diabetes.
1988 PCR
Mullis introduced the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a novel method
of amplifying large amounts of a specific DNA fragment starting with
very small amounts of source DNA. Mullis used a DNA polymerase
enzyme from the heat-stable organism Thermus aquaticus to replicate
specific DNAs of interest using oligonucleotide primers on either side of
the gene to be amplified. The primers are allowed to anneal to their
homologous targets and the reaction is repeated in order to amplify the
target DNA exponentially. PCR has revolutionized
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
Branches of Molecular Biology
Going to Molecules
Going to Genomics
“We’ve come to the
realization that the
genome is full of
overlapping transcripts.”
— Phillip Kapranov
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
“A lot of the
information is being
transacted by RNA.”
— John Mattick
非编码RNA
The importance of small, noncoding
RNAs that act as regulators of
transcription, of RNA modification or
stability, and of mRNA translation
is becoming increasingly apparent.
miRNA, piRNA, siRNA etc
Key issues in Molecular
Biology
Going to Systems Biology
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
modern biology and has widespread applications in the areas of
forensics, diagnostics, and gene expression analysis. Mullis was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.
1989 Linkage analysis
Collins finds gene for cystic fibrosis.
1990 Human Genome Project
The 15-year Human Genome Project formally began, and represents an
effort to "find all the genes on every chromosome in the body and to
determine their biochemical nature".
The first approved gene therapy is performed with some success.
Immunoglobulin genes are inserted into harvested white blood cells that
are then returned to the patient and confer some immunity.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1992 Gene Sequence Published
The entire 315,000-base nucleotide sequence of one of the sixteen
chromosomes of the yeast S. cerevisiae was published.
1993 The first microRNA is identified in the
worm Caenorhabditis elegans.
1995 H. influenza sequenced
Craig Venter, Smith, Fraser and colleagues reported the first complete
genome sequence of a nonviral microorganism, Haemophilus
influenza.
1996 Yeast Genome Sequenced
The yeast genome sequence was completed by an international
consortium.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1997 Cloning--Dolly, the lamb
The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh reported the birth of Dolly the lamb, the
first mammal to be cloned from an adult using the modern techniques of
trangenic cloning. The successful cloning of Dolly suggested the
possibility that similar techniques could be utilized to clone humans.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
1999 First human chromosome sequenced
Researchers in the Human Genome Project
reported the complete sequencing of the DNA
making up human chromosome 22.
2000 Human genome "draft" completed
Human Genome Project leaders announced the
completion of a "working draft" DNA sequence of
the entire human genome. The post-genomic
era begins.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
2000 Completion of the Arabidopsis thaliana sequence
2003 postgenome era
2006 The idea that human
genes are one long continuum
begins to emerge.
Lecture I The History of Molecular Biology
Timeline of Biotechnology
•
Before 8000 BC – Collecting of seeds for replanting. Evidence that Mesopotamian people used
selective breeding (artificial selection) practices to improve livestock.
•
Around 7000 BC – Brewing beer, fermenting wine, baking bread with help of yeast.
•
8000 BC - 3000 BC – Yogurt and cheese made with lactic-acid-producing bacteria by various
cultures.
•
1590 – The microscope is invented by Zacharias Janssen.
•
1675 – Microorganisms discovered by Anton van Leeuwenhoek.
•
1856 – Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of inheritance.
•
1862 – Louis Pasteur discovered the bacterial origin of fermentation.
•
1919 – Karl Ereky, a Hungarian agricultural engineer, first used the word biotechnology.
•
1928 – Alexander Fleming noticed that a certain mould could stop the duplication of bacteria,
leading to the first antibiotic: penicillin.
1953 – James D. Watson and Francis Crick describe the structure of
deoxyribonucleic acid, called DNA for short.
1972 – The DNA composition of chimpanzees and gorillas is discovered to be
99% similar to that of humans.
1975 – Method for producing monoclonal antibody developed by Kohler and
Milstein.
1980 – Modern biotech is characterized by recombinant DNA technology. The
prokaryote model, E. coli, is used to produce synthetic insulin and other
medicine, in human form. (It is estimated that only 5% of diabetics were
allergic to animal insulins available before, while new evidence suggests that
type 1 diabetes mellitus is caused by an allergy to human insulin). A viable
brewing yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1026, acts as a modifier of
the microflora in the rumen of cows and digestive tract of horses).
The United States Supreme Court, in 447 U.S. 303 (1980), rules in favor of
microbiologist Ananda Chakrabarty in the case of a USPTO request for a first
patent granted to a genetically modified living organism (GMO) in history.
Timeline of Biotechnology
•
1984 – Nutrigenomics as applied science in animal nutrition.
•
1994 – U.S. FDA approves of the first GM food: the "Flavr Savr" tomato.
•
1997 – British scientists, led by Ian Wilmut, from the Roslin Institute report cloning a
sheep called Dolly the sheep using DNA from two adult sheep cells.
•
2000 – Completion of a, "rough draft," of the human genome in the Human Genome
Project.
•
2002 – Researchers sequence the DNA of rice, the main food source for two-thirds of
the world's population. Rice is the first crop to have its genome decoded.
•
2003 – GloFish, the first biotech pet, hits the North American market. Specially bred
to detect water pollutants, the fish glows red under black light thanks to the addition
of a natural bioluminescence gene.
2004 – November – Korean researchers treat spinal cord
injury by transplanting multipotent adult stem cells from an
umbilical cord blood.
December – A team of researchers at the University of Paris
develops a method to produce large number of red blood
cells from hematopoietic stem cells, creating an environment
that mimics the conditions of bone marrow.
•2005 – January – Researchers at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison differentiate human blastocyst stem cells
into neural stem cells, and finally into spinal motor neuron
cells
A Brief and Incomplete History of Cell and Molecular Biology
1865
Gregor Mendel
phenotypic basis of
inheritance
1868
Friedrich Meischer
discovers "nuclein" in pus & fish sperm
August Weismann
describes reduction
division of
chromosomes
1903
Walter Sutton
describes meiosis &
spermatogenesis in
insects
"Chromosomal
Theory of
Inheritance"
1909
Drosophilia,
Thomas Hunt Morgan chromosmal linkage &
crossing over
1887
Alfred Stuartevant
mapping of genes on
chromsomes
Robert Fuelgen
cytochemical staining
& identification of
DNA
1928
Fred Griffith
used pneumococcus &
described gene
transformation
1933
Ted Painter
identifies polytene
chromosomes
1930's
George Beadle & Ed
Tatum
"one gene - one
enzyme"
¥
1911
1924
1940's
Linus Pauling
identifies alpha helix
peace structure of
proteins
1940's
Maurice Wilkins &
Rosy Franklin
X-ray diffraction structure of DNA
1944
Oswald Avery,
Maclyn MacLeod, &
Colin McCarty
chemically suggest
that
"DNA is
genetic material "
1950
Erwin Chargaff
"Chargaff's Rule" DNA base
complimentarity A:T
G:C
1950's
Fred Sanger tRNA
sequences 1st protein
- insulin
1952
Alfred Hershey &
Martha Chase
32P
viral DNA
replication = genes
are DNA
1953
James Watson &
Francis Crick
identify model
structure of DNA
1956
Arthur Kornberg
describes action of
DNA polymerase
1950's
Peter Mitchell
Chemiosmosis - how
cells make
ATP
1958
Matt Meselson &
Frank Stahl
semiconservative
replication of DNA
1960
Paul Doty & Jay
Marmur
Tm-hyperchromicity
DNA - DNA
hybridization
1961
Holley, Khorana, &
identifies Genetic
Nirenberg & Henirich
Code ¥
Mattaei
1963
Jerome Vinograd
identifies supercoiled structure of
DNA
1968
Stanley Cohen
discovers plasmids &
antibiotic resistance
1969
Edmonds & Caramelai
identifies poly-Apolymerase
1970
Herbert Boyer
discovers restriction
endonuclease
1971
Gunter Blobel
signal hypothesis
1972
Paul Berg
Recombinant DNA's splices SV40 & E coli
1975
Walter Gilbert, allan
Maxam, Fred Sanger
develop DNA
sequences techniques
1975
Cesar Milstein, Geo.
Kohler, & Niles Jeme
develop monoclonal
antibodies
1976
Robert Swanson &
Herb Boyer
create GENENTECH
biopharmaceutical Co.
1977
Richard Roberts &
Philip Sharp
identifies split genes
(introns & exons)
1978
Genentech, Inc.
produces Humulin 1st
recombinant DNA
drug
1981
Sidney Altman & Tom identifies
Cech
ribozymes
1985
Kary Mullis
creates PCR Polymerase Chain
Reaction
HGP Project
project to sequence
entire human genome
1990
French Anderson
1st use of
Recombinant DNA
drug (ADA)
1992
Harry Noller
peptidyl transferase
is a ribozyme
1992
Edmund Fischer &
Edwin Krebs
identify protein
phosphorylation
1993
Kerry Mullis
creates PCR reaction
1994
Calgene
FlavrSavr tomato 1st
transgenic food
1996
Ian Wilmut
mammalian cloning &
Dolly
1997
Paul Boyer & John
Walker
describes ATP
synthase mechanism
1989
James Thompson &
John Gearhart
plueripotent (stem)
cells cultured
1999
Craig Venter
complete gene
sequence of
Drosophila identified
2000
Craig Venter
Human Genome
sequence announced
1998