Letter from Leonard S. Lerman to Francis Crick

Letter from Leonard S. Lerman to Francis Crick

Contributor(s):
The Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. Francis Harry Compton Crick Papers
Crick, Francis, 1916-2004
Lerman, Leonard S.
Publication:
Produced: 27 October 1964
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
DNA Replication
Genre(s):
Archival Materials
Letters (correspondence)
Abstract:
Lerman obtained physical chemical evidence that dyes derived from the coal-tar chemical acridine, specifically proflavin (a bright yellow dye), produced mutations in genes by slipping in between adjacent base pairs on one strand of the DNA molecule but not the other, forcing the adjacent bases on that strand apart by two times their normal distance.. Crick and Sydney Brenner carried Lerman's findings further and suggested that when the DNA strand on which the acridine compound had acted was copied during gene replication, the gap between the adjacent bases was either filled in on the complementary strand, or the base opposite was dropped, by either the addition or deletion of a base. Thus was produced an inheritable mutation. They laid out their thoughts in an article written with Leslie Barnett and Alice Orgel, entitled "The Theory of Mutagenesis" and published in the Journal of Molecular Biology 3 (1961). Crick and Brenner relied on Lerman's findings in using acridines to produce phase-shift mutants that helped establish the three-letter genetic code.
Copyright:
This item may be under copyright protection; contact the copyright owner for permission before re-use.
Extent:
2 pages
NLM Unique ID:
101584582X7 (See in Profiles in Science)
Profiles in Science ID:
SCBBBR
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584582X7
Archival Collection:
The Francis Crick Papers (Profiles in Science)