STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA Gt565

 

Stanptorp UNiversiry SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Department of Genetics

(415, 197-3082 . May 20, 1977

Dr. Michael Bernstein
7507 Girard Ave
College Park, MD 20750

Dear Dr. Bernstein,

I enjoyed our interesting conversation over the telephone. But I am not sure
wnat tangible materials I should be sending you, without some clarity about your
present objectives. You should read BillHayes'’ monograph "The Genetics of Bacteria
and Their Viruses” as a general introduction to the biological landscape here, even
though this predates the current "Recombinant DNA " technology.

More specifically on the choice of E. coli K12 to become the Drosophila of
bacterial genetics, the groundwork before this was already laid in the late 1930's
with : the development of simple synthetic media for cultivating this organism,
and the fact that it had already outdistanced most potential competitors in the
cumulative volume of physiological research already done at that time. The fact
that it was already so widespread in an apparently harmless association with man
appeared to be a strong argument in favor of that choice, and I think that one
needs to know quite a lot about the speciation of pathogenic forms of this or-
ganism which tend to have quite special attributes before challenging that
tacit assumption. It would be difficult even today to insist very strongly on
any alternative, since we would simply be opening the door to possible new dis-—
coveries, both about the biological interrelationships of bacteria, and their
ecological relationships with man and other species about which we really do not
know a great deal. I do not think that this lack of perfect knowledge is a ten-
able argument to suspend all microbiological research.

The choice of the particular strain, K12, was one of Tatum’s many seredipi-~
ties. That story has been told many times, but never completely , and I hope to
go into more detail about it in the historical essays that, as I mentioned to
you over the phone, I have been working on recently. I will be sending you some
excerpts from these, a couple of reprints that seem to touch most closely to your
questions, and the most relevant couple of pages of Barbara Bachmann's review.
Besides that article, there have been several others on the genetics of E. coli
and related organisms that you should find by thambing back through the last several
years of Bacteriological Reviews.

When you come down to some more concrete questions, or wish to discuss your
overall directions, I would be happy to continue the dialog.

Sincerely yours, —

re

oShua Lederberg
rofessor of Genetics

  
  
 

LY. J. I. RENNEDY, JR. CARORATORIES FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE, DEDICATED TO RESEARCELIN MEN TAC REPARDATION

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY HEREDITY NEUROBLOLOSY DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE