Norton Zinder
Norton David Zinder (November 7, 1928 – February 3, 2012)[1] was an American biologist famous for his discovery of genetic transduction. Zinder was born in New York City, received his A.B. from Columbia University in 1947, Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1952, and became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. He led a lab at Rockefeller University until shortly before his death.[2]
Norton Zinder | |
|---|---|
| Born | Norton David Zinder November 7, 1928 New York City, New York |
| Died | February 3, 2012 (aged 83) New York City, New York |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (BA) University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD) |
| Known for | Transduction Virology |
| Awards | Eli Lilly and Company-Elanco Research Award (1962) NAS Award in Molecular Biology (1966) AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility (1982) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Institutions | Rockefeller University |
| Doctoral advisor | Joshua Lederberg |
| Doctoral students | Harvey Lodish Nina Fedoroff Jef Boeke |
In 1966 he was awarded the NAS Award in Molecular Biology from the National Academy of Sciences.[3]
Genetic transduction and RNA bacteriophage
Working as a graduate student with Joshua Lederberg,[4][5][6] Zinder discovered that a bacteriophage[7] can carry genes from one bacterium to another. Initial experiments were carried out using Salmonella. Zinder and Lederberg named this process of genetic exchange transduction.
Later, Zinder discovered the first bacteriophage that contained RNA as its genetic material. At that time, Harvey Lodish (now of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research) worked in his lab.[8]
Norton Zinder died in 2012 of pneumonia after a long illness.[9]
References
- Lodish, H.; Fedoroff, N. (2012). "Norton Zinder (1928-2012)". Science. 335 (6074): 1316. Bibcode:2012Sci...335.1316L. doi:10.1126/science.1220682. PMID 22422973. S2CID 45292962.
- "Norton Zinder". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
- "NAS Award in Molecular Biology". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- Lederberg, J.; Zinder, N. (1948). "Concentration of biochemical mutants of bacteria with penicillin". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 70 (12): 4267–4268. doi:10.1021/ja01192a521. PMID 18105993.
- Lederberg, J.; Lederberg, E. M.; Zinder, N. D.; Lively, E. R. (1951). "Recombination analysis of bacterial heredity". Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology. 16: 413–443. doi:10.1101/sqb.1951.016.01.030. PMID 14942753.
- Zinder, N. D.; Lederberg, J. (1952). "Genetic Exchange in Salmonella". Journal of Bacteriology. 64 (5): 679–699. doi:10.1128/JB.64.5.679-699.1952. PMC 169409. PMID 12999698.
- Kresge, N.; Simoni, R. D.; Hill, R. L. (2011). "The Molecular Genetics of Bacteriophage: The Work of Norton Zinder". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 286 (25): e4–e5. doi:10.1074/jbc.o111.000244. PMC 3121416. PMID 21830328.
- Lodish, H. F.; Zinder, N. D. (1966). "Replication of the RNA of Bacteriophage f2". Science. 152 (3720): 372–377. Bibcode:1966Sci...152..372L. doi:10.1126/science.152.3720.372. PMID 17775172. S2CID 32831602.
- Nicolas Wade: Norton D. Zinder, Researcher in Molecular Biology, Dies at 83. In: The New York Times. February 7, 2012.