Arthur Kornberg

Arthur Kornberg (1918- 2007)------------

Background Info----                                                                          -Graduated from College of New York in 1937                                   -Obtained M.D. degree from University of Rochester in 1941             -Served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, first assigned to the Navy as a ship's doctor, then research scientist at the National Institutes of Health from 1942 to 1953.                             -In 1946, he was training in enzymology at New York University and in 1947, he was at Washi9ngton University School of Medicine.        

Year Became Famous------

In 1959, he recieved Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

Publication Made Him Famous-----

- The basic mechanisms of DNA replication through isolating and purifying the enzymes that run the machinery of the cell.

-Elucidating key steps in the pathways of pyrimidine and purine nucleotide synthesis, including the discovery of PRPP as an intermediate, he found the enzyme that assembles the building blocks into DNA, named DNA polymerase. This ubiquitous class of enzymes make genetically precise DNA and are essential in the replication, repair and rearrangements of DNA. Many other enzymes of DNA metabolism were discovered responsible for the start and elongation of DNA chains and chromosomes

-Identify the enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of DNA, polymerase I.

Contribution to World Genetic
- He had comprehended a key component of molecular genetics
- Kornberg's approach - isolating enzymes in the chemist's lab and analyzing them within their biological context - was a crucial component in understanding the molecular biology of the cell.
-Kornberg's successful synthesis of the biologically active PhiX174 virus in 1967. For the first time, a biochemist produced an active virus in the lab.
-Enzymes he discoverd were the basis of discovery of recombinant DNA which helped ignite the biotechnology revolution.

Works Cited
Jochen Kumin. Aruther Kornberg (1918-2007).  September 17, 2010.
http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Arthur_Kornberg.php

 

Lawrence K Altman. October 28, 2007. September 17, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/science/28kornberg.html