François Jacob

François Jacob (1920–2013) was a French biologist who studied how genes regulate cellular activity. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with André Lwoff and Jacques Monod.

Jacques Monod: Jacques Monod was a French biologist who helped establish the theory of gene regulation and shared the 1965 Nobel Prize with Jacob and Lwoff. Monod collaborated with Jacob to develop the operon model of gene regulation.
Operon model: The operon model explains how groups of bacterial genes are regulated together by DNA control sequences and regulatory proteins. Jacob and Monod proposed this model to explain coordinated bacterial gene expression.
Bacterial conjugation: Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells through direct contact. Jacob studied conjugation with Wollman, using it to map genes and examine bacterial heredity.
Gene regulation: Gene regulation is the control of gene activity, including when genes are expressed and how much product they make. Jacob’s work helped make gene regulation a central explanation for how cells respond and develop.
André Lwoff: André Lwoff was a French microbiologist whose work on bacterial viruses and cellular regulation earned him the 1965 Nobel Prize with Jacob and Monod. Lwoff’s studies of bacterial viruses helped frame the Nobel-recognized discoveries Jacob pursued.
Lac operon: The lac operon is a bacterial gene-regulation system that controls lactose uptake and breakdown in response to available sugars. Its regulation provided a key experimental example for Jacob and Monod’s model.
Lysogeny: Lysogeny is a state in which a bacterial virus genome persists in a host cell without immediately destroying it. Jacob’s work on lysogeny helped reveal how bacterial viruses interact with cellular genetic control.
Molecular biology: Molecular biology studies biological processes through interactions among DNA, RNA, proteins, and other molecules. Jacob’s research helped define molecular biology’s account of heredity and cellular function.
Elie Wollman: Elie Wollman was a French microbiologist who collaborated with Jacob on bacterial genetics and the study of bacterial conjugation. Jacob and Wollman used bacterial genetics to investigate how genes are transferred and expressed.
Messenger RNA: Messenger RNA is a molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA to cellular protein-making machinery. Jacob and Monod proposed that a short-lived RNA intermediate carries DNA’s instructions to protein synthesis.

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