George Beadle

George Beadle was an American geneticist whose experiments with bread mold helped establish that genes control specific biochemical reactions. He shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Edward Tatum and Joshua Lederberg.

One gene–one enzyme hypothesis: The hypothesis that each gene directs the production of a particular enzyme. Beadle and Edward Tatum proposed it from mutant bread molds unable to make particular nutrients.
Corn genetics: The study of heredity and genetic variation in maize. Beadle first built his research career studying chromosome behavior and inheritance in corn.
Joshua Lederberg: An American geneticist who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Lederberg shared the prize with Beadle and Tatum for discoveries concerning genetic recombination and organization.
Molecular biology: The study of biological processes at the molecular level, especially DNA, RNA, and proteins. Beadle’s gene-to-biochemistry link helped frame questions central to this field.
Neurospora crassa: A filamentous fungus used extensively in genetics and molecular biology. Beadle and Tatum used its nutritional mutants to identify gene-controlled metabolic steps.
Thomas Hunt Morgan: An American geneticist who established Drosophila as a model for experimental genetics. Beadle trained in Morgan’s laboratory, where chromosome genetics shaped his early work.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: An annual award honoring discoveries in physiology or medicine. Beadle received its 1958 prize alongside Tatum and Lederberg.
One gene–one polypeptide hypothesis: The hypothesis that each gene specifies a single polypeptide chain. It revised Beadle’s enzyme-focused formulation as researchers found that proteins include non-enzyme polypeptides.
Auxotrophy: The inability of an organism to synthesize a compound required for growth. Nutrient-dependent growth exposed the biochemical defects in Beadle’s fungal mutants.
Drosophila melanogaster: The common fruit fly, a major model organism in genetics. Beadle studied eye-pigment inheritance in fruit flies before turning to fungal genetics.

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