Knowra Robert W. Holley Robert W. Holley Robert W. Holley was an American biochemist who determined the nucleotide sequence and structure of alanine transfer RNA. He shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work.
Marshall W. Nirenberg : An American biochemist who helped decipher the genetic code and shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His experiments connected nucleotide sequences to amino acids, complementing Holley’s work on transfer RNA.
Transfer RNA : A small RNA molecule that carries a specific amino acid to a ribosome and pairs with a messenger-RNA codon. Holley determined the complete sequence of one transfer RNA, exposing the shared architecture of the class.
Cornell University : A private research university in Ithaca, New York, founded in 1865. Holley studied and later conducted research at Cornell, where his transfer-RNA work took shape.
1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine : The Nobel Prize shared by Robert W. Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, and Marshall W. Nirenberg for interpreting the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. Holley received the prize for interpreting the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.
DNA sequencing : Methods for determining the order of nucleotides in a DNA molecule. Holley sequenced RNA, using methods distinct from later approaches to reading DNA.
Har Gobind Khorana : A biochemist who synthesized defined nucleic acids and helped decipher the genetic code. He shared the 1968 Nobel Prize with Holley and Nirenberg for interpreting the genetic code.
Alanine tRNA : A transfer RNA that carries alanine to the ribosome and recognizes corresponding messenger-RNA codons. This was the specific molecule whose nucleotide sequence Holley established.
Ithaca, New York : A city in central New York that is home to Cornell University. Holley’s Cornell laboratory in Ithaca was the setting for his work on alanine transfer RNA.
Molecular biology : The study of biological processes at the level of molecules, especially DNA, RNA, and proteins. Holley’s RNA sequence work exemplified molecular biology’s shift toward explaining heredity through molecular structure.
Messenger RNA : An RNA molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA to the protein-synthesizing machinery. Unlike messenger RNA, Holley’s alanine tRNA carries an amino acid and recognizes a codon.
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