History of Nucleic Acids

	Back to Home
Deoxyribosenucleic Acid - DNA Nucleic Acids History of Nucleic Acids Genetic Material of Organisms Structure of DNA Nucleosides and Nucleotides Nucleosides of RNA and DNA Ribonucleosides and Ribonucleotides Deoxyribonucleosides and Deoxyribonucleotides Unusual Bases in DNA

History of Nucleic Acids

	History of Nucleic Acids - Nucleic acids are closely involved with protein synthesis. In the following account the main work dealing with nucleic acids protein synthesis and the genetic code has been summarized. 1869. Meischer isolated nucleic acids, which he called nuclein. 1881. Zacharis identified nuclein with chromatin. 1884. Hertwig suggested the role of nuclein in heredity.
1899. Altmann used the term nucleic acid to replace nuclein. 1880. Fischer identified pyrimidines and purines. 1884. Kossel recognized that histones and protamines were associated with nucleic acids. 1910. Kossel was awarded the Noble prize for demonstrating the presence of two pyrimidines (cytosine and thymine) and two purines (adenine and guanine) in nucleic acids.
1912. Feulgen discovered a staining reaction (now called the Feulgen reaction), specific for DNA. 1924. Feulgen, developing the fuchsin staining technique, showed that chromosomes contain DNA. 1928. Griffiths discovered bacterial transformation by DNA. 1938. Behrens showed that most of the DNA is in the nucleus, and most of the RNA in the cytoplasm.
1938. Astbury and Bell showed that the bases in a DNA molecule are stacked one above the other, and lie with their planes perpendicu lar to the long axis of the molecule. 1944. Avery, MacLeod and McCarty presented first evidence that DNA is the genetic material. 1947- Chargaff showed that DNA contains equal proportions of 1950 purines and pyrimidines.
	1950. Wilkins and coworkers showed that the purine and pyrimidine bases are placed regularly along the DNA molecule at a distance of 3.4A. The molecules are twisted into a helix with one com plete turn every 34A. 1952. Furberg suggested that the DNA molecule is formed by the coiling of a single nucleic acid chain. 1952. Hershey and Chase showed that in the T2 virus DNA is the sole carrier of genetic information form parent to offspring.

1953. Pauling and Corey suggested that the DNA molecule consists of three chains twisted to form a helix.

1953. Watson and Crick presented the now famous double helix model f DNA.

1958. Meselson and Stahl demonstrated that DNA replicates in a semiconservative manner.

1958. Sinsheimer showed that the genetic material of the bacteriophage φX174 is a single strand of DNA.

1961. Jacob and Monod postulated the presence and function of messenger RNA in protein synthesis and proposed the operon concept.

1964. Holley described the nucleotide sequence of a transfer RNA molecule from yeast.

1969. Shapiro published the first picture of an isolated gene (lac duplex).

	Back to Home
Single Stranded DNA Localization of Nucleic Acids Forms of DNA Characteristics of Different Forms of DNA RL Helix and Z-DNA Palindromic DNA Repetitive DNA (Satellite DNA) Satellite DNA of Drosophila Virilis

Home | Site map | Submit Article | Directory | Search