4 Ladie Crest Lane
St. Louis County 17, Missouri
February 21, 1957

Dr. Joshua Lederberg

Department of Genetics

College of Agriculture

The University of /isconsin

Madison, “isconsin

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

Thank your very much for your letter and your reprints.
I don't know exactly now to begin to answer your questions
concerning my choice of a major field of interest. The
fact is that my exposure to the field of microbial geneétics
has been entirely througn general genetics and evolution
courses, seminars, andsome reading of the literature. I
have never had a formal course in microbial genetics and
have had no laboratory exverience with the subject.

However, my interest in genetics is well crystallized.
I think I have had rather a broad exposure to the field
tarough the genetics «nd cytology courses I cave taken,
tne genetics seminars in which I nave particivated, and
the independent work in vopulation genetics which I aave
done. Our department, as you pernaps know, is more concerned
with the study of fly populations and parthenogenesis than
with the mechanisms of gene action, and it is in these
aspects of genetics tnat I have had the most experience.

But the questions of the nature of the gene and the
nature of gene action seem to me to be much more interesting
and ambitious than those asked by population geneticists,
and my slight exposure to the field of microbial genetics,
which is so much better suited to deal with such problems
than is the study of flies, has made me completely dissatis-—
fied with the more sunerficial questions of genetics. I
have grown much more interested in the intimate details.

So my interest in the field of microbial genetics stems,
for the most part, not from a specific knowledge of the
field, but rather from a fascination with the questions
with which it is suited to deal. I nope this is a satifactory
answer to your questions; it is terribly hard to be very
objective wnere questions of interest are concerned.

Thank you once again for your letter and reprints.

Sincerely Yours,