STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS
November 17, 1977

Dr. George W. Beadle
5533 Dorchester Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637

Dear Beets: . (Hormay )

Thank you for your note of the 13th and the comments from Norm, that
you forwarded. I am happy to have the corrections about kynurenine and the
other points that Norm mentioned, and will incorporate them into the final
version.

However, about biotin as a growth factor I am almost certain that this
was found independently by Tatum. The way that the Butler, Robbins and Dodge
paper is mentioned in your own PNAS article published in November 1941 left
me that impression the very first time that I read the paper. Their article
appeared on September 12, 1941. Your PNAS manuscript was communicated on
October 8th. It looks as if your reference to the Science article was an
afterthought, put in at the very last moment just when their paper appeared.

In addition, here is Ed Tatum's notebook for March 18, 1941. His first
effort to grow Neurospora on a synthetic medium used only thiamin: when this
didn’t work, he tried biotin with and without supplements. There is no mention
of Robbins, and the way he went about it also makes pretty clear that he did
not simply have a direct early communication of their work. Now all this is
hardly a rigorous argument, and if there were some side correspondence still
available, one might be able to make another case. However, I am inclined
to let the wording stand as it is without attempting to push the matter
any further than that, unless, of course, you have a contrary recollection.

I am delighted to have your commendation of the article, and so I will
be sending the original to Corner by the same post, finally to put this obli-
gation to rest.

My best wishes, as ever,

Yours,

i Umniy.

iJ» 7 Joshua Lederberg
, Professor of Genetics
Enclosure

: : - oe : : . ae
7 In so far as we have carried them, our investigations on-the vitamin requirementsi

of Neurospora corroborate those of Butler, E. T., Robbias, W. J., and Dodge, B. OF:
Science, 94, 262-263 (1941). ee

JL:ek-f

   
 

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