June 27, 1955

Dear Miss Husted:

If you are going to give every word in the new edition of your
dictionary the same scrutiny you have exercised on this series, you
will make me retract my critical comments. But the task is so huge
that I would press my suggestion of formal advice from a committee
of technical advisers. You may be interested in the enclosed copy
of my letter to Dr. Glass. Without knowing the likely attitude of
your company to such a proposal, I felt it would be inappropriate
to mention Saunders by name, but if I can be of any catalytic assis-
tance, please let me know.

My notes are given by number-—— therw was not encugh room on the
criginal sheeteg and I would as socn retain a copy for mg own files.
I hope you will appreciate that these terms have often evolved without
careful or consistent direction, and that for many of them there has
been no terminological analysis before this.

Your mentioning books I might be interested in is rather like
setting a child loose in Santa Chhus' workshop and I hardly know where
it could end. From your recent biological lists, deBobertis' Cytology;
Willler—lielss—Hamburger's Development, and Fulton's Physiology are
among those I had thought of purchasing; I have the others you mentioned.

To revert to the previous subject, a good dictionary 1s precisely
what is needed to pub some order into biological terminology. None of
the current editions commands sufficient confidence or respect to be
considered as a lexicographic standard.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg
Profassor of Genetics
Memorandum
J. Lederberg to Saunders (Miss Husted). June 27, 1955

1. The defibition of"haploid" could still be improved. Originally, haploid referred
@ to the set of chromosomes carried by a gamete. More complex situations— "diploid
gamates"—- require a recasting. It might be better to mention both concepts:

1. having a single set of chromosomes, as normally carried by a gamete.*
2./one complete set of non-homologous chromosomes. Cf. diploid.

   

2. having two sets of chromosomes ’ as normally found in somatic cells of
higher organiams.

#germ cell is possbbly ambiguous; perhaps erroneously it might connote the diploid
cells of the germ line. I notice you qualify "mature germ cell" in the def. gamete.

2. other terms all OK as checked. However, Autodiploid is used in the special sense.
of redoubling of chromosomes of a haploid individual or cell (rather than species). |
Allodiploid is used only by contrast with allopolyploid. Df: having a diploid chromo-
some set derived from two parental species, viz., a diploid Nypmisty species hybrid. :

3. All terms in -ploid have a correkative ~ploidy. Ploidy also stands as an independent ~
word (the status of the chromosome set, ¢e.g., whether haploid, diploid, aneuploid, atc.)
So far, not Ploid. :

Is it really necessary to give all these pairs. Why not refer to -ploidy,-ploid to...
show the relationship just once? oS
@ 4. Polyploid chromosome set is redundant, but the phrase is used, perhaps as reinforce-
ment. I would not attempt a concordant definition. .
al species. a
5, Ancestral is mch better. Hux The matter comes up when one parent/is already alloploid.
(Df. alloploid - having any number (two or many) of chromosome sets from different —
species, and autoploid correspondingly. Derived by contraction from allodiploid ang
una allopolyploid). So
6. mmutaptx endopolyploidy. I have to admit the terminology in this area is confused, _
but I em only cite current usage. Polyploidy does mean many chromosomes; endopolyploidy’
is not a category, but an extension. Endomitosis was recognized first, Moouunckumoomakinnd
dick in tissues which undergo no further cell division so that the chromosomes did not.
present themselves to be counted. It was then found that a cell that had gone through one
or more cycles of endomitosis might later go through mitosis, and thereBy xmxekaxckkx reveal
their polploid chromosome number. Endopolyploidy thus overlaps amtmpk autopojyploidy. ~
of chromosomes
Df. Endopolyploidy. Reduplicatian/ esas a result of endomitosis. [If the cell goes through
subsequent mitosis, the endopolyploid will be recognized as polyploid. If not, indirect
mathods, usually cytochemical, furnish the criteria of chromatin reduplication]. Can you
make a definition of thisiJ? Endopolyploidy is def. as the mata state of having... as
well as thea process = endomitosis. Polysomaty (more carefully defined than I did before)
includes endopolyploidy (chromosome redupl.) plus another process (chromatid reduplication
without separation of the strands) (sqmmkixx polyteny). The situation is probablyf more
confused than I have written it, but one could probably sum up by saying that manimpok

@ poly
6. Endophlyploidy, etc. These terms are probably the most confused in genetics.
They are all intended to convey the idea of increase in chromatin, with or without
visible polyploidy, and are all rather vague. They occur too frequent y in the
literature to be dismissed. I suspect that when the facts are better understood
someone will have 66 make a fresh start.

Df. Endopclyploidy: 1. Endomitogis (the process). 2. Polysomaty (the s&ate).
3. Autopolyploidy resulting from a previous endomitotic cycle. -—-ploid follows 2,3.

Erndomitosis: 1. A process of reduplication of chromatin mithantzeuakanes
ttixietoonamt within an intact nucleus, that is without tynical mitosis.

Polysomaty: State of havihg reduplicated chromatin in the nucleus, includddg
an increase in chromosome number (ymkgwkatix endopolyploidy,3.) or in the amount
of chromatin per chromosome (polyteny).

Polyteny: Reduplication of chromonemata (chromatin strands) in the chromosome
without separation into distinct daughter clromosomes.

Thus, endcpolyploidy 3 is a category of autophbyploidy distinguished by mode of
origin. Endopolyploidy 2 is more general. Autopolyploid applies to individuals
and species as well as cells; endopolyploid is applied only to cella and tissues.

This is the best sense I can make of current usages.
7. -trophia is out of fashion currently. Otherwise OK

l.
£.8. Not quite.-tropismis also used for motile organisms to connote change in the
direction of the body axks and thereby of movement. It has come to be used generally
for -—taxis + -tropism 1.

bacterlotropisr..
9. I would think so, admitting it is fundamentally chemical. Compare cytotropism/,
I am only guessing that "biotaxis" has been used this way, but would be willing to
bet cn it. -tropy genebally not used.

10. Cf. applies to l. only.

ll. Yes. You could substitute "genotype" for fundemental.... This is equivabeat to
what you have in the 22d.

12. Connotation differsa— karyotype is the cytogenetic counterpart of genotype.
Also, genotypes may be differentiated by point mutations, which may be considered
outside the scope of karyotype.

16. lysotype, setotype OK. The taxonomists are arguing about their status; -type
4s noncommittal. The question is whether a —type is a species or division of a species.

13. I don't like either definition. 2 is misleading and 2 I've never heard. You
would have to insert "not necessarily" before"different heredity! I would suggest:
Df. the outward, visible expression of the hereditary constitution.ef—an—iadi—
vidual.ii.e., nothing more than the total visible quality of an organism. Phenotype ~
genotype together would be about all we'd know]. I would add, ef. genotype l.

14. phenocopy, in current usage, does refer to the individual 1s well as to the
simulated effect. Df. 1. an individual whose phenotype mimics that of another
genotype, but whose character is determined by the environment and is nob hereditary.
("sometimes may be ? tranamitted one generation, so prefer #thmmmx "not hereditary").
4. 2. The sigulated trait in a phenocopy individual. 3. the simlationsof traits.
15. The unabridged dictionaries should suffice for this. what= types or forms if you like,

@ 262

17. biopoiesis. Most biologists agree that biopoiesis (syn. neoblogenesis) happened at
least once. There is a good deal of speculation nowadays just how.

18. If you have any citation for biparasite leave it as D. hyperparasise.

19."located on a chromosome"is better. Cf. highly desirable. I would actually prefer
to omit the basis of inference and Df. chromogene— a gene théé} is located an a
chromosome. Cf. plasmagene Df. plasmagene—- a gene which is located elsewhere than
on a chromosome, presumably in the cytoplasm. Cf. chromogene,

 

Under gene, to take care of ambiguity in current usage, I would write. Df. 1. Any
unit of heredity. 2. Chromogene.

20. heteroplastic (usually not -plasty). h. transplantation = transplantation between
species hoterograft. (contra df. haterograft in 224.)

j my homoplastic = ditto, different individuals of the same spaies. and homograft, I would
Ei refer isograft bact to homog. rather than vv. ~
autoplastic = ditto,different parts of the same individual, and autograft.

2h. hologynic. Not strictly comparable to holandric, for the reason that bothered you.
The definition is based on 1), which is comparable. But to get hologynic inheritances
..-. (in XY-sex determined systems) you have to have the special situation of .attached-X.
@ It might be as well to omit part 2) from hologynic, as beyond the scope of = dictionary
explanation,

22, lysogen.... I'm sorry I draggad you into the philosophical quibbles of the moment.

lysogenicity and lysogenesis are probably fully synonymous. lysogeny was coined by
., -, lwoff, who refuses to accept the concept of symbiosis and insists on "potentiality
‘. “to produce phage", The best solution is probably to define lysogenicity as the
oo currently most used alternative, and the other two as syn.

Df. lysogenicity 1. ability to produce lysias or cause lysis. 2, potentiality of a

hacterium to produced phage. 3. symbiosis of a bacterium with a phage.

The distinctions, if any, are based on the personal prefereiuces of different authors
who have different viewpoints on the biological nature of Fysog...

23. mutagenicity is the property of being able to cause mitations. mutagenic, mutafacient
is having the propetty... ,

24. I wouldn's bother with preprophage, as I doubt if it will survive one publication.
Prophage should be in. Temperate phawsoout€x, in phage—bacterium interactions, the
property of inducing lysogenicity in some infected bacteria. Lytic (phage) ... in
phage bacterium interactions, the property of killing every infected bacterium.

pone

@ 25. transgenation. Df. mtation. In your citation, and in earlier literature (120s230s)
used synonymously. Nothing to do with transkocation. {I would have wanted to used this
term for transduction, but it was preempted, rather needlessly.)
26. I would leave out the parenthesis. The point may be too subtle for a dictionary
defihition, but there is mich more to sex determination than the differential chromo-
some; you mentioned gourself some confusion from the fact that both mle am female
have an X chromosome, Some males are XO (one X no Y) rather than XY.

Do you want to give the whole picture? In some fishes and birds the sex-deter
mination picture is reversed, and the make is immumyamnteks homogametic (carriss
two W chromosomes) while the femab is heterogametic (WZ ).

The tro situations are briefly contrasted as “"male-heterogamtic" (XY) aid
female~heteropametic (WZ).

27. OK, How about: in cross-pollinated plants, appearance in the endosperm (seed)
of dominant characters inherited from the male (pollen) parent. I still wonder
about the etymology but have not take time to look up the source. Perhaps Gr. xenia
(related to xenos, stranger) is not accurately translated as hospitality, but is
closer to "guestship". I would have guessed, from ths meaning, that xenia (Bng.)
Was closer to xenos then to hospitelity. ab yy