Department of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconein February 11, 1952

Dear Mr. Loutit:

Your letter of the 30th Jan. has just been received. As the
letterhead shows, airmail service is not a little faster than the
3-month schedule for surface mail.

I am pleased to hear that you have undertaken recombination tests
with your mutants, even if they were unrewarding. I had a similar experi-
ence with my mutants of Pseudomonas fluogescens. On a long chanca, it
might sometime be worthwhile combining the two sete of cultures. Meanwhile,
we are finally gaining some insights into the determination of fertility
in E. coli. About 35 distihet fertile strains have now been isolated, in
addition to the original K-12. A parallel program with Salmonella has given
a surprising result: there is a recombination mechaniem, but it is not
sexual. Instead, filtrable particles mediate the "$ransduction" of indivyi-
dual differential traits from one strain to another, something along the
lines of the pneumococcus transformation. It is certainly worthwhile to
continue looking at other bacterda for their genetic properties.

I would sympathize somewhat more acutely with your isolation if it
were not for the recent recruitment of Professor Catcheside to the Botany
Department of your University. I do not know whether he has yet arrived;
please give him my best regards if you should chance to see him. Of course,
your hopes of some postdoctoral travel should be encouraged nonetheless.

Your inquiry about an assistantship did not provide enough information
for me to give a full answer. In particular, I would like to know just
when you planned to complete your work, and how long you wanted to séay.
I suspect the word “assistantship” has a different connotation in American
and in Antipodal ueage. If you mean an appointment commensurate with your
professional training (ee. a postdoctoral), I regret that I must tell you
that the University of Wisconsin could not subsidize it. Stipends have been
provided for graduate students, but 4+ would be difficult to justify thear
application to a postdoctoral fellow whose stay in the laboratory was
motivated by hie own immediate needs. I hope this does not sound too severe;
I merely wish to point out that you can and should look to other sources.

I am not acpainted with the current status ef the program, but have
you considered looking fer a Fulbright Act Exchange Fellowship. Some

of our people have gone to New Zealand under these auspices, and the pro-

gram is reciprocal. Unfortunately, the passage of this hurdle would expose
another: we are in an exeerably crowded condition. There is, however, some
prospect of relief for our space needs by early next year, so this discue—
sion is not entirely pointless. If you would like to follow this up, please
send me a more detailed exposition of your plans, followed by the usual
records of adcademic achievment. Your application need not be submitted
formally until after preliminary discussion.

Yours sincerely,
Joshua Lederberg,

Associate Professor of
Genetics