‘or Physiology end Medicine to propose. Cundidates for the Mobel Prize for raysiology aad Medicine in 195u. Tt fa to do ao thet I send the proeent Tt Le ex honor and privilege to te e2i6d by the menbers of the Wobel-Comat‘ee. Before coming to Harvard University eight years ago, to devote all of my tie end enargies to my sduicletrative duties is Deca of the Faculty of hiedtciae, ny professional field was, as you know, Bacteriology and Virology. Partly «ur the reasoa that I au accordingly more feailier with the rapid edvences that are veing made in the field of biclogy thruugh the study of aicroorganisas and vircses, but more perticularly because I be Lieve there is po area of biology in wilan Fundamental knowledge fe being more effactively ecqgiired, I bave sought the co. lmooration of ny distinguised colleague, lr. Bernard David Devie, -rofessu: :” Butterlology and Gammalogy an. used of the Department at the Uaceud Pind ee scnuol, in articulating for you bu somineting candidates for the Boos! Prive oof conwletion that the thoughts I exprossed at tus legiantng of this sentence ere _trus. Being aa importent cantrimitor to the «pending field of microbial | penetics end metabolian, Professor Davie ie furtharmore far better eqilppes to prepare ao Getelied stetement for you than em i. Below, I quote from his state aeat to which I gubesribe fully and enitlusiasticaily as do a mmber of his other SO. leagues et Barvard vho participated in the preparation of our nomination through discussione with us. - _ “HO area of Diology bas had @ more striking efflorescence in the past 20 years than hee microbial geactice. JMeroorgent@as bive proved to offer great adventures in epprmacning eaperieentally many of tie noet genermi problems of biology; a large muster of brilijant investi eators have been ettracted to this field ey the pourlbiiity of aulving such robles throign @ combination of Simple technics ond ingeniously Gesigue. experiments . “haong the most significast discoveries in microbial genetics axe tae following: 7: : “Lh. Deecxyritomeletc acid (BHA), a anterial previously considered to have little specificity, hes bee: ehow to be the bearer ef gesatic invermation in bucteria. Tuts diacovery, sande by the late O.T avery, bas led to the Widesprund present interest of Diuchomieta in the etructire of ‘nls substance, in ite metebolian, and ic iitinetebolites that inverter, With ite synthesis. Tt hee strice been found thet the gemetic infounsstion ar Tope b= sh ttes * for Pry stology and meciue eooary BS, 1938 4 ¢ettain viruses is olso carried ic their mucleic acid (DNA for becterial viruses and RA for plart viruses). "2. The myetemitic laolation of mierobial mutants blocked in nk bioaypthetic reactions hee had a miaher of iaportant coasequences. (a) “tae provided a eharper conception of the function of a geor - that of rorié. ing information eseential for the ayninesis of a corresponding enaywe or Ciker macfomolecule. (db) ‘the availability of a wide variety of genetic warkaTs in microbes has made pesaibie genetic wtfies with auch larger popula- ticne than could be previcusly handled. It. therefore became poesia to study autations and alec recombinations tuet ocearred with extraordinarily tov frequency; mach studies showed tiat genstic recombinations, previsuecy Goeerved +0 odour betwen geees (defined ee functional units), aleo ocour between aites witain a gene. (c) The application of microbial mtante to problems © ~ Sptermediary meabolian has epde posaldle the soalysie of « wide voriaty afr Soayathetic pathways, and is sow coutrivutiog to an emalycis of the regalatocy Moe | machaat owe thet sentrol the traffic throug) these pathways in the cell. pageiva transfer of various i fs "$0 ‘Mecteria, previously conaldared te exhibit inheritance only by Sinery fission, heve been ehow to waderge geoetic recombination through seilular contact and also, in certain iustences, thragh “tranedaction’, i.#. ymente of bacverial DRA ty « virus (bacterio- | phage) moving fran « dosor celi- ar genetically differeat recipient cell. ‘These develaypasnts beve intexves?t not. only Decause of the light they tirow co: - the nature of bacteria amd Viruses, but also because they have made it possible ta atudy ganetic prehiena in wacteria, which offer the experimentar eigni fica: _eayertaane over other migrourgent ems. i ve Matetion and recombinstion bave also been shown to oceur in vacteriel apd in eoleal viruses. Foconbinaticn tn tecteriel viruses has made it possible to distinguish mitations that are loc ated only a few mucleotise poten pars on a BEA chain. Theses :emite provide & substantial basia for he dope thet the chengs in TA prods oad hy = elation will soon be def ied 7 chemical ‘teras. : "§, Ween a vactariua is infected by a tanperate phase fone of low virulenes; the bacterium vill sometimes becomes lysogenic, 1.e., it will carry the genetic potentiality far producing identical paage particies in a future peoeration. It has been shown that the lysceenic state involves incorporation of the phage SHA into a particular site on tie becterial DRA obein, where it behaves in genctic wxperiments like one of tor cell's genes. Under a suitable etimlus the iacorporated phage (prophage) is released as a free DAA particle (vegetative phage). ‘The cell is thereby gilded to make more of the sane DKA together with the corresponding proteiz, and these components are then coubined aud released by coll lyeie as complete (infective) phage particles. The demon stration of this cyele breaks down the berricr between a gene and a virus, arn taie new concept will surely tetiuence studies on the origio of cancer. —WAth 80 aany brillienbechievesots to cansi¢er, ane could cite many investigators in this field es appropriate candidates for a Nobel Prise. Theee vould Anchade the ‘followings “be Nobel ommittes far Paysiology acd Medicine wR 2, 1958 Sear “ee We Reaile, of tue California Institute of Teehnology , wo with *he cOilaboration of B.L. Tatum developed the systematic isolation of bioahend ce.) mutants of the mold Seurospore and initiated their use to study biosynthetic patineays, and whe then Provided o fire foundation for the one-geos-ont-ensyoe hypothesis. ' "J. Ledexvverg, of the University of Wisconsin, who discovered genetic: recombination and trensductian in teeterta, and ths fact thit im a lysogenic pactertum the genetic capeeity to produce phage strain is located at a epscific lotus an a bacterial chromosow. "M. Dalbrack, of the Califorata Institite of Teelmology, whe developed the methodology that made 1% posalble to study becterlupbage grovth and muita tion quantitatively. , “A.D. Herabey, of the Carnegie Institution at Cold pring Harbor, bey it York, whe discovered genetic recumbination in becterlophage and aleo the Tac’. that, when e phage infecta a bacterius, the plage DNA penetrates aad the protein is left qutaide. “A. lwofl, of the Pasteur Dastitute, who established that the eyale of lysogenic infection by a bacteriophage involves thiwe farme of the virus: infective, vegetative, end prophage. “the choice in this field is Aifficult, and it is lixely to becast im creasingly so in future years since the fiell continues to attract many gutatanding investigators. Yor the gertinai value uf their work in opealng u5 large oew areas, Beadle, Delbruck, and Lederverg wuld be formost. For the original and imaginative nature of their éiscovertes on besteriophage, we beliewe lederbarg, Luoff, end Hershey wuld be the best chaioces, Dather thas try to narrow th: choies furtuer, we ahold like te vocammead imat ail five: of these individuals ultimately receive a Bobel Prise. This would fora a milteble begkground for the inevitetle later consideration of the work of Sataon ad Grick on the atrusture of Dak ant that of Kocaberg on ste enaymti> ayntosale. . Because in the present letter we lavite attention to the qualifications : of « mumber of ocutestamling camlidates rather thas to these of s single individael, we are teking the liberty cf mot ineluding the bibliographies of those ii:ted sbove. i* is inccnceivable to me, furthernsve, that this material is sot — already available to the meabers of tue Kote.-Comalttee. Should this not be. the case, and should you wish to heave this aeterial subaitted, we would be haway to prepare 1¢ for you Bere on any or sii of the eundidetes. manttoned: Sinesrely yours, George Packer Berry, MD. bom “ the my. ot Medicine end. OPR ers