Norton David Zinder (November 7, 1928 – February 3, 2012) was an American biologist famous for his discovery of genetic transduction. Zinder was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, received his A.B. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1947, Ph.D. from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1952, and became a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1969. He led a lab at

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

until shortly before his death. In 1966 he was awarded the

NAS Award in Molecular Biology The NAS Award in Molecular Biology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States." It has been awarded annually since its inception ...

from the National Academy of Sciences.

Genetic transduction and RNA bacteriophage

Working as a graduate student with

Joshua Lederberg Joshua Lederberg (May 23, 1925 – February 2, 2008) was an American molecular biology, molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won t ...

, Zinder discovered that a

bacteriophage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a phage (), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. The term is derived . Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that Capsid, encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structu ...

can carry genes from one

bacterium Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

to another. Initial experiments were carried out using ''

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two known species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' ...

''. Zinder and Lederberg named this process of genetic exchange transduction. Later, Zinder discovered the first

that contained

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

as its genetic material. At that time, Harvey Lodish (now of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Whitehead may refer to: * Whitehead (comedo), a blocked sweat/sebaceous duct of the skin * Whitehead (bird), a small species of passerine bird, endemic to New Zealand * Whitehead building, heritage listed residence of the principal of the Univer ...

) worked in his lab. Norton Zinder died in 2012 of pneumonia after a long illness.Nicolas Wade:
Norton D. Zinder, Researcher in Molecular Biology, Dies at 83
'' In: ''The New York Times.'' February 7, 2012.

Genetic transduction and RNA bacteriophage

References

Further reading