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DNA replication and beyond

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 17, page 464 (2016)Cite this article

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In January 1957, Herbert Taylor and two colleagues published a paper in the PNAS showing clearly that the DNA in chromosomes of the bean Vicia faba replicates semi-conservatively, as predicted by the Watson–Crick model. By following the distribution of radioactive label during two mitoses, they further showed that each chromosome behaves like a single DNA molecule. Eighteen months later, in the July 1958 issue of the same journal, Meselson and Stahl showed that the DNA of Escherichia coli also replicates semi-conservatively, but they did not examine individual chromosomes.

Both papers are noteworthy for introducing revolutionary technology to achieve their goals. Taylor et al. synthesized 3H-thymidine for the first time and showed that it could be used in autoradiographs to localize newly replicated DNA with μm precision. Meselson and Stahl introduced caesium chloride density gradient centrifugation, which enabled the physical separation of DNA molecules that differ only slightly in buoyant density. The two experiments are complementary (no pun intended): both demonstrated that DNA replicates semi-conservatively.

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References

  1. Taylor, J. H., Woods, P. S. & Hughes, W. L. The organization and duplication of chromosomes as revealed by autoradiographic studies using tritium-labeled thymidine. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 43, 122–128 (1957)

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  2. Meselson, M. & Stahl, F. W. The replication of DNA in Escherichia coli. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 44, 671–682 (1958)

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  1. Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 3520 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, 21218, Maryland, USA

    Joseph G. Gall

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  1. Joseph G. Gall
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Correspondence to Joseph G. Gall.

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Gall, J. DNA replication and beyond. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 17, 464 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm.2016.89

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