The Report That Genes Direct the Synthesis of Proteins Was

Question

The report that genes direct the synthesis of proteins was first made by
A) Lederberg.
B) Watson and Crick.
C) Beadle and Tatum.
D) Mendel.
E) Curie.

Accepted Answer

Beadle and Tatum conducted experiments with the bread mold Neurospora crassa, which showed that specific mutations in genes resulted in the inability of the mold to synthesize certain amino acids. This led them to propose the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis, which was later modified to the "one gene, one polypeptide" hypothesis, as not all proteins are enzymes. This hypothesis demonstrated that genes were responsible for directing the synthesis of proteins.