Experiment nirenberg matthaei khorana biography

1961 scientific experiment instrumental in deciphering the genetic code

The Nirenberg and Matthaei experiment was a scientific experiment performed in May 1961 by Marshall W.

Nirenberg and his post-doctoral fellow, J. Heinrich Matthaei, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The experiment deciphered the first of the 64 triplet codons in the genetic code by using nucleic acidhomopolymers to translate specific amino acids.

In the experiment, an extract was prepared from bacterial cells that could make protein without the presence of intact living cells. An artificial form of RNA consisting entirely of uracil-containing nucleotides (polyuridylic acid or poly-U) was added to the extract, causing it to form a protein composed entirely of the amino acid phenylalanine.

This experiment cracked the first codon of the genetic code and showed that RNA controlled the production of specific types of protein.

Background

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