Fields Microbiology Name Norton Zinder | Known for Transduction
Virology Doctoral students Harvey Lodish | |
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Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Madison Died February 3, 2012, New York City, New York, United States Education University of Wisconsin-Madison, Columbia University Awards NAS Award in Molecular Biology Notable awards NAS Award in Molecular Biology, AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility | ||
Institutions Rockefeller University Doctoral advisor Joshua Lederberg | ||
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, received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. He led a lab at Rockefeller University until shortly before his death.
In 1966 he was awarded the NAS Award in Molecular Biology from the National Academy of Sciences.
Genetic transduction and RNA bacteriophage
Working as a graduate student with Joshua Lederberg, Zinder discovered that bacteriophage can carry genes from one bacterium to another. Initial experiments were carried out using Salmonella. Zinder and Lederberg named this process of genetic exchange transduction.
Later, Zinder discovered the first bacteriophage that contained RNA as its genetic material. At that time, Harvey Lodish (now of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research) worked in his lab.
He died in 2012 of pneumonia after a long illness.