Robert W. Holley

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Robert W. Holley
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Cornell University
Known forTransfer RNA
AwardsAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1965)
NAS Award in Molecular Biology (1967)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1968)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
InstitutionsSalk Institute for Biological Studies
Robert W. Holley, on the far left

Robert William Holley (January 28, 1922 – February 11, 1993) was an American

protein synthesis
.

Holley was born in

PhD studies in organic chemistry at Cornell University. During World War II Holley spent two years working under Professor Vincent du Vigneaud at Cornell University Medical College, where he was involved in the first chemical synthesis of penicillin. Holley completed his PhD studies in 1947.[1][2][3]

Following his graduate studies Holley remained associated with Cornell. He became an assistant professor of organic chemistry in 1948, and was appointed as professor of biochemistry in 1962. He began his research on RNA after spending a year's sabbatical (1955–1956) studying with James F. Bonner at the California Institute of Technology.

Holley's research on

tRNA, the molecule that incorporates the amino acid alanine into proteins. Holley's team of researchers determined the tRNA's structure by using two ribonucleases to split the tRNA molecule into pieces. Each enzyme split the molecule at location points for specific nucleotides. By a process of "puzzling out" the structure of the pieces split by the two different enzymes, then comparing the pieces from both enzyme splits, the team eventually determined the entire structure of the molecule. The group of researchers include Elizabeth Beach Keller, who developed the cloverleaf model that describes transfer RNA, during the course of the research.[4]

The structure was completed in 1964,

Marshall W. Nirenberg
were also awarded the prize that year for contributions to the understanding of protein synthesis.

Using the Holley team's method, other scientists determined the structures of the remaining tRNA's. A few years later the method was modified to help track the sequence of nucleotides in various bacterial, plant, and human viruses.

In 1968 Holley became a resident fellow at the

La Jolla, California
.

According to the New York Times obituary, "He was an avid outdoorsman and an amateur sculptor of bronze."

See also

References

  1. ^ USDA Agricultural Research Service. "Probing the Mystery of Life".
  2. ^ Nobelprize.org. "Robert W. Holley – Biography".
  3. ^ Thavanathan, R. & Morgan, S. "Who was the mysterious and possibly dangerous man we call ......Robert W. Holley (1922–1993) ?".
  4. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  5. PMID 14299636
    .
  6. S2CID 40989800
    .
  7. ^ "Holley's Nobel Lecture" (PDF).

External links

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