期刊
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
卷 32, 期 2, 页码 91-97出版社
AMER SOC CELL BIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E20-09-0612
关键词
-
类别
The simultaneous discovery of reverse transcriptase in retroviruses by Howard Temin and David Baltimore in 1970 led to a paradigm shift in molecular biology and laid the foundation for the discovery of HIV.
The simultaneous discovery in 1970 of reverse transcriptase in virions of retroviruses by Howard Temin and David Baltimore was perhaps the most dramatic scientific moment of the second half of the 20th century. Ten years previously, Temin's observation of cells transformed by Rous Sarcoma virus led him to the conclusion that retroviruses replicate through a DNA intermediate he called the provirus. This heretical hypothesis was greeted with derision by fellow scientists; Temin and Baltimore performed a simple experiment, rapidly reproduced, and convincing to all. Its result was a major paradigm shift-reversal of the central dogma of molecular biology. It immediately grabbed the attention of both the scientific and lay press. It also came at a key time for cancer research, at the start of the War on Cancer. As a theoretical base and fundamental molecular tool, it enabled a decade of (largely fruitless) search for human oncogenic retroviruses but laid the foundation for the discovery of HIV 13 years later, leading to the development of effective therapy. I had the good fortune, as a student in Temin's lab, to witness these events. I am honored to be able to share my recollection on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据