SUPPLEMENT V 



A CASE HISTORY IN BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH. 



By 



E. L. Tatum. 

 Nobel Lecture, December ii, 1958. 



In casting around in search of a new approach, an important consideration 

 was that much of biochemical genetics has been and will be covered by Pro- 

 fessor Beadle and Professor Lederberg, and in many symposia and reviews, 

 in which many aspects have been and will be considered in greater detail 

 and with greater competence than I can hope to do here. It occurred to me 

 that perhaps it might be instructive, valuable, and interesting to use the 

 approach which I have attempted to define by the title "A Case History in 

 Biological Research". In the development of this case history I hope to point 

 out some of the factors involved in all research, specifically the dependence 

 of scientific progress: on knowledge and concepts provided by investigators 

 of the past and present all over the world; on the free interchange of ideas 

 within the international scientific community; on the hybrid vigor resulting 

 from cross-fertilization between disciphnes; and last but not least, also depend- 

 ent on chance, geographical proximity, and opportunity. I would like finally 

 to complete this case history with a brief discussion of the present status of 

 the field, and a prognosis of its possible development. 



Under the circumstances, I hope I will be forgiven if this presentation is 

 given from a personal viewpoint. After graduating from the University of 

 Wisconsin in chemistry, I was fortunate in having the opportunity of doing 

 graduate work in biochemistry and microbiology at this University under the 

 direction and leadership of W. H. Peterson and E. B. Fred. At that time, 

 in the early 30's, one of the exciting areas being opened concerned the so- 

 called "growth-factors" for microorgaisms, for the most part as yet mysterious 

 and unidentified. I became deeply involved in this field, and was fortunate 

 to have been able, in collaboration with H. G. Wood, then visiting at Wiscon- 

 sin, to identify one of the required growth-factors for propionic acid bacteria, 

 as the recently synthesized vitamin Bi or thiamine (i). This was before the 



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