UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 
BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO 
DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY 
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720 
October 17, 1984 
Dr. William J. Gartland 
Executive Secretary, RAC 
National Institute of Allergy 
and Infectious Diseases 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
Mr. Rifkin’s proposed amendment would put an end to the molecular study 
of the nature of the genetic barriers between mammalian species. 
Much remains to be learned about those barriers (Ferris et at, 1983a). 
Their study will give us a deeper understanding of the nature of species 
and the process of evolution. In particular, interspecific transfer of genes 
will allow testing of ideas about the nature of species differences and the 
forces that mold the gene pools of species. 
Evolution is a process that affects all species. What controls its rate 
(which is very high in many mammals) and direction is only now beginning 
to be understood as the result of molecular genetic studies. NIH and N5F 
have an obligation to society to foster research into the nature of this 
fundamental biological process. 
Yours sincerely, 
Allan C. Wilson 
Professor of Biochemistry 
ACW/k 
Enel. Ferris et a/, 1983a 
cc: Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein 
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