The eureka enzyme: the discovery of DNA polymerase.
The identification and partial purification by Arthur Kornberg and his colleagues in 1956 of an enzyme - DNA polymerase I of Escherichia coli - that catalysed the stable incorporation of deoxyribonucleotides into DNA in vitro came as a surprise. At the time, most scientists in the field believed that DNA synthesis was too complicated to be accurately reflected outside the living cell.
Friedberg
Errol C
EC
Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 79503-9072, USA. errol.friedberg@utsouthwestern.edu
D001671:Biochemistry / Q000266:history*; D004256:DNA Polymerase I / Q000266:history*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000266:history*
D004256:DNA Polymerase I