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Hurwitz joined the microbiology department at [[Washington University]] in 1956 and began investigating the incorporation of [[ribonucleotides]] into [[RNA]]. Two years later, he moved back to New York and became an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the [[New York University]] (NYU) School of Medicine, where he continued to study RNA synthesis.
Hurwitz joined the microbiology department at [[Washington University]] in 1956 and began investigating the incorporation of [[ribonucleotides]] into [[RNA]]. Two years later, he moved back to New York and became an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the [[New York University]] (NYU) School of Medicine, where he continued to study RNA synthesis.


In 1955, Marianne Grunberg-Manago and [[Severo Ochoa]] had reported the isolation of an enzyme that catalyzed the synthesis of RNA. This enzyme was at first hoped to be responsible for the synthesis of RNA in cells, and Ochoa's discovery was honored with a [[Nobel prize]] in 1959. However, it was later realized that Ochoa's enzyme did not use DNA to synthesize RNA but instead formed arbitrary sequences, and later this enzyme was found to degrade RNA in cells. Undeterred by Ochoa's findings, Hurwitz searched for a cellular RNA polymerase on his own and in 1960 he reported the isolation of RNA polymerase activity from [[Escherichia coli]] extracts.<ref>{{Cite journal
In 1955, [[Marianne Grunberg-Manago]] and [[Severo Ochoa]] had reported the isolation of an enzyme that catalyzed the synthesis of RNA. This enzyme was at first hoped to be responsible for the synthesis of RNA in cells, and Ochoa's discovery was honored with a [[Nobel prize]] in 1959. However, it was later realized that Ochoa's enzyme did not use DNA to synthesize RNA but instead formed arbitrary sequences, and later this enzyme was found to degrade RNA in cells. Undeterred by Ochoa's findings, Hurwitz searched for a cellular RNA polymerase on his own and in 1960 he reported the isolation of RNA polymerase activity from [[Escherichia coli]] extracts.<ref>{{Cite journal
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| year = 2005
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Hurwitz along with PhD student [[Sue Wickner]] and [[Reed Wickner]] also worked on how the DNA of single stranded DNA virus became replicated. They identified the enzymes that converted single stranded DNA of the Phi X174 virus into the double stranded replicative form by means of studying which genes were required for the ''in vitro'' synthesis of the double stranded DNA.<ref>Harrison Echols. (2001) ''Operators and Promoters: The Story of Molecular Biology and its Creators.'' University of California Press.</ref>


==Awards and honors==
==Awards and honors==

Revision as of 08:52, 30 November 2018

Jerard Hurwitz
Alma mater
Known forRNA polymerase discovery
AwardsEli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry
Scientific career
InstitutionsMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
ThesisThe metabolism of vitamin b₆ derivatives (1953)
Websitewww.mskcc.org/research-areas/labs/jerard-hurwitz

Jerard Hurwitz (born 1928) is an American biochemist who co-discovered RNA polymerase in 1960 along with Sam Weiss, Audrey Stevens, and James Bonner. He currently works at the Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York studying DNA replication in eukaryotes and its control.[3]

Education

Hurwitz attended Indiana University, earning a B.A. in Chemistry in 1949. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1953 from Case Western Reserve University.

Career

Hurwitz joined the microbiology department at Washington University in 1956 and began investigating the incorporation of ribonucleotides into RNA. Two years later, he moved back to New York and became an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, where he continued to study RNA synthesis.

In 1955, Marianne Grunberg-Manago and Severo Ochoa had reported the isolation of an enzyme that catalyzed the synthesis of RNA. This enzyme was at first hoped to be responsible for the synthesis of RNA in cells, and Ochoa's discovery was honored with a Nobel prize in 1959. However, it was later realized that Ochoa's enzyme did not use DNA to synthesize RNA but instead formed arbitrary sequences, and later this enzyme was found to degrade RNA in cells. Undeterred by Ochoa's findings, Hurwitz searched for a cellular RNA polymerase on his own and in 1960 he reported the isolation of RNA polymerase activity from Escherichia coli extracts.[4] Remarkably, several other research groups reported similar discoveries at roughly the same time (Samuel B. Weiss, Audrey Stevens, and James Bonner). Hurwitz continued his research on RNA synthesis, and in 1962 Hurwitz, John J. Furth, and Monika Anders reported the purification of RNA polymerase.[5]

Hurwitz along with PhD student Sue Wickner and Reed Wickner also worked on how the DNA of single stranded DNA virus became replicated. They identified the enzymes that converted single stranded DNA of the Phi X174 virus into the double stranded replicative form by means of studying which genes were required for the in vitro synthesis of the double stranded DNA.[6]

Awards and honors

Hurwitz is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been honored with the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, the Institut Pasteur Hazen Lectureship, and the New York Academy of Science's Louis and Bert Freeman Foundation Prize for Research in Biochemistry.

References

  1. ^ Uhlmann, F; Gibbs, E; Cai, J; O'Donnell, M; Hurwitz, J (1997). "Identification of regions within the four small subunits of human replication factor C required for complex formation and DNA replication". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 272 (15): 10065–71. doi:10.1074/jbc.272.15.10065. PMID 9092550.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  2. ^ Uhlmann, F. (2007). "What is your assay for sister-chromatid cohesion?". The EMBO Journal. 26 (22): 4609–4618. doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601898. PMC 2080813. PMID 17962808.
  3. ^ The Discovery and Isolation of RNA Polymerase by Jerard Hurwitz
  4. ^ Hurwitz, J (2005). "The discovery of RNA polymerase". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 280 (52): 42477–85. doi:10.1074/jbc.X500006200. PMID 16230341.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  5. ^ Furth, J. J.; Hurwitz, J; Anders, M (1962). "The role of deoxyribonucleic acid in ribonucleic acid synthesis. I. The purification and properties of ribonucleic acid polymerase". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 237: 2611–9. PMID 13895983.
  6. ^ Harrison Echols. (2001) Operators and Promoters: The Story of Molecular Biology and its Creators. University of California Press.
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