Har Gobind Khorana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har_Gobind_Khorana

Har Gobind Khorana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Har Gobind Khorana also known as Hargobind Khorana (January 9, 1922 November 9, 2011)[2][3] was a biochemist who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that helped to show how the nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell, control the cells synthesis of proteins. Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in the same year.[4] He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1966,[1] and subsequently received the National Medal of Science. He served as MIT's Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Emeritus[5] and was a member of the Board of Scientific Governors at The Scripps Research Institute.

Har Gobind Khorana

Contents
1 Early life and education 2 Research work 3 Subsequent research 4 Legacy 4.1 Death 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Born Died Residence

January 9, 1922 Raipur,{chhattisgarh} November 9, 2011 (aged 89) Concord, Massachusetts, U.S. India/Pakistan, United States, United Kingdom

Citizenship United States[1] Fields Molecular biology Institutions MIT (19702007) University of Wisconsin, Madison (196070) University of British Columbia (195260) Cambridge University (195052) Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (194849) Alma mater University of the Punjab University of Liverpool Known for First to demonstrate the role of nucleotides in protein synthesis Notable awards Nobel Prize in Medicine (1968), Gairdner Foundation International Award, Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, Padma Vibhushan

Early life and education

Khorana was born to Hindu[6] parents in Raipur village in West Punjab, British India, currently Pakistan.[7][8] His father was the village "patwari" (or taxation official). He was home schooled by his father until high school. He earned his B.Sc from Punjab University, Lahore, in 1943, and his M.Sc from Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan in 1945. In 1945, he began studying at the University of Liverpool. After earning a Ph.D in 1948, he continued his postdoctoral studies in Zrich (19481949). Subsequently, he spent two years at Cambridge University. In 1952 he went to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and in 1960 moved to the

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Har Gobind Khorana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har_Gobind_Khorana

University of WisconsinMadison. In 1970 Khorana became the Alfred Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked until retiring in 2007. [9]

Signature

Khorana married Esther Elizabeth Sibler, of Swiss origin, in 1952.[10] They had three children: Julia Elizabeth (born May 4, 1953), Emily Anne (born October 18, 1954; died 1979), and Dave Roy (born July 26, 1958).[10]

Research work
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) with three repeating units (UCUCUCU UCU CUC UCU) produced two alternating amino acids. This, combined with the Nirenberg and Leder experiment, showed that UCU codes for Serine and CUC codes for Leucine. RNAs with three repeating units (UACUACUA UAC UAC UAC, or ACU ACU ACU, or CUA CUA CUA) produced three different strings of amino acids. RNAs with four repeating units including UAG, UAA, or UGA, produced only dipeptides and tripeptides thus revealing that UAG, UAA and UGA are stop codons.[citation needed] With this, Khorana and his team had established that the mother of all codes, the biological language common to all living organisms, is spelled out in three-letter words: each set of three nucleotides codes for a specific amino acid. Their Nobel lecture was delivered on December 12, 1968.[11] Khorana was the first scientist to synthesize oligonucleotides. [12]

Subsequent research
He extended the above to long DNA Polymers using non-aqueous chemistry and assembled these into the first synthetic gene, using polymerase and ligase enzymes that link pieces of DNA together.[13] as well as methods that anticipated the invention of PCR.[14] These custom-designed pieces of artificial genes are widely used in biology labs for sequencing, cloning and engineering new plants and animals. This invention of Khorana has become automated and commercialized so that anyone now can order a synthetic gene from any of a number of companies. One merely needs to send the genetic sequence to one of the companies to receive an oligonucleotide with the desired sequence. His lab has since mid 1970s [15] studied the biochemistry of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin responsible for converting photon energy into proton gradient energy and most recently studying the structural related visual pigment rhodopsin.[16]

Legacy
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Government of India (DBT Department of Biotechnology), and the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum jointly created the Khorana Program in 2007. The mission of the Khorana Program is to build a seamless community of scientists, industrialists, and social entrepreneurs in the United States and India. The program is focused on three objectives: Providing graduate and undergraduate students with a transformative research experience, engaging partners in rural development and food security, and facilitating public-private partnerships between the U.S. and India. In 2009, Khorana was hosted by the Khorana Program

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Har Gobind Khorana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har_Gobind_Khorana

and honored at the 33rd Steenbock Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin.[citation needed]

Death
Khorana died of natural causes on November 9, 2011 in Concord, Massachusetts, aged 89.[17] A widower, he was survived by his children Julia and Dave.[18]

See also
History of RNA biology List of RNA biologists

References
1. ^ a b "HG Khorana Britannica" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/316846 /Har-Gobind-Khorana). 2. ^ Caruthers, M.; Wells, R. (2011). "Har Gobind Khorana (1922-2011)". Science 334 (6062): 1511. doi:10.1126/science.1217138 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1126%2Fscience.1217138). PMID 22174242 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22174242). 3. ^ Rajbhandary, U. L. (2011). "Har Gobind Khorana (19222011)". Nature 480 (7377): 322. doi:10.1038/480322a (http://dx.doi.org /10.1038%2F480322a). 4. ^ "The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize" (http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/horwitz). 5. ^ "MIT HG Khorana MIT laboratory" (http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/www/faculty /khorana.html). 6. ^ "Gobind Khorana, MIT professor emeritus, dies at 89 MIT News Office" (http://web.mit.edu /newsoffice/2011/obit-khorana-1110.html). Web.mit.edu. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 7. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1968" (http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine /laureates/1968/khorana-bio.html). The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 8. ^ Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine, 19631970, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972 9. ^ Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel Prize-winning biologist, dies at 89 (http://www.miamiherald.com /2011/11/12/2498822/har-gobind-khorana-nobelprize.html) 10. ^ a b "HG Khorana Nobel Biography" (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates /1968/khorana-bio.html). 11. ^ "HG Khorana Nobel Lecture" (http://nobelprize.org 12. /nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1968/khoranalecture.html). ^ Khorana, H. G. (1979). "Total synthesis of a gene". Science 203 (4381): 614625. doi:10.1126/science.366749 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1126%2Fscience.366749). PMID 366749 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/366749). ^ Khorana, H. G. (1979). "Total synthesis of a gene". Science 203 (4381): 614625. doi:10.1126/science.366749 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1126%2Fscience.366749). PMID 366749 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/366749). ^ Kleppe, K.; Ohtsuka, E.; Kleppe, R.; Molineux, I.; Khorana, H. G. (1971). "Studies on polynucleotides *1, *2XCVI. Repair replication of short synthetic DNA's as catalyzed by DNA polymerases". Journal of Molecular Biology 56 (2): 341361. doi:10.1016/0022-2836(71)90469-4 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1016%2F0022-2836%2871%2990469-4). PMID 4927950 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed /4927950). ^ Wildenauer, D.; Khorana, H. G. (1977). "The preparation of lipid-depleted bacteriorhodopsin". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 466 (2): 315324. doi:10.1016/0005-2736(77)90227-9 (http://dx.doi.org /10.1016%2F0005-2736%2877%2990227-9). PMID 857886 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed /857886). ^ Ahuja, S.; Crocker, E.; Eilers, M.; Hornak, V.; Hirshfeld, A.; Ziliox, M.; Syrett, N.; Reeves, P. J. et al. (2009). "Location of the Retinal Chromophore in the Activated State of Rhodopsin*" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles /PMC2665073). Journal of Biological Chemistry 284 (15): 1019010201. doi:10.1074/jbc.M805725200 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1074%2Fjbc.M805725200). PMC 2665073 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles

13.

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16.

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/PMC2665073). PMID 19176531 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19176531). 17. ^ "Gobind Khorana, MIT professor emeritus, dies at 89 MIT News Office" (http://web.mit.edu /newsoffice/2011/obit-khorana-1110.html). Web.mit.edu. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2011-11-12.

18. ^ Chandigarh mourns death of Nobel laureate Hargobind Khorana (http://www.hindustantimes.com /India-news/Chandigarh/Chandigarh-mourns-deathof-Nobel-laureate-Hargobind-Khorana /Article1-767916.aspx)

External links
The Khorana Program (http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/ansari/khorana_program/) 33rd Steenbock Symposium (http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/seminars/steenbock/symposium33/) Thomas P. Sakmar (2012). "Har Gobind Khorana (19222011): Pioneering Spirit". PLoS Biology 10 (2). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001273 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001273). PDF (http://www.plosbiology.org/article /fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001273& representation=PDF) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Har_Gobind_Khorana&oldid=550339390" Categories: 1922 births 2011 deaths University of the Punjab alumni Naturalized citizens of the United States Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Alumni of the University of Liverpool Indian emigrants to the United States Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Indian biochemists Punjabi academics People from Punjab, India Punjabi Nobel laureates Indian Nobel laureates Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences National Medal of Science laureates Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Government College University, Lahore alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty The Scripps Research Institute Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Disease-related deaths in Massachusetts University of British Columbia faculty Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research This page was last modified on 14 April 2013 at 17:47. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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