| RefNo | EC/1980/24 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 201 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Linnane, Anthony William: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1976 |
| Description | Citation typed. Supporting letter attached |
| Citation | In 1965 he discovered that some antibacterial antibiotics (e.g. chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline, lincomycin) are specific inhibitors of mitochondrial protein synthesis. This class of antibiotic is now routinely used to distinguish between mitochondrial and cytosolic protein synthesis in eukaryote cells (other than plant cells). Antibiotic-resistant mutations were subsequently isolated by Linnane and shown to be located in mitochondrial DNA. The isolation of the first erythromycin-resistant mutant enabled him to apply formal genetic procedures to the analysis of the cytoplasmic (mitochondrial) genetic systems in yeast; later these procedures were adapted by others to a wide range of organisms. Linnane and colleagues also developed the concept of mitochondrial gene purification in cytoplasmic petite mutants, to demonstrate the existence of petite mutants which completely lack mitochondrial DNA and most recently to develop procedures for relating genetic and physical maps of the mitochondrial genome to one another. He has also contributed to our understanding of the function of the mitochondrial membrane. |
| Extent | 2 sheets |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA4069 | Linnane; Anthony William (1930 - 2017) | 1930 - 2017 |