Danna and Nathans: Restriction enzymes and the boon to modern molecular biology

Abstract

I n 1971, a paper published in PNAS ( 1) helped jump-start the era of modern molecular biology and biotechnology, eventually giving rise to many of the genetic advances that seem so commonplace today. The article, written by Academy member Daniel Nathans and his then graduate student, Kathleen Danna, exposed the marvelous utility of restriction enzymes. In the accompanying Perspective highlighting this classic work of scientific literature, Rich Roberts provides a historical account of the scientific discoveries leading up to the PNAS paper and the unparalleled scientific advances made after its publication. The road to the discovery of restriction enzymes began in 1945, when Nathans enrolled in an undergraduate chemistry program at the University of Delaware (Newark). Lingering in Wilmington, DE, the same town where he was born and raised, Nathans initially lived at home and commuted to class by hitchhiking. He was the last of eight children born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, who encouraged his natural interest in science. Nathans claimed that his father saw him as “the last chance to have a doctor in the family” ( 2). ”Becoming a physician also seemed more attractive to me than any …