GENETIC CODE AND SYNTHETIC GENE
Har Gobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana was born on
9 January 1922 at Raipur
(Multan) in Punjab. He was
a meritorious
student who later obtained
his BSc and MSc degrees
from Punjab University in
Lahore. For higher studies he
went to England on
a Government of India
Fellowship and obtained PhD in
1948. He was awarded the
1968 Nobel Prize for 'Physiology
or Medicine' for research that
helped to show how
the nucleotides in nucleic acids,
which carry the genetic code of
the cell, control
the cell’s synthesis of proteins.
Genetic code refers to the instructions contained in a
gene that tell a cell how to make a specific protein. A group of
3 nitrogenous bases called 'CODONS' codes
for an amino acid. Everything in our cells is ultimately built
based on the genetic code.
Contributions by Har Gobind Khorana
His research proved:
o that nucleotide instructions
(genetic code ) are always
transmitted to the cell in
groups of three called codons.
o which serial combinations of
nucleotides form which
specific amino acids
o some of the codons direct the
cell to start or stop the
manufacture of proteins.
In 1970s, he completed synthesis of the first wholly artificial
gene. Today these custom-designed artificial genes are widely
used in labs for sequencing, cloning and engineering new
plants and animals, and are integral to the expanding use of
DNA analysis to understand gene-based human disease as well
as human evolution. With it life became easy and several new
varieties of plants and brads of animals were created .
CHRISTINA BEVIN
XII-B