Marianne Grunberg-Manago
Encyclopedia
Dr. Marianne Grunberg-Manago, PhD, (born 1921, Saint Petersburg, former Soviet Union) is an French biochemist.
Grunberg-Manago was born into a family of artists who adhered to the teachings of the Swiss educational reformer Johann Pestalozzi. When she was 9 months old, her parents emigrated from the Soviet Union to France. Grunberg-Manago studied biochemistry and, in 1955, while working with Spanish-America biochemist Severo Ochoa
, she discovered the first nucleic-acid-synthesizing enzyme
. Initially, everyone thought the new enzyme was an RNA polymerase
used by E. coli cells to make long chains of RNA from separate nucleotides. But although the new enzyme could link a few nucleotides together, the reaction was highly reversible and it later became clear that the enzyme, polynucleotide phosphorylase, usually catalyzes the breakdown of RNA, not its synthesis.
Nonetheless, the enzyme was extraordinarily useful and important. Almost immediately, Marshall Nirenberg and J. Heinrich Matthaei put it to use to form the first three-nucleotide RNA codons, which coded for the amino acid
phenylalanine. This first step in cracking the genetic code
entirely depended on the availability of Grunberg-Manago’s enzyme.
In 1959, Ochoa and Arthur Kornberg
won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
"for the synthesis of the nucleic acids RNA and DNA."
Grunberg-Manago was the first woman to direct the International Union of Biochemistry, and she was also president of the French Academy of Sciences
from 1995 to 1996. She is emeritus director of research at CNRS, France’s National Center for Scientific Research, and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
.
Grunberg-Manago was born into a family of artists who adhered to the teachings of the Swiss educational reformer Johann Pestalozzi. When she was 9 months old, her parents emigrated from the Soviet Union to France. Grunberg-Manago studied biochemistry and, in 1955, while working with Spanish-America biochemist Severo Ochoa
Severo Ochoa
Severo Ochoa de Albornoz was a Spanish-American doctor and biochemist, and joint winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Arthur Kornberg.-Early life:...
, she discovered the first nucleic-acid-synthesizing enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
. Initially, everyone thought the new enzyme was an RNA polymerase
RNA polymerase
RNA polymerase is an enzyme that produces RNA. In cells, RNAP is needed for constructing RNA chains from DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription. RNA polymerase enzymes are essential to life and are found in all organisms and many viruses...
used by E. coli cells to make long chains of RNA from separate nucleotides. But although the new enzyme could link a few nucleotides together, the reaction was highly reversible and it later became clear that the enzyme, polynucleotide phosphorylase, usually catalyzes the breakdown of RNA, not its synthesis.
Nonetheless, the enzyme was extraordinarily useful and important. Almost immediately, Marshall Nirenberg and J. Heinrich Matthaei put it to use to form the first three-nucleotide RNA codons, which coded for the amino acid
Amino acid
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...
phenylalanine. This first step in cracking the genetic code
Genetic code
The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material is translated into proteins by living cells....
entirely depended on the availability of Grunberg-Manago’s enzyme.
In 1959, Ochoa and Arthur Kornberg
Arthur Kornberg
Arthur Kornberg was an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1959 for his discovery of "the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid " together with Dr. Severo Ochoa of New York University...
won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
"for the synthesis of the nucleic acids RNA and DNA."
Grunberg-Manago was the first woman to direct the International Union of Biochemistry, and she was also president of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
from 1995 to 1996. She is emeritus director of research at CNRS, France’s National Center for Scientific Research, and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
External links
- French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of SciencesThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
http://www.academie-sciences.fr/membres/G/Grunberg_Manago.htm - About polynucleotide phosphorylase http://www.mun.ca/biochem/courses/3107/Lectures/Topics/RNAP_bacterial.html