WritinGenomics

Exploring the Language of Life

A blog by Matteo Cortese, PhD

A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing in 5 Anniversaries (1965-1995)

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Matteo Cortese, PhD
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This year marks the anniversary of 5 milestones, between 1965 and 1995, that made DNA sequencing possible. Thanks to these advances, we have started unlocking the genome and deciphering its secrets.

Over the following months, we’ll explore a different milestone every month—in a summary on LinkedIn and in an in-depth article here. We’ll travel from the early day when sequencing a short RNA took 3 years and 130 kg of yeast to the dawn of the genomic era. We will see how these milestones came to be, how they built upon each other and how they have shaped the future of DNA sequencing. 


Interested? Want to know more about one of the most transformative technologies in history? Subscribe to my blog and follow me on LinkedIn!


Here are the 7 milestones we’ll explore—it’s gonna be an exciting journey!

1) 1965: Sequencing the First Nucleic Acid

Robert W Holley sequenced the first nucleic acid molecule (77 nucleotides)—a decade before the first DNA sequencing technology!

UPDATE: My article on this milestone is now out: click here to read it.

Alanine tRNA of yeast

2) 1965: Deciphering the Code of Life

Marshall W Nirenberg compiles the first genetic code, the set of rules cells use to convert genes into proteins: the Rosetta Stone of genomics!

UPDATE: My article on this milestone is now out: click here to read it.

The first genetic code

3) 1975: Learning to Read DNA

Frederick Sanger and Alan Coulson published the “plus and minus” system, a pioneering technique that finally made sequencing possible (albeit still very difficult!)

UPDATE: My article on this milestone is now out: click here to read it.

One of the first sequencing experiments

4) 1985: Photocopying DNA

Kary Mullis published the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a “photocopier for DNA”, a revolutionary method that allows scientists to sequence even tiny amounts of DNA.

The first thermocycler

5) 1995: The Dawn of the Genomic Era

C Venter and colleagues shotgun-sequenced the first genome of a free-living organism (1.83 million bases)—10 times larger than the genomes of the viruses and organelles sequenced until then.

The genome of H. influenzae

Have I convinced you to join me in this journey through 3 decades of DNA sequencing history?


Thanks for subscribing and joining the ride!

Comments

4 responses to “A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing in 5 Anniversaries (1965-1995)”

  1. [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP1] 1965 — Sequencing the First Nucleic Acid – WritinGenomics avatar
    [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP1] 1965 — Sequencing the First Nucleic Acid – WritinGenomics

    […] The story of DNA sequencing doesn’t start with DNA. No, it starts with another nucleic acid, RNA. An RNA molecule was in fact the first nucleic acid ever sequenced—amid enormous challenges, and 140 kg of yeast.[This is Episode 1 of A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing through 7 anniversaries (1965-2015), Click me for an overview of the series] […]

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  2. 1965 — Deciphering the Code of Life [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP2] – WritinGenomics avatar
    1965 — Deciphering the Code of Life [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP2] – WritinGenomics

    […] Life doesn’t have an alphabet, but two: that of DNA and that of proteins. The genetic code is the Rosetta stone of molecular biology: it lays out how cells convert one alphabet into another – three bases into a single amino acid, but never the reverse. These rules were first summarised in a historical chart (at the time incomplete) by Marshall W. Nirenberg in 1965. This document was key to interpreting the protein-coding portion of the genomes we would start sequencing in a decade.[This is Episode 2 of A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing through 5 anniversaries (1965-1995), Click me for an overview of the series] […]

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  3. Adieu Copy-Paste: A Brief Guide to Making the Em Dash – WritinGenomics avatar
    Adieu Copy-Paste: A Brief Guide to Making the Em Dash – WritinGenomics

    […] taking a brief detour from genomics here – no non-coding RNAs, no misconceptions in genomics, no history of DNA sequencing. This post explores the other side of my blog, that is writing. Specifically, I have a writing tip […]

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  4. 1975 — Learning to Read DNA [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP3] – WritinGenomics avatar
    1975 — Learning to Read DNA [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP3] – WritinGenomics

    […] In the early 1970s, life scientists faced a paradox: they could interpret the language of the DNA, but they couldn’t read it. How could that be?Years of ingenious research had cracked the genetic code, revealing which nucleotide triplets code for which amino acid. This meant that scientists could predict a protein’s sequence from a gene of known sequence. But there was the paradox: scientists couldn’t determine the sequential order of nucleotides for any gene. Scientists could interpret the code, but couldn’t read the message. At least, not until 1975.That year, Fred Sanger and Alan Coulson published the“plus/minus” sequencing method, the very first method to read a genome. [This is Episode 3 of A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing through 5 anniversaries (1965-1995), Click me for an overview of the series] […]

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