Dr. 8rthur Karnberg .y

Department of l$m-obi.ology
Wtmhington University
st. LRUIS MO.

We had a very plessant visit fran Dale Ksisss during the past
couple of dms. He certainly hss s splendid story on the genetics
of lambda immune speaificity. You have to be congratulsted on the
group you have assembled.

What prunpts thta letter was Dale's remark that you have been
pressing for a Dspartxnent of Genetics in the medicql school. I thought
you might be encouraged to learn that pr&e$sely that haa been estab-
llshed here- the enclosed clippings tell part of the story4 the most
i.RlpOht3Yittheme iSthtW9 hCiVS2ther WBS ni8SiOI.li~I'dEkitXl tOt&@5?&b
&two-~~ Msdioine as Genetics has had hitherto to Agriculture, namely
as a basic resear& group on which applications fostered in collaboration
with the olinical depestments will ultimately rest. Ueedless~ to say, we
keep the closest possible relationships with the existing department, not
only in spirit, but in joint awintmsnts and otheb forma,1 ties. Web all
felt that Wisconsin had a unique opportunity on account of the physical
prazimity of the oampuses, and the stren@h of the exi&ing ~~netioa
group. I will be sorry if other schools follow with too half-heart&3
attempts, or if they put $r99 much emphasis an human genetics, (as if yw
m&J have to work on human DRA to justify your place in the medical school.)

  Another organisstional approaoh that seems sntirel$ feasible to me
would be departments of Biochemistry Bc Oenetios, espxI.ally in view of
the speed with which peuple like yaurself are meking them converge. But
again if the Genetics is not to be suhmerge&, it should be gotten o#jf to
a strong rundemental atart, and a formal reaognition of its status in, e.g.,
the name of the group/.

  P&dless to sayl this shift of affiliation will have no marked bearing
on the direction of my own research, though it pranises a very substantial
improvement in our lab. facilities in a year c& two when we move to a new
remmach wing to be built.  It has also been developing quite i.adtqx3ndentl.y
of sny of the several bids to move that have been distracting ~3.8 for the
pastseveralmonths, one of which Imightsey~privatelyhasnotbeene~
eluded (not Stsnford, Warvard or Fhiladelphia). The kind of organtsaticml
work that has been needed here is hardly my meat, but the peak load is over.

  You may be interested in some of the ether enclosures, which are self-
explanatory.  I hope you a& going to be able to sit in at the syqx~~iurn,
though it might possibly conflict with the Sed. meetings.


  In the lab., my own principal pre-oo~ation has been with the p&o*
plasts and tfarnns of% coli, whiuhhave bsenfairlywellworked out now
in uertain aspsots, especially their equivalence. A number of 'pefrmanent
tferms' afE. ooli K-32havebeenisolated andprovsdtobe auxotrophs
for disminopimelic acid, which is a unique constituent of beaterialwalls,
andbythe same token, absent frtxn oonventionalmedia.Other Lforms (esp.
in Proteus have notbeenreparsble-the same applied for the penicillin
inhibitio32- and may be blocked at a polymeric step of wall formation.) We
are looking now for ether classes of relevant auxotrophs, esp. for D-amino
acids and glucosamine derivativss, mainly just+ to round out the story. !l'he
protoplasta can grow in agar by blab-fannation, the restraints of the semi-
solidmediumpartlyreplaoingthe funchlon of the nss~&wall; in liquid
medium, the protoplasts can only expand, as they grow* until they eventually
burst.

  Butthemainreason fwas interestedinthis angle fran the startwas
the hope ofusingprotoplasts fordna-transduction.Thishasbeen adiamal
failure so far, but1 have talk&myself intobelievingmyownremarks at
the Baltimore symposium, and sm makiug a major push in rlcz~ll searching for
suoh a system inE. ooli strains, by scrsening a grsatmany strains, and by
trying 8 variety of snvironmsntal candifaons.So far, no soap, exaeptfor
finding that a few wild-type ooli~s are remarkably mutable for a variety
of markers.  Yaaosnbe sure f*llbeintouchwithyoupdqif anythingbhaks.
I'd appredats hearing how ya9s gstting along-at ths very least, getting
your papers on DNA synthssis as they cane out . We%s been using fairly
arude extra&s, e.g. fron protoplasts, or rather sloppy DNA preps. so far.
If you havs a favorMe procedurs for pulling out 'fresh* DBA froaa aoli, Ttd
be glad to see it.

with best regards,