In the early 1940s, Luria began to a question how phage-resistant bacteria originated. Did exposure to the phage induce the mutation to a resistant form, or was the mutation random? The answer came to him in February 1943 while observing a colleague at Indiana University play a slot machine; Luria realized that random mutations would produce bacterial clusters in a pattern analogous to slot-machine returns. After completing several preliminary experiments and noting the results, Luria wrote to Delbruck at Vanderbilt University for comment. Delbruck responded that Luria had indeed stumbled on to something and put together a theory to explain it. Among other things, their "fluctuation test" theory demonstrated that bacteria were ideal subjects for genetic research. This letter from Delbruck is part of a series of exchanges which followed. This research resulted in an article in "Genetics" in November 1943.
Number of Image Pages:
1 (101,978 Bytes)
Date:
1943-04-05 (April 5, 1943)
Creator:
[Delbruck, Max]
Vanderbilt University
Recipient:
Luria, Salvador E.
Source:
Original Repository: American Philosophical Society. Library. Salvador Luria Papers
Rights:
Reproduced with permission of Tobias Delbruck.
Exhibit Category:
Genetics Lessons from Bacteriophage, 1938-1944
Relation:
Mutations of Bacteria from Virus Sensitivity to Virus Resistance (November 1943)
Mutations of Bacteria from Virus Sensitivity to Virus Resistance (November 1943)