Title:

Letter from Max Delbruck to Salvador E. Luria

Creator:

Vanderbilt University
Delbru?ck, Max

Recipient:

Luria, S. E. (Salvador Edward), 1912-1991

Date:

5 April 1943

Description:

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.

Original Repository:

American Philosophical Society. Library. Salvador Luria Papers

Rights:

Reproduced with permission of Tobias Delbruck.

Genre:

Letters (correspondence)

Format:

Text

Extent:

1 pages

Relation:

Mutations of Bacteria from Virus Sensitivity to Virus Resistance, 1943

Language:

English

Legacy Source Citation:

Original Repository. American Philosophical Society. Library. Salvador Luria Papers. 12096

Legacy ID:

QLBBFT

NLM ID:

101584611X78

Profiles Collection:

The Salvador E. Luria Papers

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584611X78

Story Section:

Genetics Lessons from Bacteriophage, 1938-1944