How did Phoebus Levene contribute to DNA?
Although Levene’s studies encompassed nearly every major class of organic compounds, his most valuable work was on the nucleic acids. Twenty years later he discovered 2-deoxyribose (a sugar derived from d-ribose by removing an oxygen atom), which is part of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule.
Who discovered the carbohydrate component of DNA?
Kossel had one more contribution to make. In 1893 he was the first to recognize that nucleic acids also contained a carbohydrate.
How did Phoebus Levene make his discovery?
Levene went on to discover deoxyribose in 1929. Not only did Levene identify the components of DNA, he also showed that the components were linked together in the order phosphate-sugar-base to form units. His ideas about the structure of DNA were wrong; he thought there were only four nucleotides per molecule.
Who named the DNA?
1881 — Nobel Prize winner and German biochemist Albrecht Kossel, who is credited with naming DNA, identified nuclein as a nucleic acid.
Where was Phoebus Levene when he made his discovery?
In 1905, Levene was appointed as head of the biochemical laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research. He spent the rest of his career at this institute, and it was there that he identified the components of DNA.
What was known about DNA before Phoebus Levene?
Levene died in 1940, before the true significance of DNA became clear. Levene is known for his tetranucleotide hypothesis which proposed that DNA was made up of equal amounts of adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine….
| Phoebus Levene | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Discovery of nucleic acids components |
Who is Phoebus Levene?
(Show more) Phoebus Levene, original name Fishel Aaronovich Levin, also called Phoebus Aaron Theodor Levene, (born February 25, 1869, Sagor, Russia [now Žagarė, Lithuania]—died September 6, 1940, New York, New York, U.S.), Russian-born American chemist and pioneer in the study of nucleic acids.
What did Phoebus Levene discover about DNA?
In 1869, Friedrich Miescher isolated “nuclein,” DNA with associated proteins, from cell nuclei. He was the first to identify DNA as a distinct molecule. Phoebus Levene was an organic chemist in the early 1900’s. He is perhaps best known for his incorrect tetranucleotide hypothesis of DNA. Phoebus Aaron Theodor Levene was born in Sagor in Russia.
Where was Levene born?
Levene was born on February 25, 1869, in Sagor, Russia (now Žagarė, Lithuania), the second son and second of eight children of Solom Michael Levene and Etta Brick. His father was a custom shirt-maker who later, in the United States, became a clothing manufacturer.
What did Levene do between 1896 and 1905?
Levene used the time between 1896 and 1905 to regain his health and to work with a number of well-known chemists, including Albrecht Kossel and Emil Fischer, the nucleic acid and protein experts of the time. In 1905, Levene was hired by the newly established Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research to head the biochemical laboratory.