Question

One gene one polypeptide hypothesis was proposed by:

• A. Beadle and Tatum
• B. Bateson and Punnet
• C. Sanger and Ingram
• D. Crick and Franklin

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Beadle and Tatum

• The one gene-one enzyme hypothesis was proposed by Beadle and Tatum.

• It suggests that a single gene produces a single enzyme, which later affects an individual step in a metabolic pathway.

• Beadle demonstrated that one gene in a fruit fly produces one enzyme which in turn controls a single chemical reaction.

• In this, each gene acts as a chemical molecule and has a particular function.

• Beadle and Tatum later confirmed this hypothesis using genetic and biochemical studies of the bread mold Neurospora crassa.

• Neurospora crassa to prove that in a multistep biochemical pathway, each step is controlled by different enzymes and each of these enzymes is encoded by a specific gene.

• This is called the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis.