Dictionary > Erwin Chargaff

Erwin Chargaff

Quick Info
(person) A biochemist known for his proposed Chargaff’s rules that led to the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA
Supplement
Erwin Chargaff was an Austro-Hungarian biochemist and a professor of biochemistry in Columbia University. He is known for his proposed rules that are referred to now as Chargaf’s rules. Accordingly, a natural DNA would have the same number of guanine units and cytosine units. Likewise, the number of adenine units would equal the number of thymine units. Thus, this would implicate base pairing in DNA. This rule of Chargaff disproved the formerly accepted hypothesis called tetranucleotide hypothesis. In tetranucleotide hypothesis, it stated that DNA was comprised of a number of repeats of guanine, adenine, cytosine, and thymine, and variations in the equimolar base ratios were due to experimental error. Chargaff refuted it and proved them wrong through his experimentation that made use of paper chromatography and ultraviolet spectrophotometer. He later met with Francis Crick and James Watson to explain what he found in his research. Many believed that this first rule of Chargaff helped the research team of Watson and Crick to conclude the double helix structure of DNA. The second rule is that the amounts of adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine would vary from one species to another, implicating that the genetic material is DNA rather than protein.
See also:


You will also like...

Thermographic image of face and neck
Regulation of Organic Metabolism, Growth and Energy Balance

The human body is capable of regulating growth and energy balance through various feedback mechanisms. Get to know the e..

Physical growth
Physical Development in Humans

This tutorial elaborates on the physical development of humans, particularly from puberty to adulthood. Read this tutori..

Nephrolepis exaltata
Vascular Plants: Ferns and Relatives

Ferns and their relatives are vascular plants, meaning they have xylem and phloem tissues. Because of the presence of va..

DNA molecule
Genetic Control – On and Off Genes

Genes are the blueprint of our bodies, a blueprint that creates a variety of proteins essential to any organism's surviv..

Early Earth
The Origins of Life

This tutorial digs into the past to investigate the origins of life. The section is split into geological periods in the..

Lotic community of algal species
Lotic Communities & Algae

Lotic communities have conditions that are rather harsh for typical plants. Thus, the diversity of plant species in loti..

Related Articles...

No related articles found

See all Related Topics