Élie Wollman
French microbial geneticist
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Élie Léo Wollman (July 4, 1917 – June 1, 2008) was a French microbial geneticist who first described plasmids (what he termed "episomes"), and served as vice director of research for the Pasteur Institute for twenty years.[1] He was awarded the 1976 Grand Prix Charles-Leopold Mayer by the French Academy of Sciences and Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour.[1] He is the son of microbiologists at the Pasteur Institute, Eugène and Elisabeth Wollman, and the father of Francis-André Wollman, another prominent scientist.
Élie Wollman | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 4, 1917 |
| Died | June 1, 2008 (aged 90) |
| Known for | Plasmids, conjugation |
| Spouse | Odile Wollman |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbial genetics |
| Institutions | Pasteur Institute |
| Thesis | Recherche sur la conjugaison des bactéries et sur le déterminisme génétique de la lysogénie [studies on bacterial conjugation and genetic determinism of lysogeny] (1958) |
Research
- In his lab at the Pasteur Institute in Paris Wollman played a key role in the elucidation of the organization of genetic material.[2]
- Developed the experimental method of interrupted mating, which underpinned the gene mapping of bacterial chromosomes.[3][4] This work laid the foundation for Francois Jacob's Nobel Prize-winning work.[1]
- With Francois Jacob, he published a monograph, Sexuality and the genetics of bacteria (French title: La sexualité des bactéries), in 1959.[5]
Selected publications
- Wollman, Élie L; François Jacob (1961). Sexuality and the genetics of bacteria. New York: Academic Press.
- Wollman, E. L.; Jacob, F.; Hayes, W. (1956). "Conjugation and Genetic Recombination in Escherichia coli K-12". Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology. 21: 141–162. doi:10.1101/SQB.1956.021.01.012. PMID 13433587.
