Question

Studies by Beadle and Tatum that produced the one-gene one-enzyme hypothesis were conducted using the:

• A. bread mold Neurospora crassa
• B. bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae
• C. bacterium Escherichia coli
• D. mushroom Agaricus bisporus

Answer 1

The correct option is A bread mold Neurospora crassa

The one gene-one enzyme hypothesis, proposed by George Wells Beadle in the US in 1941, is the theory that each gene directly produces a single enzyme, which consequently affects an individual step in a metabolic pathway. Beadle and Tatum worked with a simple organism: common bread mold, or Neurospora crassa. Using Neurospora, they were able to show a clear connection between genes and metabolic enzymes. With a series of the experiment they first created mutant Neurospora and found which metabolic pathway was broken in mutants by growing them in a variety of nutritional medium. Their work produced a revolution in the study of genetics and showed that individual genes were indeed connected to specific enzymes.

So, the correct option is 'bread mold Neurospora crassa'.