Nirenberg and Matthaei experiment

The Nirenberg and Matthaei experiment was a scientific experiment performed in 1961 by Marshall W. Nirenberg and Heinrich J. Matthaei . The experiment cracked the genetic code by using nucleic acid homopolymers to translate specific amino acids.

In the experiment, an extract from bacterial cells that could make protein even when no intact living cells were present was prepared. Adding an artificial form of RNA, polyuridylic acid , to this extract caused it to make an unnatural protein composed entirely of the amino acid phenylalanine. This showed that RNA controlled the production of specific types of protein.

See also

• Crick, Brenner et al. experiment
• Nirenberg and Leder experiment