Nirenberg and Leder Experiment

The Nirenberg and Leder experiment developed a method to identify specific proteins by attaching them to synthetic pieces of genetic code called polynucleotides. They used a technique called synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce a particular protein, then tagged these proteins with radioactive markers. By seeing which radioactive labels appeared, they could determine the amino acid sequence of proteins and how genetic information translates into protein structure. This experiment was foundational in understanding how genetic code guides protein synthesis, significantly advancing molecular biology.