Douglas C. Wallace

Last updated
Douglas Cecil Wallace
Doug with his gift.jpg
Douglas Wallace with a gift from his team at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2017
Born (1946-11-06) November 6, 1946 (age 77) [1]
Cumberland, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Cornell University (B.S., 1968)
Yale University (Ph.M., 1968) (Ph.D., 1975)
Known forPioneering human mitochondrial genetics
SpouseElizabeth (2 children) [2]
Awards Passano Award (2000)
Gruber Prize in Genetics (2012) Benjamin Franklin Life Sciences Medal
Scientific career
Fields Human Genetics
Institutions Stanford University School of Medicine, Emory University, Human Genome Organisation, University of California, Irvine, Academia Sinica, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Thesis Cytoplasmic genetics in mammalian tissue culture cells
Website www.chop.edu/doctors/wallace-douglas-c
Douglas C. Wallace at the Benjamin Franklin Life Sciences Medal Symposium Douglas C. Wallace.jpg
Douglas C. Wallace at the Benjamin Franklin Life Sciences Medal Symposium

Douglas Cecil Wallace (born November 6, 1946) is a geneticist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. [3] [4] He pioneered the use of human mitochondrial DNA as a molecular marker.

Contents

Career

Wallace earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Developmental Biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1968, a Master of Philosophy in Microbiology and Human Genetics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in 1972 and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Human Genetics at Yale University in 1975. [3] His dissertation was titled Cytoplasmic genetics in mammalian tissue culture cells. [5]

He remained at Yale University as a postdoctoral fellow until he was awarded a professorship ( Assistant Professor ) at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California in 1976. In 1983 he became professor ( Adjunct Professor ) for Biochemistry, Anthropology and Pediatrics (Genetics) at the Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1996 to 2002, he was Chairperson and Senior Editor of the Mitochondrial DNA Locus-Specific Database for the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO). In 2002 he assumed a professorship of Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Irvine and founded the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics there. In 2006 he was awarded a visiting professorship at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2010 he became professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and became the founding director of the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. [2] [6] [7] [8]

In June 2022 he was awarded a honorary degree in Medicine and Surgery by the University of Padua, Italy. [9]

Work

Wallace is a pioneer in the study of mitochondrial DNA. Wallace and his colleagues introduced human mitochondrial genetics into the field of molecular genetics. [10] In 1975, for the first time ever, Wallace could associate a genetic disorder with the mitochondrial DNA region (resistance to chloramphenicol) [11] and in 1990 he described a mitochondrial DNA mutation as the cause of a particular form of myoclonic epilepsy. [12] He has been instrumental in the study of the mitochondrial genome and has developed new methods for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA. [13]

Wallace and his colleagues demonstrated that human mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother [14] and reconstructed the origin and ancient migration patterns of women using variations in mitochondrial DNA sequences. [2] [10] [15] [16]

Honours and awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitochondrial DNA</span> DNA located in mitochondria

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is only a small portion of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell; most of the DNA can be found in the cell nucleus and, in plants and algae, also in plastids such as chloroplasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. Robert Horvitz</span> American biologist

Howard Robert Horvitz ForMemRS NAS AAA&S APS NAM is an American biologist best known for his research on the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with Sydney Brenner and John E. Sulston, whose "seminal discoveries concerning the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death" were "important for medical research and have shed new light on the pathogenesis of many diseases".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human mitochondrial genetics</span> Study of the human mitochondrial genome

Human mitochondrial genetics is the study of the genetics of human mitochondrial DNA. The human mitochondrial genome is the entirety of hereditary information contained in human mitochondria. Mitochondria are small structures in cells that generate energy for the cell to use, and are hence referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear gene</span> Gene located in the cell nucleus of a eukaryote

A nuclear gene is a gene that has its DNA nucleotide sequence physically situated within the cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. This term is employed to differentiate nuclear genes, which are located in the cell nucleus, from genes that are found in mitochondria or chloroplasts. The vast majority of genes in eukaryotes are nuclear.

Extrachromosomal DNA is any DNA that is found off the chromosomes, either inside or outside the nucleus of a cell. Most DNA in an individual genome is found in chromosomes contained in the nucleus. Multiple forms of extrachromosomal DNA exist, and, while some of these serve important biological functions, they can also play a role in diseases such as cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Jaenisch</span> German biologist

Rudolf Jaenisch is a Professor of Biology at MIT and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He is a pioneer of transgenic science, in which an animal’s genetic makeup is altered. Jaenisch has focused on creating genetically modified mice to study cancer, epigenetic reprogramming and neurological diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol W. Greider</span> American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate

Carolyn Widney Greider is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate. She joined the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Distinguished Professor in the department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology in October 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ND6</span> Mitochondrial gene coding for a protein involved in the respiratory chain

MT-ND6 is a gene of the mitochondrial genome coding for the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 6 protein (ND6). The ND6 protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the electron transport chain. Variations in the human MT-ND6 gene are associated with Leigh's syndrome, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and dystonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ND4</span> Mitochondrial gene coding for a protein involved in the respiratory chain

MT-ND4 is a gene of the mitochondrial genome coding for the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 4 (ND4) protein. The ND4 protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the electron transport chain. Variations in the MT-ND4 gene are associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and cystic fibrosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ND2</span> Mitochondrial gene coding for a protein involved in the respiratory chain

MT-ND2 is a gene of the mitochondrial genome coding for the NADH dehydrogenase 2 (ND2) protein. The ND2 protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the electron transport chain. Variants of human MT-ND2 are associated with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS), Leigh's syndrome (LS), Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and increases in adult BMI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ND4L</span> Mitochondrial gene coding for a protein involved in the respiratory chain

MT-ND4L is a gene of the mitochondrial genome coding for the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 4L (ND4L) protein. The ND4L protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the electron transport chain. Variants of human MT-ND4L are associated with increased BMI in adults and Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ATP8</span> Mitochondrial protein-coding gene whose product is involved in ATP synthesis

MT-ATP8 is a mitochondrial gene with the full name 'mitochondrially encoded ATP synthase membrane subunit 8' that encodes a subunit of mitochondrial ATP synthase, ATP synthase Fo subunit 8. This subunit belongs to the Fo complex of the large, transmembrane F-type ATP synthase. This enzyme, which is also known as complex V, is responsible for the final step of oxidative phosphorylation in the electron transport chain. Specifically, one segment of ATP synthase allows positively charged ions, called protons, to flow across a specialized membrane inside mitochondria. Another segment of the enzyme uses the energy created by this proton flow to convert a molecule called adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to ATP. Subunit 8 differs in sequence between Metazoa, plants and Fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MT-ND1</span> Mitochondrial gene coding for a protein involved in the respiratory chain

MT-ND1 is a gene of the mitochondrial genome coding for the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 1 (ND1) protein. The ND1 protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase, which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the electron transport chain. Variants of the human MT-ND1 gene are associated with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS), Leigh's syndrome (LS), Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and increases in adult BMI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I</span> Enzyme of the respiratory chain encoded by the mitochondrial genome

Cytochrome c oxidase I (COX1) also known as mitochondrially encoded cytochrome c oxidase I (MT-CO1) is a protein that is encoded by the MT-CO1 gene in eukaryotes. The gene is also called COX1, CO1, or COI. Cytochrome c oxidase I is the main subunit of the cytochrome c oxidase complex. In humans, mutations in MT-CO1 have been associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), acquired idiopathic sideroblastic anemia, Complex IV deficiency, colorectal cancer, sensorineural deafness, and recurrent myoglobinuria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2</span> Enzyme of the respiratory chain encoded by the mitochondrial genome

Cytochrome c oxidase II is a protein in eukaryotes that is encoded by the MT-CO2 gene. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, abbreviated COXII, COX2, COII, or MT-CO2, is the second subunit of cytochrome c oxidase. It is also one of the three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoded subunits of respiratory complex IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cytochrome c oxidase subunit III</span> Enzyme of the respiratory chain encoded by the mitochondrial genome

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (COX3) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MT-CO3 gene. It is one of main transmembrane subunits of cytochrome c oxidase. It is also one of the three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoded subunits of respiratory complex IV. Variants of it have been associated with isolated myopathy, severe encephalomyopathy, Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, mitochondrial complex IV deficiency, and recurrent myoglobinuria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Attardi</span> American geneticist

Giuseppe Attardi was an American molecular biologist of Italian origin, a professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He made pioneering studies on the human mitochondrial structure and function.

Mitochondrially encoded tRNA glycine also known as MT-TG is a transfer RNA which in humans is encoded by the mitochondrial MT-TG gene.

Mitochondrially encoded tRNA threonine also known as MT-TT is a transfer RNA which in humans is encoded by the mitochondrial MT-TT gene.

Ronald Wayne "Ron" Davis is professor of biochemistry and genetics, and director of the Stanford Genome Technology Center at Stanford University. Davis is a researcher in biotechnology and molecular genetics, particularly active in human and yeast genomics and the development of new technologies in genomics, with over 30 biotechnology patents. In 2013, it was said of Davis that "A substantial number of the major genetic advances of the past 20 years can be traced back to Davis in some way." Since his son fell severely ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Davis has focused his research efforts into the illness.

References

  1. 1 2 "Book of Members: Chapter W" (PDF). American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "2012 Genetics Prize: Douglas C. Wallace". Gruber Foundation . Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Douglas C Wallace". The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Douglas C Wallace, PhD: Bio". The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Wallace DC; et al. (1976). "Cytoplasmic inheritance in mammalian tissue culture cells". In Vitro. 12 (11): 758–76. doi:10.1007/bf02835451. PMID   1035581. S2CID   3245970.
  6. ↑ "Douglas C. Wallace to Join UCI Faculty in Biology and Medicine". UC. 18 March 2002. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013. Founder of 'Mitochondrial Eve' Research to Establish Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine Center at Irvine
  7. ↑ "Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D. (CV)" (PDF). Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica . Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Top Expert on Mitochondrial Disorders Launches Center at Children's Hospital". Newswise, Inc. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. 1 2 "The Honorary Degree for Douglas Cecil Wallace". 800 anni unipd. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  10. 1 2 "Douglas C Wallace, PhD: Expanded Bio". The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  11. ↑ Wallace DC; et al. (1975). "Cytoplasmic transfer of chloramphenicol resistance in human tissue culture cells". J Cell Biol. 67 (1): 174–88. doi:10.1083/jcb.67.1.174. PMC   2109574 . PMID   1176530.
  12. ↑ Shoffner JM; et al. (1990). "Myoclonic epilepsy and ragged-red fiber disease (MERRF) is associated with a mitochondrial DNA tRNA(Lys) mutation". Cell. 61 (6): 931–7. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(90)90059-n. PMID   2112427. S2CID   6101099.
  13. 1 2 "The Passano Awards". Passano Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013. Drs. Attardi and Wallace were selected for their landmark contributions to the mitochondrial genome project and their development of innovative methods for studying mitochondrial genetics and human disease.
  14. ↑ Giles RE; et al. (1980). "Maternal inheritance of human mitochondrial DNA". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77 (11): 6715–9. Bibcode:1980PNAS...77.6715G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.11.6715 . PMC   350359 . PMID   6256757.
  15. ↑ Torroni A; et al. (1993). "Asian affinities and continental radiation of the four founding Native American mtDNAs". Am J Hum Genet. 53 (3): 563–90. PMC   1682412 . PMID   7688932. The term haplogroup was coined in this paper.
  16. ↑ Wallace DC; et al. (1999). "Mitochondrial DNA variation in human evolution and disease". Gene. 238 (1): 211–30. doi:10.1016/s0378-1119(99)00295-4. PMID   10570998.
  17. 1 2 "Douglas C. Wallace elected to Institute of Medicine". University of California, Irvine. 13 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "IOM Class of 2009". Institute of Medicine. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  20. ↑ "2012 Gruber Genetics Prize Citation". Gruber Foundation . Retrieved 28 February 2013. The Gruber Foundation proudly presents the 2012 Genetics Prize to Douglas Wallace for the discovery of mutations in the mitochondrial genome and their impact on human health.
  21. ↑ "Douglas C. Wallace". The Franklin Institute. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 19 Apr 2017.
  22. ↑ "Dr Paul Janssen Award". Janssen Global Services. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.