Elizabeth Beach Keller

Elizabeth Beach Keller (1918–1997) was an American biochemist. She is noted for her discoveries on protein formation.[1] These included her development of the cloverleaf model of transfer RNA (ribonucleic acid), which shows how transfer RNA helps in directing the genetic information within the DNA to form proteins.[2] This model was included in Robert W. Holley's set of works that earned him a share of the Nobel Prize.[3]

Elizabeth Beach Keller
Born(1918-12-28)28 December 1918
Fujian, China
Died27 December 1997(1997-12-27) (aged 78)
Rochester, New York
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University
Known forProtein formation, cloverleaf model of transfer RNA
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry, Molecular biology
InstitutionsCornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Biography

Keller was born Elizabeth Waterbury Beach on December 28, 1918, in Diongloh, Fujian province, China.[2][1] She was the youngest daughter of Frederick P. Beach and Ruth W. Beach, who were congregational missionaries stationed in the Chinese province.[4] Her formal education began when the family relocated to the United States. She spent two years at Oberlin College before obtaining her bachelor of science degree at the University of Chicago.[1] Keller completed her master's degree at George Washington University and her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Cornell Medical College, where she investigated the formation and transfer of methyl groups in metabolisms for her dissertation.[1]

Keller was married to Geoffrey Keller in 1941 but the marriage later ended in divorce.[1]

Career

After completing her postgraduate degree, Keller first worked at the Cornell Medical College as an assistant professor.[1] From 1948 to 1949, she was an Atomic Energy Commission fellow at Ohio State University's College of Medicine.[1] After this period, she investigated the process of making proteins in cells at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1949-1960).[4] Her collaboration with Paul Zamecnik included several studies that investigated the incorporation of labeled amino acids into proteins.[5][6] Keller's research paved the way for more productive in vitro experiments on protein synthesis after she introduced the use of radioactive leucine in the process.[7] Her and Zamecnik's work with Mahlon Hoagland also led to the discovery of the initial stages of protein synthesis.[8]

In 1965, she joined Cornell University and worked with Holley, who was studying the transfer-RNA structure.[9] She found that the workings of transfer RNA is best shown through the cloverleaf model and had demonstrated it using pipe cleaners and pieces of Velcro.[10] The cloverleaf model itself was one of the secondary structures for the first tRNA sequence that she developed with James Penswick, a student member of the Holley group.[11][12] The study would later earn for Holley the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968.[9] Keller as well as the other members of the research team received part of the prize money.[10]

After her work at Cornell, Keller's research focused more on cancer-causing genes. While she retired in 1988, she continued her research work until close to her death.[10] Keller died on December 27, 1997, in Rochester, New York due to complications from acute leukemia.[13]

Works
  • The effect of guanosine diphosphate and triphosphate on the incorporation of labeled amino acids into proteins (1956)
  • Intron Splicing: A Conserved Internal Signal in Introns of Animal Pre-mRNAs (1984)[14]
  • The Biosynthesis of RNA's: Mechanisms and Controls (1985)[15]
  • Effects of therapeutic touch on tension headache pain (1986)

See also

References
  1. "Elizabeth Beach Keller". Encyclopedia of World Biography Online. GALE. 2005. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  2. "Keller, Elizabeth Beach | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  3. Kulkarni, Sneha. "Three scientists share 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for revolutionizing laser physics". Editage Insights. doi:10.34193/ei-a-9774. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  4. "Elizabeth B. Keller". Cornell University. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  5. Keller, Elizabeth B.; Zamecnik, Paul C. (1956-07-01). "The Effect of Guanosine Diphosphate and Triphosphate on the Incorporation of Labeled Amino Acids into Proteins". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 221 (1): 45–60. ISSN 0021-9258. PMID 13345797.
  6. Zamecnik, P.C.; Keller, E.B. (1954). "Relation between phosphate energy donors and incorporation of labeled amino acids into proteins". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 209 (1): 337–354. PMID 13192089.
  7. Wayne, Randy O. (2009). Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology. Burlington, MA: Academic Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-12-374233-9.
  8. "Mahlon Hoagland". CSH. 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  9. "Welcome to the University of Chicago Magazine Online". magazine.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  10. Burkhart, Ford (1997-12-28). "Dr. Elizabeth Keller, 79, Dies; Biochemist Helped RNA Study (Published 1997)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  11. Echols, Harrison G. (2001). Operators and Promoters: The Story of Molecular Biology and Its Creators. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-520-92076-7.
  12. Nierhaus, Knud H.; Wilson, Daniel (2009). Protein Synthesis and Ribosome Structure: Translating the Genome. Berlin: John Wiley & Sons. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-527-61638-1.
  13. "Francis J. Kelly, 78, one of the..." Baltimore Sun. December 30, 1997. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  14. Keller, Elizabeth B.; Noon, William A. (1985). "Intron splicing: a conserved internal signal in introns ofDrosophilapre-mRNAs". Nucleic Acids Research. 13 (13): 4971–4981. doi:10.1093/nar/13.13.4971. ISSN 0305-1048. PMC 321838. PMID 2410858.
  15. Keller, Elizabeth. "The Biosynthesis of RNA's: Mechanisms and Controls". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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