| Abstract: | Sixty years after Watson and Crick published the double helix model of DNA''s structure, thirteen members of Genome Biology''s Editorial Board select key advances in the field of genome biology subsequent to that discovery.April 25th 2013 is the sixtieth anniversary of the infamous Watson and Crick Nature paper describing a model for the structure of DNA, published 25 April 1953: the now infamous ''double helix'' 1]. Two accompanying papers from Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins and colleagues leant experimental support to the proposed structure in the form of X-ray diffraction data 2,3], as described elsewhere in this issue of Genome Biology 4]. The model was a landmark discovery in the history of modern science, and was notable for its cross-disciplinary importance: the question addressed was of immense biological importance, but it was physicists and chemists whose expertise and techniques were needed in order to arrive at an answer. One of these physicists, Ray Gosling, describes the unveiling of Watson and Crick''s double helix structure as a ''eureka'' moment 4]: its simplicity and elegance were striking, and not only explained the X-ray diffraction data but also the mode of replication of life itself. It is rare for a scientific discovery to achieve such an iconic status, to pervade popular culture and the public consciousness, as well as to become an emblem of scientific inquiry - as exemplified by Genome Biology''s double helix-inspired logo. Although Avery had already shown DNA to be the genetic material 5], it took the convincing simplicity of Watson and Crick''s double helix for this notion to widely take hold, in place of theories favoring proteins. The discovery, therefore, had many important implications, and set the scene for future breakthroughs in the field of genome biology.To celebrate sixty years of such discoveries, we asked a jury composed of Genome Biology Editorial Board members to select key advances in the field since 25 April 1953. The brief was to choose a development that was either the most important or the most surprising, or that had the most personal impact, and to briefly summarize why. A number of selections focused on technological advances - from restriction mapping through microarrays and high-throughput sequencing. These technologies have clearly done much to inform our understanding of the biology of genomes. The most popular choice, however, was the discovery of introns. Much like the double helix, this discovery had something of the ''X factor'' to it: biologists trained in the post-intron era may take the concept of gene fragmentation for granted, but at the time it was a truly radical and paradigm-shifting idea. The sense of surprise made a strong impression on those old enough to remember the discovery, and one of the groups involved went so far as to describe it as ''amazing'' in the title of their paper 6]. |
