From crop genetics to fruit flies
Born in Nebraska, Beadle trained in plant genetics at the University of Nebraska and Cornell, completing his doctorate in 1931. He subsequently studied fruit flies at Caltech and collaborated with Boris Ephrussi on the development of eye pigments.
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Tracing gene action through nutritional defects
At Stanford, Beadle and Tatum turned to the bread mould Neurospora. They induced mutations with X-rays and compared the nutritional requirements of mutant strains. Linking inherited defects to particular metabolic steps provided an experimental basis for the historical “one gene–one enzyme” model.
Research and university leadership
Beadle returned to Caltech in 1946 as professor and chairman of biology. He took up leadership roles at the University of Chicago in 1961. The 1958 Nobel Prize was shared by Beadle, Tatum and Joshua Lederberg, whose work concerned bacterial genetics.