John W. Drake

John W. Drake (1932-2020) was an American microbiologist and geneticist, working for over half a century in the field of mutagenesis and DNA repair.[1]

For other people named John Drake, see John Drake (disambiguation).

John W. Drake
Born(1932-02-10)February 10, 1932
DiedFebruary 2, 2020(2020-02-02) (aged 87)
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Alma materCaltech
Scientific career
Fieldsmutagenesis and DNA repair and genetics
InstitutionsNIEHS
Doctoral advisorRenato Dulbecco

Education and early career

He completed an MS in Microbiology at the University of Illinois (with Paul M. Bingham). His interest in embryology led him to take his PhD at the California Institute of Technology in 1958[2] where he studied alongside Howard Temin in the laboratory of Renato Dulbecco.[3]

Research interests and career

Based on earlier observations on the mutation frequencies of the bacteriophage T4, Drake in the early 1960s began to study the biochemical activities of the T4 polymerase. For this, he established a phage genetics laboratory at the University of Illinois. Together with his coworkers he could dissect both pro- and anti-mutagenic activities of the T4 DNA polymerases during viral replication. To describe the mutation rate in a quantitative way for different organisms, Drake postulated that the mutation rate (per base position and per replication cycle) is proportional to the total genome size of an DNA-based microorganism ("Drakes Law").[4][5] His own discovery of mutator phenotypes (i.e. bacterial or phage strains which display an exceptionally high mutation rate), however demonstrated that there can be deviations (hypermutability) from this general rule.[6]

As an early member of the Environmental Mutagen Society, John W. Drake chaired its "Committee 17" which published an influential position paper; “Environmental Mutagenic Hazards”, in Science in 1975.[7] This described the research needs and regulatory responsibility for managing potential mutagenic compounds in the environment. It significantly influenced research direction, regulatory procedures and mutagenicity testing within industry within the United States and internationally.[8]

Later, he pioneered research on the mutational processes during replication of RNA viruses and RNA bacteriophages.[9] Results from these studies had far reaching consequences for the understanding of the mechanisms that drive viral evolution of human pathogens such as Influenza A virus, Hepatitis C virus and SARS coronavirus 2.

As editor-in-chief of GENETICS from 1982 to 1996, Jan Drake helped to make the journal a first-choice for scientific publications from all over the world. In the last years of his academic and scientific career, John W. Drake headed the Spontaneous Mutation and DNA Repair Group within the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.[2] He was fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Selected publications
  • Drake, John W. (2006). Cigna, Arrigo A.; Durante, Marco (eds.). "Mutation and DNA repair: from the Green Pamphlet to 2005". Radiation Risk Estimates in Normal and Emergency Situations. NATO Security through Science Series. Springer: 271–281. doi:10.1007/1-4020-4956-0_27. ISBN 978-1-4020-4955-2.
  • Drake, John W. (1958). Intracellular Interactions of Polioviruses: Interference and Multiplicity Reactivation (PDF) (Thesis). Caltech.

References
  1. Reha-Krantz, Linda J.; Goodman, Myron F. (December 1, 2020). "John W. (Jan) Drake: A Biochemical View of a Geneticist Par Excellence". Genetics_(journal). Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. "Spontaneous Mutation & DNA Repair Group". NIEHS. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  3. Drake, John W.; Crow, James F. (September 1996). "Recollections of HOWARD TEMIN (1934-1994)". Perspectives - Anecdotal, Historical and Critical Commentaries on Genetics. Genetics Society of America. 144 (1): 1–6. PMC 1207483. PMID 8878668.
  4. Drake, John W. (August 15, 1991). "A constant rate of spontaneous mutation in DNA-based microbes". PNAS.
  5. Drake, John W. (May 18, 1999). "The distribution of rates of spontaneous mutation over viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
  6. Williams, W.E.; Drake, J.W. (July 25, 1977). "Mutator mutations in bacteriophage T4 gene 42 (dHMC hydroxymethylase)". Genetics_(journal).
  7. "Environmental Mutagenic Hazards". Science. 187 (4176): 503–514. February 14, 1975. doi:10.1126/science.163482. PMID 163482.
  8. "Environmental Mutagen Society web site". Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  9. Drake, John W. (May 1, 1993). "Rates of spontaneous mutation among RNA viruses". PNAS.
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