GENETICS

Robin Holliday began his research with his Ph.D. project, starting in 1955. It was to develop the genetics of the yeast-like smut fungus Ustilago maydis (U. maydis). At that time the most important genetic advances were being obtained using bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophages), or fungi. Although many scientific papers had been published about U. maydis, only two were of genetic significance. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1959, having established a genetic system. This research continued for many years. During this time he isolated and characterised mutants defective in DNA repair and DNA recombination - the first in any non-bacterial species.

Initially there were very few laboratories studying U. maydis, but as time went on more began to expand the research base. New powerful techniques of molecular genetics were developed, and the DNA genome was sequenced. In the last several years there have been international conferences devoted to U. maydis and a few related species. U. maydis is a plant pathogen and its host is maize. This has become an important field of research, because plant pathogens world wide are of considerable economic importance. Molecular genetics provides the means to unravel the host-parasite relationship in considerable detail, particularly because the genetics of its host maize has been studied with great success for many decades. This ongoing research will throw light on many other plant diseases caused by pathogens

Historical reference:

Holliday, R. (2004) Early studies on recombination and DNA repair in Ustilago maydis. DNA Repair, 3, 671-682