Research Guides: Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA): Explore our Digital Archives

Biography Files

The files in this category are pulled from our collection of Biography Files pertaining to the lives and careers of many ASM members.

"Genetic Studies of Lysogenicity in Escherichia Coli" by Esther M. and Joshua Lederberg
Originally published in "Genetics" Vol. 38 No. 1, January 1953 pp 51-64.

This paper describes one of Esther Lederberg's seminal contributions to the field of molecular biology. In this paper (on which her husband is co-author), she explores mechanisms of infection by lambda phage. E. Lederberg had previously discovered that lambda is not only lytic, but also lysogenic. That is, the virus integrates into the host cell genome without killing it; in certain conditions this “prophage” is excised from the genome, leading to production of viral particles and cell lysis. Before E. Lederberg’s work, this 2-part cycle had never been described before—now, lambda is a key model for studying other viruses [see Small Things Considered blog below] that exhibit similar lytic-lysogenic life cycles (e.g., herpes simplex virus).

Small Things Considered: Esther Lederberg, Pioneer of Bacterial Genetics
Companion to the document above

COVID weekly letters

Weekly letters from the Registry Curator-in-Chief providing an update about the scientific progress on COVID research.

CHRONICLES OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN BACTERIOLOGISTS 1899-1950

The American Society for Microbiology was founded in 1899 as the Society of American Bacteriologists (SAB). In 1934, the Society created the position of Archivist, to which Barnett Cohen of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine was appointed.

SAB’s fiftieth meeting, the Golden Jubilee Meeting, was held in Baltimore in May of 1950. Cohen researched the archival records he had acquired and prepared Chronicles of the Society of American Bacteriologists 1899-1950, a brief history of the Society, including a photograph of each of the Society’s presidents. Copies of the volume were provided to each of the attendees at the meeting, courtesy of SAB’s publisher, Williams and Wilkins, and its printer, Waverly Press.

Chronicles of SAB

(Use your cursor to turn the pages. Or you can use the arrows at the bottom to flip through the book.)

As there was no Table of Contents included, a basic one is offered here:

Founding	p. 1
Program, First Meeting	5
Program, Second Meeting	9
The Charter Members	13
The Scope of the Society	15
The Membership	18
The Local Branches	22
The General (Annual) Meetings	23
Publications	26
Services and Accomplishments	29
Presidents	31

To celebrate its Centennial, ASM published a special issue of ASM News in May 1999.

For questions or additional information, contact the ASM Archivist, Colleen Puterbaugh, at archives@asmusa.org.