Major research accomplishments include:
For a more complete list, see http://esthermlederberg.com/Papers.html
1950: Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg discovers lambda:
the first viral episome of E. coli.
1952: Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg and J. Lederberg
invent replica-plating.
1962: Alan Campbell shows how episomes become
integrated into host chromosomes by a crossover event.
1970: Smös and Inman study chromosome replication
in phage lambda, showing that replication starts
at a unique origin,
1972: P. Berg, Jackson, and Symons splice SV40 viral DNA
into E. coli phage lambda, thus the first
joining of DNA from different organisms in vitro.
1972: Boyer, Hedgpeth, and Goodman identify the DNA
nucleotide sequence of coliphage lambda recognized
by a specific endonuclease.
1972: Stan Cohen, Annie Chang, and Hsu show that E.coli
can take up (circular) plasmid DNA molecules, such that
transformants in the bacterial population can be
identified and selected using antibiotic-resistant
plasmid genes.
1972: Arber and Kuhnlein report isolation of
recognition-site mutations in coliphages.
1973: Stan Cohen, Annie Chang, H. Boyer, and Helling construct
the first biologically-functional hybrid bacterial plasmids
in vitro, by joining fragments derived by restriction
from different plasmids.
1974: K. Murray and N. Murray manipulate restriction endonuclease
recognition sites in lambda phage so that lambda may be more
easily used for cloning for foreign DNA.
Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg did plasmid and other aspects of the genetics of various strains of Escherichia coli including K-12. However, Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg also did genetic research of Salmonella typhimurium including research collaboration with such people as B. A. D. Stocker and S. Cohen (see Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg's published papers). Other researchers who Esther M. Zimmer knew well who specialized in similar investigations included the following:
Relevant papers with their references include the following:
Esther Lederberg correction: "Phage and the Origins of
Molecular Biology", Cairns, J., Stent, G. S., Watson, J. D. (Editors), p. 148
Esther points out that although Max Delbrück advised J. Watson to study
X-ray diffraction of DNA at the Cavendish Laboratory, in fact, J. Watson
went to Kalchar, Copenhagen.