Joachim Messing
Encyclopedia
Waksman Institute of Microbiology
The Waksman Institute of Microbiology is a research facility on the Busch Campus of Rutgers University. It is named after Selman Waksman, who was a faculty member who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1952 for research which led to the discovery of streptomycin. 18 antibiotics were isolated in...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Since his arrival at Rutgers in 1985, Jo Messing has initiated research activity on computational and structural biology and further emphasis on molecular genetics of the regulation of gene expression and biomolecular interactions. In the eighties, he provided incubator space for two Biotechnology centers at Rutgers, one in Medicine and one in Agriculture. Subsequently, he also founded two new departments at Rutgers and served as the first chair, the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and the Department of Genetics.
Prof Messing is also involved in the Plant Genome Initiative at Rutgers, which has contributed to the sequencing of the maize, sorghum, and the rice genome.
Research
Jo Messing is a pharmacist by training, but has specialized in molecular biology during his PhD-research at the LM University of Munich and the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry.In the late seventies and early eighties, Jo Messing and his colleagues developed the shotgun DNA sequencing
Shotgun sequencing
In genetics, shotgun sequencing, also known as shotgun cloning, is a method used for sequencing long DNA strands. It is named by analogy with the rapidly-expanding, quasi-random firing pattern of a shotgun....
method with single and paired synthetic universal primers. The method is based on fragmenting DNA into small sizes, purifying them by cloning, and defining the start of sequencing with a short oligonucleotide.
Because fragmentation produces overlapping fragments, sequences can be concatenated by overlapping sequence information, thereby reconstructing contiguous sequences (contigs), which was first exemplified by the complete structure of a plant DNA virus. His cloning vectors were also used to develop the method for oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis. DNA cloning, shotgun sequencing
Shotgun sequencing
In genetics, shotgun sequencing, also known as shotgun cloning, is a method used for sequencing long DNA strands. It is named by analogy with the rapidly-expanding, quasi-random firing pattern of a shotgun....
and site-directed mutagenesis became widely used to sequence large DNA molecules like human chromosomes and to engineer genes and proteins. These methods are freely available, have been the cornerstone of the biotechnology industry and are cited in many patents.
At Rutgers, his basic research is directed to the evolution of plant chromosomes and gene duplication. He also researches non-Mendelian inheritance
Non-mendelian inheritance
Non-Mendelian inheritance is a general term that refers to any pattern of inheritance in which traits do not segregate in accordance with Mendel’s laws. These laws describe the inheritance of traits linked to single genes on chromosomes in the nucleus. In Mendelian inheritance, each parent...
.
His applied research is focused on upgrading the nutritional value of corn, by genetically modifying corn to make methionine
Methionine
Methionine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar. This amino-acid is coded by the codon AUG, also known as the initiation codon, since it indicates mRNA's coding region where translation into protein...
and lysine in the seeds, two of the essential amino acid
Essential amino acid
An essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo by the organism , and therefore must be supplied in the diet.-Essentiality vs. conditional essentiality in humans:...
s that people and livestock need in their diet.
Another applied research line is investigating the genetic properties of sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
. A natural sorghum variant with increased sugar in the stem allows the plant to be used for both biofuel
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
and feed.
Education
1968: B.S. in Pharmacy, Düsseldorf, Germany1971: M.S. in Pharmacy, Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
, Berlin
1975: Dr.Rer.Nat. in Biochemistry/Pharmacy Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Professional career
1975-1978: Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich, Germany1978-1980: Research Associate in Bacteriology, University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Davis, CA
1980-1982: Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, St. Paul, MN
1982-1984: Associate Professor of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
1984-1985: Professor of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
1985-present: University Professor of Molecular Biology, Rutgers University
1988-present: Director, Waksman Institute, Rutgers University
Awards and honors
- 1981-1990 World's most-cited scientist
- 1985-1986 The most cited 1985 paper in the life sciences
- 2002 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
- 2004 USDA Secretary’s Honor Award (US Rice Genome)
- 2007 Member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (Germany)