Werner Arber

Date of Birth 3 June 1929
Place Gränichen (Switzerland)
Nomination 12 May 1981 (President of the PAS from 20 December 2010 to 29 May 2017)
Field Microbiology
Title Professor, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1978
Most important awards, prizes and academies
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1978). Academies: European Molecular Biology Organization (1964); European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (1981); Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (1984); Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1984); Academia Europaea (1989); Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (1996); Associate Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) (1997); President of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) (1996-1999).
Summary of scientific research
W. Arber's main scientific interests are the mechanisms which promote and which limit the spontaneous variation of genetic information in micro-organisms. In his doctoral dissertation he explained that rare, spontaneous derivatives of the bacterial virus λ have a part of the viral DNA substituted by a segment from the chromosome of the host bacteria. The concept of these hybrid transducing viruses later served others as a model for the design of cloning vectors in recombinant DNA technology. Beginning in 1960, W. Arber explored the molecular basis of host-controlled modification of bacterial viruses. This led to the discovery that this phenomenon acts at the DNA level. Specific enzymes, now known as restriction endonucleases, serve in many bacterial strains to recognise foreign DNA upon its entry and they subsequently inactivate this DNA by cleavage. An associated DNA methylase protects the cellular DNA from restriction cleavage. Restriction and modification systems thus represent barriers limiting the exchange of genetic material between different micro-organisms, thereby improving genetic stability. Soon after their isolation, restriction enzymes proved to be extremely useful tools for molecular genetic studies, since they provide specific fragmentation of the long DNA filaments, a prerequisite for detailed structural and functional analysis. W. Arber has also intensively studied enzyme-directed processes in the structural rearrangement of genetic material, in particular transposition and site-specific recombination. These processes lead to the recombination of nonhomologous DNA and thus can bring about new gene functions by fusion of previously independent DNA segments. They represent part of the mecha nisms responsible for spontaneous mutagenesis and they are important agents in both vertical and horizontal evolution. On the basis of his long-term experience and taking into account knowledge accumulated over the past fifty years on molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis and of different kinds of recombination of genetic information, particularly in micro-organisms, W. Arber has postulated a theory of molecular evolution, according to which the products of evolution genes carried in the genome are involved either in the generation or in the limitation of genetic variation, without, however, implying a specific direction to biological evolution. Rather, the course of biological evolution results from the casual action of the products of evolution genes on DNA, from the conformational flexibility of the structures of biologically active molecules, from the largely stochastic nature of any interaction affecting genetic stability, and from chance environmental influences, whereby the steadily exerted natural selection limits diversity according to the temporal fitness of the organisms involved. In brief, a multitude of specific molecular mechanisms contribute to overall spontaneous genetic variation. These specific mechanisms can be classified into three major natural strategies of genetic variation, namely, small local changes in the nucleotide sequences, intragenomic rearrangement of DNA segments, and acquisition of a segment of foreign DNA by horizontal gene transfer. These strategies differ in the quality of their contributions to genetic variation and thus to biological evolution. The postulate that the products of specific evolution genes together with intrinsic properties of matter are at the origin of genetic variation which drives biological evolution has interesting philosophical implications. Nature cares actively for biological evolution. The juxtaposition of evolution genes and of the more classical genes acting to the benefit of individual lives implies an intrinsic duality of the genome. These aspects have been discussed by W. Arber in some of his recent publications, as well as the relevance of the acquired knowledge on spontaneous genetic variation for the evaluation of conjectural risks of genetic engineering.
Main publications
Arber, W., Kellenberger, G. and Weigle, J.J., The defectiveness of lambda transducing phage, Papers on bacterial genetics selected by E.A. Adelberg, Little, Brown and Co., Boston-Toronto, pp. 224-229 (1960); Arber, W. and Dussoix, D., Host specificity of DNA produced by Escherichia coli. 1. Host controlled modification of bacteriophage lambda, J. Mol. Biol., 5, pp. 18-36 (1962); Dussoix, D. and Arber, W., Host specificity of DNA produced by Escherichia coli. 2. Control over acceptance of DNA from infecting phage lambda, J. Mol. Biol., 5, pp. 37-49 (1962); Arber, W. and Linn, S., DNA modification and restriction, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 38, pp. 467-500 (1969); Smith, J.D., Arber, W. and Kuehnlein, U., Host specificity of DNA produced by Escherichia coli. 14. The role of nucleotide methylation in in vivo B-specific modification, J. Mol. Biol., 63, pp. 1-8 (1972); Arber, W., Iida, S., Juette, H., Caspers, P., Meyer, J. and Haenni, C., Rearrangements of genetic material in Escherichia coli as observed on the bacteriophage Pl plasmid, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol., 43, pp. 1197-1208 (1978); Arber, W., Promotion and limitation of genetic exchange, Science, 205, pp. 361-365 (1979); Iida, S., Meyer, J. and Arber, W., Genesis and natural history of IS-mediated transposons, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol., 45, pp. 27-37 (1981); Iida, S., Meyer, J. and Arber, W., Prokaryotic IS elements, Mobile genetic elements (J.A. Shapiro, ed.), Academic Press, Inc., New York, pp. 159-221 (1983); Arber, W., Elements in microbial evolution, J. Mol. Evol., 33, pp. 4-12 (1991); Arber, W., Evolution of prokaryotic genomes, Gene, 135, pp. 49-56 (1993); Arber, W., Naas, T. and Blot, M., Generation of genetic diversity by DNA rearrangements in resting bacteria, FEMS Microbiol. Evol., 15, pp. 5-14 (1994); Arber, W., The generation of variation in bacterial genomes, J. Mol. Evol., 40, pp. 7-12 (1995); Arber, W., Involvement of gene products in bacterial evolution, Molecular strategies in biological evolution (L.H. Caporale, ed.), Annals New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 870, pp. 36-44 (1999); Arber, W., Genetic variation: molecular mechanisms and impact on microbial evolution, FEMS Microbiol. Rev., 24, pp. 1-7 (2000); Arber, W., Evolution of prokaryotic genomes, Pathogenicity islands and the evolution of pathogenic microbes (J. Hacker and J.B. Kaper, eds.), Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol., Vol. 264/I, pp. 1-14 (2002); Arber, W., Molecular evolution: comparison of natural and engineered variations, Pontif. Acad. Sci. Scr. Varia, 103, pp. 90-101 (2002); Arber, W., Cultural aspects of the theory of molecular evolution, Pontif. Acad. Sci. Scr. Varia, 105, pp. 45-58 (2003); Arber, W., Elements for a theory of molecular evolution, Gene, 317, pp. 3-11 (2003); Arber, W., The impact of science and technology on the civilization. Biotech. Adv. 27, pp. 940-944 (2009)..
Professional address
Biozentrum
Department of Microbiology
University of Basel
Klingelbergstrasse 70
CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland)
Related

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Betrachtung über die Beziehungen zwischen den Wissenschaften und religiösem Glauben
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Werner Arber and Marcel Weber
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Sustained Soil Management – “No Till” – Agriculture
Mariano M. Bosch and Pablo A. Mercuri 1. INTRODUCTION Brief description of Argentina and its agroindustrial sector The purpose of this work is to demonstrate what the... Read more -
Address of Pope Francis to the PAS Plenary Session
Consistory Hall Monday, 28 November 2016 Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of your plenary session and I thank the President, Professor Werner Arber, for... Read more -
The Role of Gene Loss in Animal Evolution from an Ancestral Genetic Toolkit
Edward De Robertis Plenary Session on Evolving Concepts of Nature 24-28 October 2014 Casina Pio IV, Vatican City Introduction In this meeting dedicated to evolving concepts of nature I would like to... Read more -
Word of Welcome
President Werner Arber Plenary Session on Evolving Concepts of Nature 24-28 October 2014 Casina Pio IV, Vatican City Good morning. I am pleased to see that a good number of PAS Academicians... Read more -
New Development in Genome Engineering: Scientific and Ethical Aspects
Nicole M. Le Douarin Professeur honoraire au Collège de France Technologies for manipulating DNA have enabled advances in biology ever since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953. An... Read more -
Sustainable Cohabitation of Living Organisms
Professor Werner Arber PAS President As a result of about 3.5 milliard years of evolution of living organisms on our planet Earth, we can enjoy a large diversity of animals, plants and... Read more -
Word of Welcome
President Werner Arber Good morning, I welcome all of you here. I’m pleased to see that quite a number of our Academicians took the time to come here to give their input and to help to find new ways... Read more -
Education for a Sustainable Digital Environment
Antonio M. Battro Introduction The celebrated Encyclical Laudato Si’ On care for our common home by Pope Francis (2015) declares the need to help the media in the digital world “to become sources of... Read more -
Francis L. Delmonico - Self-Presentation
Francis L. Delmonico, MD Thank you, Mr. President. Good morning, everyone. I’m an organ transplant surgeon, a physician and surgeon for 45 years. I’m of the second generation of transplant physicians... Read more -
Effects on Biodiversity
Peter H. Raven In this paper, I shall deal with Genetically Modified (GM) crops in terms of their performance in the field and their effects on the environment generally. In order to do so properly,... Read more -
Alexander Rich - Commemoration
I have the honour to commemorate our highly estimated academician Alexander Rich. He died on 27 April 2015 at the age of 90 years. He grew up in the United States of America (USA), where he also... Read more -
Evolving Insights into the Laws of Nature for Biological Evolution
President Werber Arber Plenary Session on Evolving Concepts of Nature 24-28 October 2014 Casina Pio IV, Vatican City It was shortly after the middle of the 19th century that scientific... Read more -
Welcome to Pope Francis
President Werner Arber Plenary Session on Evolving Concepts of Nature 24-28 October 2014 Casina Pio IV, Vatican City Your Holiness, Ladies and Gentlemen: Thank you for attending this morning the... Read more -
The Complementary Nature of Scientific Experimentation and Thought Experiments
Past President Werner Arber and Professor Marcel Weber Introduction As intelligent living organisms, humans possess curiosity, which is a driving force both for scientific research and for... Read more -
Science and Sustainability. Impacts of Scientific Knowledge and Technology on Human Society and its Environment
Proceedings of the Plenary Session 25-29 November 2016 W. Arber, J. von Braun, M. Sánchez Sorondo (eds) Acta 24 Vatican City, 2020 pp. 424 ISBN 978-88-7761-113-0 ... Read more -
Transformative Roles of Science in Society: From Emerging Basic Science Toward Solutions for People’s Wellbeing
Proceedings of the Plenary Session 12-14 November 2018 J. von Braun, M. Sánchez Sorondo (eds) Acta 25 Vatican City 2020 pp. 358 ISBN 978-88-7761-114-7 ... Read more -
Evolving Concepts of Nature
Proceedings of the Plenary Session 24-28 October 2014 Acta 23 Vatican City, 2015 E-Pub ahead of print ... Read more -
Paths of Discovery
Plenary Session 5-8 November 2004 Acta 18 Vatican City, 2006 pp. LXVIII-299 ISBN 88-7761-088-3 ... Read more -
Complexity and Analogy in Science
Proceedings of the Plenary Session 5-7 November 2012 Acta 22 Vatican City, 2015 pp. 304 ISBN 978-88-7761-106-2 ... Read more -
Predictability in Science: Accuracy and Limitations
Plenary Session 3-6 November 2006 W. Arber, N. Cabibbo, M. Sánchez Sorondo (eds) Acta 19 Vatican City, 2008 pp. XLII-277 ISBN 978-88-7761-094-2 ... Read more -
Scientific Insights into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life
Plenary Session 31 October - 4 November 2008 W. Arber, N. Cabibbo, M. Sánchez Sorondo (eds) Acta 20 Vatican City, 2009 pp. LXVII-622 ISBN 978-88-7761-097-3. ... Read more -
The Scientific Legacy
Plenary Session 28 October - 1 November 2010 W. Arber, J. Mittelstrass, M. Sánchez Sorondo (eds) Acta 21 Vatican City, 2011 pp. 376 ISBN 978-88-7761-101-7 ... Read more
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The Cultural Values of Science
Plenary Session 8-11 November 2002 Scripta Varia 105 Vatican City, 2003 pp. 389, XVII tables ISBN 88-7761-082-4 ... Read more
Papers
The Complementary Nature of Scientific Experimentation and Thought Experiments
Past President Werner Arber and Professor Marcel Weber Introduction As intelligent living... Read moreHuman-Nature Co-Evolution (PDF) 2014
Towards a Sustainable Use of Natural Resources by Respecting the Laws of Nature (PDF) 2012
Molecular Darwinism and its Relevance for Translational Genetic Research (PDF) 2010
Genetic engineering compared to natural genetic variations (PDF) 2010
Transgenic Plants for Food Security in the Context of Development – Editorial (PDF) 2010
From Microbial Genetics to Molecular Darwinism and Beyond (PDF) 2008
Stochastic Genetic Variations and their Role in Biological Evolution (PDF) 2006
The Impact of Microbial Genetics on the Development of Genomics and Biotechnology (PDF) 2004
Cultural Aspects of the Theory of Molecular Evolution (PDF) 2002
Molecular Evolution: Comparison of Natural and Engineered Genetic Variations (PDF) 2001
Context, Essential Contents of, and Follow-up to, the World Conference on Science Held in Budapest in June 1999 (PDF) 1999