The RNA Tie Club was an informal scientific club, meant partly to be humorous, of select scientists who were interested in how proteins were synthesised from genes, specifically the genetic code. It was created by George Gamow upon the suggestion by James Watson in 1954, at the time the relationship between nucleic acids and amino acids in genetic information was unknown. The club consisted of 20 full members, each representing an amino acid, and four honorary members, representing the four nucleotides. The functions of the club members were to think up possible solutions and share in writing the other members.
The first important document of the RNA Tie Club was Francis Crick's adaptor hypothesis in 1955. Experimental works on the hypothesis led to the discovery of transfer RNA, a molecule that carry the key to genetic code. Most of the theoretical groundworks and preliminary experiments on genetic code were done by the club members within a decade; however, the actual code was first discovered by Marshall Nirenberg, a non-member, who received Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968 for the discovery.
History
Background
In 1953, English biophysicist Francis Crick and American biologist James Watson, working together at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, described correctly of the structure of DNA, the principal genetic materials in organisms, and based on it developed the concept of genetic information between DNA and proteins. By 1954, it was becoming to be understood that genetic information pathway involved DNA, RNA and proteins. However, the structure and nature of RNA were still a mystery (specific RNA molecules were not known until 1960), especially on how RNAs are involved in protein synthesis. Watson called this problem "the mysteries of life" in his letter to Crick.
Soviet-American physicist George Gamow then at the George Washington University gave the first possible scheme for protein synthesis from DNA. In early 1954, he spent several days at Woods Hole on Cape Cod with Crick, Watson and Sydney Brenner, discussing about genetics. Based on the Watson-Crick model, he proposed the "direct DNA template hypothesis" that states that proteins are directly synthesised from the double-stranded grooves of DNA. The four bases of DNA were assumed to synthesise 20 different combinations as triplets, that is the different amino acids, with overlapping nucleotide sequences. He published the hypothesis in the 13 February 1954 issue of Nature, explaining:It seems to me that such translation procedure can be easily established by considering the 'key-and-lock' relation between various amino-acids, and the rhomb-shaped 'holes' formed by various nucleotides in the deoxyribonucleic acid chain... One can speculate that free amino-acids from the surrounding medium get caught into the 'holes' of deoxyribonucleic acid molecules, and thus unite into the corresponding peptide chains.
Foundation
In May 1954, Watson visited Gamow, who was then on sabbatical at the University of California, Berkeley. On discussing Gamow's hypothesis, he suggested that they form a 20-member club to work out the genetic code. Gamow instantly came up with the RNA Tie Club to "solve the riddle of the RNA structure and to understand how it built proteins" and with the motto "do or die; or don't try."
The club thus consisted of 20 members, eminent scientists, each of whom corresponded to an amino acid, and an additional four honorary members (S. Brenner, VAL. F. Lipmann, A. Szent-Gyorgyi, and another individual), one for each nucleotide.
Each member received a woolen necktie with an embroidered helix on them, hence the name "RNA Tie Club".
Members
The tie and tiepin
Members of the RNA Tie Club were to receive a black wool-knit tie with a green and yellow RNA helix emblazoned on it. The original design of the tie came from Orgel, with the final pattern being a re-imagining by Gamow. Gamow's tie pattern was delivered to a Los Angeles haberdasher on Colorado Avenue by Watson, with the shop tailor promising to make the ties for $4 each. Along with each tie, members of the club were to receive a golden tiepin with the three letter abbreviation of their club amino acid designation. Not all members may have received their pin. Gamow, however, wore his pin on several occasions, often causing some confusion and questioning of why he was wearing the "wrong initials".