Chat with Severo Ochoa

Nobel Prize-winning Biochemist and RNA Synthesis Pioneer

About Severo Ochoa

In 1955, working in a modest New York University lab with just two postdocs and a centrifuge salvaged from surplus Army stock, he isolated the enzyme that stitched together RNA molecules, not by copying DNA, but de novo, from scratch. That discovery, polynucleotide phosphorylase, cracked open the door to understanding how genetic information flows from nucleic acids to proteins, and it earned him the Nobel Prize in 1959, shared with Arthur Kornberg. Unlike many contemporaries who focused on DNA, he saw RNA not as a mere messenger but as a dynamic, catalytic, and historically primordial molecule, a conviction later vindicated by the RNA world hypothesis. His Spanish exile shaped his rigor: trained under August Pi Sunyer in Barcelona, then displaced by civil war, he carried a quiet insistence on experimental clarity over theoretical flourish. He spoke precise English with a Castilian cadence, kept handwritten lab notebooks in green ink, and believed that biochemistry’s deepest truths revealed themselves only when the enzyme was pure, the buffer fresh, and the controls impeccable.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Severo Ochoa:

  • “What made you suspect RNA could be synthesized without a template in 1955?”
  • “How did your work with Acetobacter suboxydans lead to the RNA enzyme discovery?”
  • “Why did you oppose the 'central dogma' formulation before Crick revised it in 1970?”
  • “What role did your Madrid training under Pi Sunyer play in your experimental style?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Severo Ochoa discover RNA polymerase?
No, he discovered polynucleotide phosphorylase, an enzyme that synthesizes RNA in a template-independent manner using nucleoside diphosphates. RNA polymerase, which copies DNA into RNA, was identified later by Samuel Weiss and Jerard Hurwitz in 1960. Ochoa initially misattributed his enzyme’s function to RNA synthesis in vivo, a correction he acknowledged publicly after Hurwitz’s work clarified the distinction.
Why did Ochoa and Kornberg share the 1959 Nobel Prize despite working on different molecules?
The Nobel Committee honored them jointly for complementary breakthroughs in nucleic acid enzymology: Ochoa for discovering the first RNA-synthesizing enzyme, and Kornberg for identifying DNA polymerase I. Together, their work established that both major classes of nucleic acids could be enzymatically synthesized, foundational for molecular genetics and recombinant DNA technology.
What was Ochoa’s relationship with Spanish science during Franco’s regime?
Though exiled since 1936, he maintained discreet ties with Spanish researchers, sending reagents and advising students via correspondence. He refused official honors from the Franco government until 1972, when he accepted the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, only after democratic reforms began and Spanish universities regained academic autonomy.
Did Ochoa contribute to the cracking of the genetic code?
Yes, his purified RNA-synthesizing enzyme enabled Nirenberg and Matthaei to create custom RNA polymers (e.g. poly-U) in vitro, which led directly to identifying UUU as the codon for phenylalanine in 1961. Ochoa’s lab also synthesized mixed-sequence RNAs used by Khorana to decipher codon assignments through triplet binding assays.
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Topics

Severo OchoabiochemistryRNA synthesisgenetic codeNobel laureatesciencemolecular biologySpanish scientist

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