The T4 rII Genes and the History of Molecular Genetics

Key pieces of our understanding of how DNA encodes genes were established in the 1950's and 1960's using elegant genetic experiments on two genes called rIIA and rIIB in bacterial virus T4. The abstract and powerful logic of these experiments never required knowing what these genes actually do, and the molecular functions of rIIA and rIIB have remained unknown to this day. In my talk, I will revisit the mystery of the rII genes to tell a story of 70 years of progress in biology, computational genomics, and artificial intelligence.