In 2002, Joseph Krzyxki, professor with the Department of Microbiology at Ohio State, and Michael Chan, former professor with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, discovered the 22nd amino acid, providing valuable insights into how genetic code evolves. For decades following the discovery of the structure of DNA, it was thought that the genes in the DNA were decoded to produce proteins built from only 20 amino acids. In 1986, researchers discovered the 21st amino acid. This amino acid, also known as L-pyrrolysine, became the 22nd and is only found in organisms that use methylamines as energy sources. Two years later, the research team announced that they had successfully synthesized the amino acid.
Chan called the project “a great example of how researchers in chemistry and biology can come together to solve some important fundamental scientific questions.”
Their achievement is recognized in a Scarlet Plaque in the Biological Sciences Building on Ohio State’s campus