Giuseppe Attardi
California Institute of Technology
September 14, 1923 - April 5, 2008
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Scientific Discipline: Cellular and Developmental Biology Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1984)
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Geneticist Giuseppe Attardi conducted research on mitochondrial gene expression and function. While studying the structure of the mitochondria, he identified mitochondrial ribosomes and outlined the metabolic characteristics of mitochondrial DNA-coded ribosomal RNAs. He found that as a person ages, there is an accumulation of point mutations in human mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondrial genomes of younger patients lacked these specific point mutations, suggesting a link to cellular senescence; a disruption of metabolism that leads to deterioration.
In 1947, Attardi earned his medical degree from the University of Padua, where he taught. Attardi held several research fellowships at various universities in Europe and the U.S. He moved to the U.S. in 1963 to join the faculty at the California Institute of Technology, where he served as an associate professor of biology and a professor of biology and molecular biology.
