Producing rat insulin using recombinant DNA, Walter Gilbert

Interviewee: Walter Gilbert. Walter Gilbert talks about his group's early success with isolating the rat insulin gene and making recombinant rat insulin. (DNAi Location: Manipulation > Production > Players > Walter Gilbert > Making insulin)

We were the first group to actually make rat insulin in bacteria and we knew we had made it because we got the insulin to fold into the right shape, the insulin molecule to fold in the right shape and be exported from the bacterium. A year or so later actually we tested the insulin to actually show that it functioned as insulin, but at the time we had just looked at its shape when we published that paper in 1978. That made rat insulin, it didn't actually make human insulin in a large enough amount to be used.

insulin molecule,rat insulin,insulin gene,human insulin,walter gilbert,recombinant dna,dnai,interviewee,bacterium,manipulation,shape

Related Content

15259. Cloning the human insulin gene, Walter Gilbert

The recombinant DNA moratorium meant Gilbert had to go to England's Porton Down facility to try and isolate human insulin. He only had one chance ...

  • ID: 15259
  • Source: DNAi

15927. Isolating DNA to make human insulin

Walter Gilbert's group tried to isolate the human insulin DNA sequence using the rat insulin DNA sequence.

  • ID: 15927
  • Source: DNAi

15088. Gilbert's approach to synthesizing insulin, David Goeddel

David Goeddel talks about how another group was trying to make insulin.

  • ID: 15088
  • Source: DNAi

15255. Producing human insulin using recombinant DNA, Walter Gilbert

Walter Gilbert talks about the reasons for making insulin with recombinant DNA.

  • ID: 15255
  • Source: DNAi

16117. Close but no cigar, Walter Gilbert

Walter Gilbert talks about close but no cigar.

  • ID: 16117
  • Source: DNAi

15258. Government restrictions on working with recombinant DNA, Walter Gilbert

In the late 1970s, there was a moratorium on recombinant DNA work. Gilbert had to go to England's Porton Down facility to try and isolate human insulin.

  • ID: 15258
  • Source: DNAi

15257. Trying to produce insulin using recombinant DNA, Walter Gilbert

Walter Gilbert talks about his feelings regarding the insulin project and science in general.

  • ID: 15257
  • Source: DNAi

15505. Synthesizing human insulin using recombinant DNA, 3D animation with no audio

Synthesizing human insulin using recombinant DNA, 3D animation with no audio

  • ID: 15505
  • Source: DNAi

15087. Genentech's approach to making insulin, David Goeddel

David Goeddel was one of the first scientists Herb Boyer hired for the insulin project. Here, David Goeddel talks about Genentech's general strategy for synthesizing insulin.

  • ID: 15087
  • Source: DNAi

15928. How insulin is made using bacteria

Synthetic human insulin was the first golden molecule of the biotech industry and the direct result of recombinant DNA technology. Currently, millions of diabetics worldwide use synthetic insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Synthetic insulin i

  • ID: 15928
  • Source: DNAi