After Mendel discovered the segregation phenomenon and the independent distribution law of genetic factors, Morgan and others put forward the gene theory, which supplemented the laws of gene linkage and exchange and proved that these laws are generally applicable in the animal and plant world. Lederberg's later discovery further proved that bacteria also follow the same genetic law.

American geneticist lederberg is one of the founders of bacterial genetics. 1925 was born in Montclair, studied zoology at Columbia University, and 1944 received his bachelor's degree. After that, he studied at Columbia University Medical College, and soon transferred to Yale University, where he received his doctorate from 1947. Later, he served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford Medical College, and served as the director of the Kennedy Molecular Medicine Laboratory from 65438 to 0962.

On 1946, lederberg discovered the joint phenomenon of bacteria in the laboratory of Professor Tatum of Yale University. As far as the biological significance of bacterial conjugation is concerned, it is equivalent to the sexual reproduction of higher animals and plants. In the bacterial "hybridization" experiment designed by lederberg, he mixed two different triple auxotrophic cells of E.coli strain K- 12, smeared the samples on the basic culture medium, and after a proper culture period, a few prototrophic colonies appeared. In lederberg's notebook, the first successful date was recorded as1June 2, 946. By June 9th, 19, he had repeated this for more than ten times and got the same result. He ruled out the possibility of reversion mutation, transformation and mutual culture through a series of experiments, thus proving that these prototrophic cells are recombinants produced by the transfer and recombination of chromosome deoxyribonucleic acid caused by the contact of two different genotypes of Escherichia coli cells. So far, lederberg discovered and confirmed the gene recombination phenomenon of bacteria. In the same year, he published his first scientific experiment paper and announced this amazing discovery. Since then, he has made a series of important contributions to bacterial genetics.

Lederberg's research work showed the universality of gene recombination, initiated bacterial genetics, promoted the development of molecular genetics, and laid the foundation for the transition from classical genetics to molecular genetics.