born Dec. 14, 1909, Boulder, Colo., U.S.
died Nov. 5, 1975, New York, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. biochemist.
He worked with enzyme (the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis). With Joshua Lederberg , Tatum discovered the occurrence of genetic {{link=recombination">recombination , or "sex," between certain bacteria. Largely because of their efforts, bacteria became the main source of information about genetic control of biochemical processes in the cell. Tatum, Beadle, and Lederberg shared the Nobel Prize in 1958.