Although Orgel wanted Sulston to remain with him, Sydney Brenner persuaded Sulston to return to Cambridge[when?] to work on the neurobiology ofCaenorhabditis elegans at theMedical Research Council (MRC)Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). Sulston soon produced the complete map of the worm's neurons.[22] He continued work on its DNA and subsequently the whole genome sequencing. In 1998, the whole genome sequence was published in collaboration with the Genome Institute atWashington University in St. Louis,[23][24] so thatC. elegans became the first animal to have its complete genome sequenced.[25]
Sulston played a central role in both theC. elegans[7] andhuman genome[26] sequencing projects. He had argued successfully for the sequencing ofC. elegans to show that large-scale genome sequencing projects were feasible. As sequencing of the worm genome proceeded, theHuman Genome Project began. At this point he was made director of the newly establishedSanger Centre (named afterFred Sanger[27]), located inCambridgeshire, England.
In 2000, after the 'working draft' of the human genome sequence was completed, Sulston retired from directing the Sanger Centre. With Georgina Ferry, he narrated his research career leading to the human genome sequence inThe Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, and the Human Genome (2002).[28]
John Sulston is distinguished for his work on the molecular and developmental genetics ofCaenorhabditis elegans. His initial research was in the field of chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides. Sulston began his work on C. elegans in 1974 characterising its DNA. Since then he has carried out a wide range of genetical and developmental studies on the nematode but his major research has been on the developmental lineage andmutations that affect it. In a series of studies, culminating in a paper published in 1983, Sulston has analysed and described the total cell lineage of the nematode making it the first organism for which the origin of every cell is exactly known. This work is the basis for the study of mutations affecting lineages and is the foundation on which detailed studies of development in this organism will be based. Sulston has now turned his attention to an analysis of the genome of C. elegans and was constructing a total physical map using a novel method of analysing cloned DNA fragments.[29]
One of Sulston's most important contributions during his research years at the LMB was to elucidate the precise order in which cells inC. elegans divide. In fact, he and his team succeeded in tracing the nematode's entire embryonic cell lineage.[8]
John Sulston met Daphne Bate, a research assistant in Cambridge.[18] They got married in 1966[18] just before they left for US for postdoctoral research. Together they had two children. Their first child, Ingrid, was born inLa Jolla in 1967, and their second, Adrian, later in England.[37] The couple lived inStapleford, Cambridgeshire where they were active members of the local community:[citation needed] John regularly volunteered in the local library and in working parties atMagog Down; he was a Trustee of Cambridge Past, Present and Future.[38][verification needed]
Although brought up in a Christian family, Sulston lost his faith during his student life at Cambridge, and remained an atheist.[4][19] He was a distinguished supporter ofHumanists UK.[39] In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel Laureates who signed theHumanist Manifesto.[40]
Sulston was in favour of free public access of scientific information. He wanted genome information freely available, and he described as "totally immoral and disgusting" the idea of profiteering from such research. He also wanted to change patent law, and argued that restrictions on drugs such as the anti-viral drugTamiflu by Roche are a hindrance to patients whose lives are dependent on them.[19]
In December 2010, Sulston backedJulian Assange by acting as a bail surety for him, according to Assange's attorneyMark Stephens.[41] Sulston forfeited £15,000 of the £20,000 pledged in June 2012, as Assange had entered the embassy of Ecuador to escape the jurisdiction of the English courts.[42][43]
Sulston died on 6 March 2018 of stomach cancer, aged 75 years.[17]
^abSulston, J. E.; Schierenberg, E.; White, J. G.; Thomson, J. N. (1983). "The embryonic cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans".Developmental Biology.100 (1):64–119.doi:10.1016/0012-1606(83)90201-4.PMID6684600.
^Sulston, J. E.; Horvitz, H. R. (1977). "Post-embryonic cell lineages of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans".Developmental Biology.56 (1):110–156.doi:10.1016/0012-1606(77)90158-0.PMID838129.
^Sulston, J.; Mallett, F.; Staden, R.; Durbin, R.; Horsnell, T.; Coulson, A. (1988). "Software for genome mapping by fingerprinting techniques".Computer Applications in the Biosciences.4 (1):125–132.doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/4.1.125.PMID2838135.
^Brown, D. M.;Kornberg, H. (2000). "Alexander Robertus Todd, O.M., Baron Todd of Trumpington. 2 October 1907 -- 10 January 1997: Elected F.R.S. 1942".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.46:515–532.doi:10.1098/rsbm.1999.0099.S2CID73076704.
^Sulston, J.E.; Horvitz, H.R. (1977). "Post-embryonic cell lineages of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans".Developmental Biology.56 (1):110–156.doi:10.1016/0012-1606(77)90158-0.PMID838129.
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