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Quantitative and qualitative approaches to GOD: the first 10 years of the clonal selection theory
Author(s) -
Jordan Margaret A,
Baxter Alan G
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1038/sj.icb.7100140
Subject(s) - clonal selection , selection (genetic algorithm) , repertoire , argument (complex analysis) , diversity (politics) , biology , epistemology , evolutionary biology , sociology , computer science , immunology , artificial intelligence , philosophy , anthropology , biochemistry , physics , acoustics
Of the contentious issues surrounding the clonal selection theory, one of the most influential was that of the mechanism for the generation of diversity of antibody specificity. While Burnet's qualitative theory assumed a very large antibody repertoire, Talmage provided a detailed quantitative argument supporting only 5000 individual globulin patterns that provided an antiserum its specificity through combinatorial action. This methodological difference between the two men, and the mechanistic difference between their models, is key to the understanding of the clonal selection theory, its later acceptance and the proportion of credit paid to Burnet.