Division of Infection & Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Viruses. 2018 Apr 18;10(4):203. doi: 10.3390/v10040203.
The Czech scientist Jan Svoboda was a pioneer of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV). In the 1960s, before the discovery of reverse transcriptase, he demonstrated the long-term persistence of the viral genome in non-productive mammalian cells, and he supported the DNA provirus hypothesis of Howard Temin. He showed how the virus can be rescued in the infectious form and elucidated the replication-competent nature of the Prague strain of RSV later used for the identification of the oncogene. His studies straddled molecular oncology and virology, and he remained an active contributor to the field until his death last year. Throughout the 50 years that I was privileged to know Svoboda as my mentor and friend, I admired his depth of scientific inquiry and his steadfast integrity in the face of political oppression.
捷克科学家扬·斯沃博达（Jan Svoboda）是劳斯肉瘤病毒（RSV）的先驱。20 世纪 60 年代，在发现逆转录酶之前，他证明了病毒基因组在非生产性哺乳动物细胞中的长期存在，并支持霍华德·特明（Howard Temin）的 DNA 前病毒假说。他展示了病毒如何以感染性形式被拯救，并阐明了后来用于鉴定致癌基因的布拉格 RSV 株的复制能力。他的研究横跨分子肿瘤学和病毒学，直到去年去世，他一直是该领域的活跃贡献者。在我有幸认识斯沃博达作为我的导师和朋友的 50 年里，我钦佩他对科学探究的深入理解以及他在政治压迫面前坚定不移的正直。
