she is known for doing research on plant biotechnology

WOMEN PIONEERS IN PLANT BIOLOGY

Recognizing that plant physiology was an area of study that very few women actively pursued until the 1980s, the Women on Plant Biology Committee would like to acknowledge those women who were pioneers in studying plants and how they work. Their research areas are very diverse: genetics, biochemistry, structure, as well as physiology. Their education, training, and career paths are also diverse. However, as witnessed by the biographies written by former students, fellow researchers, admirers, or good friends, each of these women has contributed to the broad field of plant physiology, and we are grateful to them.

If you would like to write a biography about someone who you believe should be honored in our Women in Plant Biology Hall of Fame, or if you want to suggest edits, please contact the WIPB committee.

Mary E. Clutter

BY VIRGINIA WALBOT, JANE SILVERTHORNE, AND MACHI DILWORTH

Our beloved mentor, friend, and colleague Mary E. Clutter, retired NSF assistant director for Biological Sciences, died peacefully on December 9, 2019, in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 89.

Mary with her Distinguished Service Medal, presented to her upon her retirement in August 2005.

Mary Clutter was born March 29, 1930, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to Frank and Helen Clutter. She had two brothers and a sister. She earned a BS in biology from Allegheny College, where she developed a passion for plants. In her first job, in the Harvard laboratory of Ralph Wetmore, Mary mastered plant tissue culture. After team member Ian Sussex became assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, she returned to her hometown to be his first graduate student, earning both her MS and PhD there. Her work pioneered new techniques in eliciting novel developmental programs in differentiated cells—what today we call reprogramming.

Mary’s capstone experiments on vascular element differentiation in tobacco pith were published as a solo-authored paper in Science in 1960 (Clutter, 1960). That year, the Sussex group moved to Yale University, and Mary started a position as a research associate. Work continued on auxin impact on differentiation and on auxin transport through vascular and nonvascular tissues. Motivated by the discovery of polytene chromosomes in suspensor cells of bean plants, Mary and her unofficial first graduate student, Tom Brady, were the first to implement in situ chromosome gene detection in plants (Brady and Clutter, 1972).

Despite her flourishing independent research program, the prospects for a permanent position at Yale were not bright, as was typical at the time. Mary was deeply disturbed by the lack of career opportunities for women and by the lack of awareness among the then all-male undergraduate class. Instead of just lamenting, she and Virginia Walbot developed and taught a course on the interface of science and society that involved sampling river water at industry sites. They got all 100 students involved in assessing the impact of industry on the daily life of residents of New Haven, the start of Yale’s involvement in improving the town.

Mary working on her Plant Biology 2006 talk with Courtney Smoot and Machi Dilworth.

On a second front, along with Walbot, Mary Lake Polan, and others, Mary was instrumental in organizing the women in science movement. In fact, her next Science publication was a 1972 letter published with Walbot announcing that AAAS had authorized $50,000 to establish a Women in Science Office, something they had lobbied for at the 1971 annual meeting (Clutter and Walbot, 1972). The Women in Science Office morphed into the many AAAS efforts today for inclusion and diversity in science.

“Shocking” was the reaction of Yale’s male faculty when Mary was appointed as a rotator for the Developmental Biology Program at NSF in 1974. This reaction would be repeated across the country as Mary began to invite accomplished yet underappreciated woman scientists to serve on NSF review panels and later as rotators. Her experience at Yale as a woman scientist deeply offended her sense of fairness, and as she embarked on her new career, a major objective for Mary was opening NSF opportunities to everyone based on merit.

Upon her arrival at NSF, Mary quickly became involved in NSF activities beyond developmental biology. After several years, she became a permanent NSF employee and ascended the leadership ladder at NSF, moving up from program director, to division director for cellular biosciences, to science adviser to NSF Director Erich Bloch. In 1989, she was appointed assistant director for Biological, Behavioral, and Social Sciences (later changed to Biological Sciences [BIO] during reorganization), the position she held until her retirement in 2005.

Left: Mary and companions attending the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. Arriving early morning on November 15, 1969, after an all-night drive from New Haven to the outskirts of Washington, DC, in Virginia Walbot’s red Impala, they put on more clothes for a very chilly 18-mile walk. Mary featured black leather, and the grad students wore lab coats. President Nixon had school buses parked around the White House, and marchers were channeled through a predetermined route. Right: Mary and Tom Brady strolling along the docks in San Diego during the December 1971 American Society for Cell Biology meeting. The woman just behind Tom is Virginia Walbot’s mother, who joined them for a week and was their chauffeur around the area.

Throughout her NSF career, Mary’s highest priority was always to facilitate the advancement of science by supporting the very best research. Those of us who worked with her often heard her ask, “What about the science?” Mary demanded that all our decisions be justified on the basis of science. She was a leader with vision, and the creation of the Bioinformatics Program in 1991 is an example of her visionary thinking. She also recognized the importance of collaboration across institutional and national borders and of the integration of disciplines to advance 21st-century science. She played a key role in developing international science programs such as the Human Frontier Science Program and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mary viewed nurturing the next generation of scientists and promoting the participation of underrepresented groups as essential to advancing science. As a program director, she made sure that the review panel members were balanced in terms of expertise, gender, institution type, and geographic location. When she became BIO assistant director, she made it directorate policy not to support conferences that lacked women speakers. She also issued an internal memorandum that required the appointment of women on panels and committees equal to their numbers in biology. This practice has since been adopted widely across NSF.

In terms of her role in support of the plant sciences, they would not be where they are today if it were not for Mary’s vision, leadership, encouragement, and support. She spearheaded numerous initiatives and activities, ushering in a golden age of research that changed the face of biology. Her efforts in the early 1980s were focused on applying and integrating molecular biology and biotechnology concepts and technologies in plant research, represented by the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Plant Biology and the Plant Molecular Biology course at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory launched in 1983. This “plant postdoc program” supported 236 fellows over the course of 12 years, including current and past ASPB presidents.

It is a little-known fact that Mary was intimately involved in setting up USDA’s Competitive Research Grants Office, which opened in 1977 and was the precursor of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. She dispatched her trusted deputy Holly Schauer to serve as associate chief scientist and arranged the transfer of veteran grants specialists from NSF. Similarly, she was instrumental in establishing the McKnight Foundation’s Plant Biology Program, which started in 1983. When representatives from the McKnight Foundation sought her advice about the next research area to support, she not only convinced them to support plant biology but also provided advice on the most impactful mechanisms of support. This program provided training grants to institutions and individual no-strings-attached research grants, filling unmet needs of the plant community.

Mary’s most ambitious initiatives were the Multinational Coordinated A rabidopsis thaliana Genome Research Project and the National Plant Genome Initiative. The Arabidopsis genome program was started when NIH decided against including Arabidopsis as one of the model organisms in the Human Genome Initiative. In her typical fashion, Mary quietly persuaded other funding agencies in the United States and abroad to coordinate and collaborate with NSF. The Multinational Coordinated Arabidopsis thaliana Genome Research Project was officially launched in 1990 with endorsement from Arabidopsis researchers from around the globe and the European Commission. Under the umbrella of this project, the complete genome sequence of Arabidopsis was accomplished in 2000 by six teams of scientists from France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The National Plant Genome Initiative sprang from community efforts initially led by the National Corn Growers Association and later joined by the diverse plant science community led by ASPB. It was a political process, although such an initiative also made scientific sense. When Congress was close to a vote on funding, Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO) asked Mary whether NSF would accept the funds and manage a new plant genomics program. Mary answered that NSF would accept the funds if he could guarantee that the funding was new money and if NSF was free to manage the program according to established NSF policies and procedures. Senator Bond agreed. The NSF Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) started in 1998.

It was Mary’s vision that transformed a potentially risky opportunity into a bold new direction for the plant sciences. She ensured that the PGRP enhanced rather than replaced the already vibrant research supported through the BIO core programs and at other agencies. As chair of the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes, Mary was an architect of the National Plant Genome Initiative five-year plans and the associated guiding principles. These principles—use of the highest standard of peer review to support merit-based funding decisions, rapid release of data and resources, and cooperation across national and international agencies and the private sector—were reflections of her deeply held belief that this funding should have the widest possible impact.

Mary received many honors in her long, distinguished career. Among them are the Leadership in Science Public Service Award from ASPB, Presidential Rank Awards from three presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton), and honorary doctorates from Allegheny College and Mount Holyoke College.

After her retirement from NSF, Mary served as a consultant for the Cosmos Group, among other organizations, and as a member of the Boyce Thompson Institute board of directors. She also continued to enjoy attending the annual Plant and Animal Genome Conferences and AAAS meetings. To the end of her life, she remained enthusiastic about and interested in the many scientists whose careers she had helped to establish.

Although her contributions to science undoubtedly will continue to reverberate after her death, what we will miss most is Mary the person. She was always optimistic despite obstacles. She had boundless energy, and she was unsentimental but empathetic, critical but courteous, and respectful of others regardless of their social standing. In private, she loved to travel, enjoyed dinners with friends, and was very good with children. She especially loved watching the sun set over the ocean, hoping to see the green flash as it dropped below the horizon.

Mary’s goal in life was nothing short of changing the world. We believe she succeeded.

Brady, T., and Clutter, M. E. (1972). Cytolocalization of ribosomal cistrons in plant polytene chromosomes. Journal of Cell Biology 53: 827–832. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.53.3.827

Clutter, M. E. (1960). Hormonal induction of vascular tissue in tobacco pith in vitro. Science 132: 548–549. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.132.3426.548

Clutter, M. E., and Walbot, V. (1972). AAAS meeting [letter]. Science 175: 944–945. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.175.4025.944-b

Creighton’s publications and early contributions to maize genetics may be found in issues of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Maize Genetics Cooperation News Letter, Records of the Genetics Society of America, and citations to her works appear in many books and journals, whose authors also acknowledge her for sharing data. Her major contributions to our field, however, are her behind-the-scenes participation on many national science education committees for the BSA, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), and the National Science Foundation’s National Research Council (NSF/NRC). Much of her involvement on these committees has been described in the pages of the Plant Science Bulletin (PSB), of which she was a founding member and editor by 1958. She wrote articles encouraging innovation in teaching, and in her retiring presidential address, she encouraged her fellow botanists to be as proud as she was of their botanical roots, and challenged them with the call “Botanists of the World, Unite! and Get Going.”

Early Achievements, 1929-1940

The Cornell Years: Creighton was born in Delavan, Illinois on June 29, 1909. At age 20 she graduated from Wellesley College (A.B. 1929), and accepted an assistantship (1929-1932) in General Botany in the Department of Botany, College of Agriculture, at Cornell University. There, Dr. Barbara McClintock suggested that she pursue a Doctorate in Cytology with Professor Lester W. Sharp. McClintock also suggested Creighton’s minor subject areas, Plant Physiology and Genetics. In 1929, Creighton learned many new plant cytological techniques from McClintock, who years later would win the Nobel Prize for her discovery of transposable elements in corn.

By 1931, Creighton and McClintock used a semisterile corn stock with a prominent knob at the tip of the short arm of chromosome 9, and having a piece of chromosome 8 attached (a translocation) for their study of a correlation of “genetical and cytological crossing over,” published in the August 1931, PNAS. At the 6th International Congress of Genetics, held at Cornell in 1932, Creighton and McClintock collaboratively presented evidence for 4-strand crossing over in corn. Creighton continued to contribute unpublished data to the Maize Genetics Cooperation News Letter, and published new findings on deficiencies on chromosome 9 of corn.

As a graduate student, Creighton was elected to the Women’s Scientific Fraternity, Sigma Delta Epsilon (Graduate Women in Science) in 1930 (established at Cornell in 1921) and she later became an officer of the National organization. In 1931, she was elected to the Cornell Chapter of the honorary scientific society, Sigma Xi, and to Phi Kappa Phi, in 1932. Creighton completed her doctorate in 1933 and remained in the Botany Department at Cornell as an Instructor of cytology and microtechnique (1932-1934), until accepting a job at Connecticut College for Women (CCW) in 1934.

Connecticut College for women, 1934-1940: Creighton was an Instructor in Botany at CCW (1934-1938) and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1938. In 1935, with McClintock, she published a corroboration of their investigations of cytological crossing over. Creighton worked collaboratively with G.S. Avery, P.R. Burkholder, and others at Connecticut College, on a translation and revision of Peter Boysen-Jensen’s (1883-1959) Growth Hormones in Plants, which was expanded to include 188 new contributions to the literature and 40 additional illustrations. With Avery, Burkholder, and others at Connecticut College, she also conducted a series of plant physiology experiments that were mainly published in the American Journal of Botany (AJB) between 1936 and 1941.

Contributions 1940-1974

In 1940, Creighton was appointed Associate Professor of Botany at Wellesley College, and was elected a Fellow of the AAAS. In addition to teaching, she continued to conduct research on corn. Soon after the U.S. entered World War II, Creighton was granted a leave of absence for war service (1943-May 1946) and rose to the final rank of Lieutenant Commander in the WAVES.

Upon returning to Wellesley, she was appointed Chair of her Department. She enthusiastically supported Wellesley’s Arboretum, Botanic Gardens and The Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses as “premier educational sites” and was committed to maintaining them as such. In 1946, she initiated Garden Day, where local garden clubs were invited to Wellesley to view the greenhouse and gardens. This eventually led to the founding of the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture (WCFH) in 1982, whose members raised funds for the renovation of the Ferguson Greenhouses, completed ten years later. The Harriet B. Creighton Room at the Visitor Center of the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses was dedicated to honor her years of service to the Botany Department and her ongoing support for the College’s Botanic Gardens.

Creighton served as Secretary of the BSA Teaching Section (1948-1951), was a member of the AAAS Council (1949-1951), and was elected Secretary of the BSA in 1950. She was promoted to Professor of Botany in 1952 and that year she was a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, Perth, and at Adelaide University. Seven years later, she again was a Fulbright Lecturer at the National University of Cuzco, Peru.

In 1955, Creighton was named the Ruby F.H. Farwell Professor of Botany at Wellesley. In that year, she was also elected Vice-president of the BSA, served on the PSB editorial board (through 1959) and participated (through 1958) in an NSF Panel for the selection of Predoctoral Fellows. She also served as a Member-at Large for the 14th -16th (1955-1957) Symposium of the Society for Developmental Biology.

Professor Creighton’s commitment to Botanical Education: As a member of the Botanical Society’s Education Committee, Creighton supported their proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Summer Institute for Botany teachers from small colleges to be held at Cornell in 1956. Creighton served on NSF Panels for Summer Institutes for College and High School Teachers of Biology through 1959. She was one of the outstanding lecturers who participated in the NSF-supported Summer Institute for College Botany Teachers, sponsored by the BSA, in 1959. Concurrently, she was a member of the NSF Committee on Teaching Biology (1956-1957), and was invited to join the AIBS Committee on Education and Professional Recruitment’s Steering Committee (1956-1966) for the Secondary School Film Series in which she played a “teacher” in several individual films. While editor of PSB, Creighton (1958) encouraged writers and publishers of Botany and Biology text books to “experiment with texts that are really a third arm of a course, the first two being the teacher and the organisms studied in the field and laboratory.”

Creighton was secretary (1960-1963) of Section G (Botanical Sciences) of the AAAS, and concurrently chaired the BSA’s Committee on Education for two years (1960-1962). The Committee studied the Role of Botany in America, and she helped to formulate their recommendations concerning High School Biology Courses, and Introductory Courses in Biology. As part of her responsibilities for this committee, Creighton was a botanical consultant (1961-1969) to A. J. Nystrom and Co. (Chicago), who produced teaching charts and models of plant structure, which she had designed.

Research interests and further responsibilities: Creighton pursued research on the genetics of Petunia flowers, which she presented independently, and with students, at the annual meetings of the Genetics Society of America (GSA) in the 1940s. Later, she became interested in the horticultural aspects of Begonia. Those studies were presented at the BSA, and published in The Begonian during the 1960 and 1970s. She spent a sabbatical year in the Botany Department at the University of California, Berkeley (1966) and at the Cell Research Institute of the University of Texas in Austin (1967).

In the early 1960s, she was President of the Wellesley Chapter of the Society of Sigma Xi. She traveled to India as a consultant for NSF (1968, 1969) and also accepted committee assignments from the GSA. Creighton was an editorial board member (1969-1975) of the Journal of College Science Teaching, representative to the Executive Committee from the Historical Section of the BSA (1973) and in addition, refereed book manuscripts, journal articles, and published many book reviews. She taught a class on Basic Botany and Horticulture for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and gave a National Science Teachers Association workshop for high school teachers on the use of plants for experiments in their classes.

The Retirement Years 1974-2004, and beyond

Honors and Recognition: Creighton kept busy after her 1974 retirement as Ruby F.H. Farwell Professor Emerita. She was consulted on all aspects of Wellesley College life and wrote the chapter on “The Grounds” for the centennial volume Wellesley College 1875-1975, A Century of Women. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society honored her with the Large Gold Medal of their society in 1985, for her botanical expertise and “horticultural concern in the community.” In 1994, The Wellesley College Alumnae Association recognized her with the Syrina Stackpole Award for “dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley College.”

Posthumous honors: Creighton died at age 94, on January 9, 2004. That year, the Wellesley College Botanical Greenhouse Fund, established by Creighton in 1955 with an initial modest gift, was renamed the Harriet Creighton Greenhouse Fund for continued support of the Margaret Clay Ferguson Greenhouses.

Creighton lived a long, happy, and successful life. Her legacy of contributions to Botany in the 20th century has persisted and sustained the broad field of Plant Biology.

— by Lee B. Kass, Visiting Professor, Cornell University, excerpted from: Kass, L. B. 2005. Harriet Creighton: Proud Botanist.  Plant Science Bulletin  51(4): 118-125.   http://botany.org/PlantScienceBulletin/psb-2005-51-4.php#HARRIET

[Harriet Creighton outside the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses, Wellesley College, 1994; (Photograph by author, Lee Kass)].

Two critical events in the 1970’s enabled Johanna to advance her research further.  One was the petrleum crisis of the early 1970’s, which caused the price of chemical fertilizer to increase significantly, and the other was the development of the acetylene reduction assay (ARA), a relatively easy detection system for determining low levels of nitrogenase, i.e. biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), activity.  Many Brazilian pasture grasses tested positive for nitrogenase activity using ARA and a semi-solid medium developed by Johanna and her students, strongly suggesting the presence of an associated nitrogen-fixing bacterial species.  In the 1980’s, Johanna and her colleagues found a number of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonized the inner tissues of plants (endophytes, a term coined by Johanna).  Herbaspirillum seropedicae was isolated from maize, sorghum, and rice, whereas Gluconoacetobacteria diazotrophicus was isolated from sugarcane.  Indeed, various sugarcane varieties were found to obtain 30 to 50% of their nitrogen from BNF via endophytic bacteria although no single genus has been identified as the source of fixed nitrogen.  Nevertheless, associative nitrogen fixation was firmly established as a means of providing fixed nitrogen to plants.  Currently, 5 million hectares of Brazilian farmland is planted in sugarcane, and more than half of the cane is processed into 13 billion liters per year of bioethanol, which fuels 10-12 million cars.

However, Johanna did not envision “microbe hunting” as her ultimate goal.  She and her colleagues noted different responses of maize and other cereal grain cultivars to the endophytes and thus advocated breeding programs to capitalize on the genetic diversity inherent in the plants.  She insisted on breeding high-yielding soybeans on nitrogen-deficient soil so they that were completely dependent on BNF.  The net result was that such a strategy reduced Brazil’s dependence on chemical fertilizer, thus saving billions of dollars annually.  It also led to Brazil becoming the second largest grower of soybean in the world after the U.S. and made the nation a dominant force in the agricultural marketplace.

For her contributions to Brazilian agriculture, Johanna was the recipient of many awards during her lifetime, including membership in the Brazilian Academy of Science and the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences (there are only 75 members throughout the world).  She was a founding member of the Third World Academy of Sciences and also a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.  She was honored with the title Doctor “Honoris Causa” from the University of Florida and the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro.  She was the recipient of more than 12 national and international prizes and also received many other international honors, such as the Bernardo A. Houssay Science Prize from the Organization of American States.  One of her students noted in the obituary he wrote that Johanna was the most cited Brazilian female scientist and the seventh most cited Brazilian by the international community.  Her scientific output was large not only in research papers and presentations at meetings, but also in the number of students and trainees that she mentored.  She was the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles in Brazil, especially after the news leaked out that she had been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997.  Although she did not win this prize, she already had won the respect and admiration of many, especially her students and colleagues in the nitrogen fixation field.

Johanna Döbereiner passed away on October 5, 2000.

References Baldani, J.I., and Bandani, V.L.D.  2005.  History on the biological nitrogen fixation research in gramineous plants:  special emphasis on the Brazilian experience.  Ann. Brazil. Acad. Sci.  77: 549-579. Baldani, J.I., Bandani, V.L.D., and Reis, V.M.   2002. Johanna Döbereiner:  fifty years educated to the biological nitrogen fixation research area.  In:  Nitrogen Fixation:  Global Perspectives.  Eds.  T. Finan, M. O’Brian, D. Layzell, K. Vessey, and W. Newton.  CABI Publishing, N.Y., N.Y.  Pp.  3-4. Boddey, R.M., Urquiaga, S., Alves, B.J.R. and Reis, V.  2003.  Endophytic nitrogen fixation in sugarcane:  present knowledge and future applications.  Plant Soil.  252: 139-149. Franco, A.A., and Boddey, R.M.  1997.  Dr. Johanna Döbereiner:  a brief biography.  Soil Biol. Biochem.  29:  ix-xi.

Photograph by Robert M. Boddey

This dedication, written by her close colleague and friend, Vernon I. Cheadle, appears on the plaque designating the research building that served as the laboratory and electron microscope facility of Dr. Katherine Esau on the University of California-Santa Barbara campus.

Katherine was born on April 3, 1898, in the city of Yekaterinoslav, now called Dnepropetrovsk, in the Ukraine. She lived there until the end of 1918, when she and her family fled to Germany during the Bolshevik Revolution. When the Esau family fled Russia, Katherine had just completed her first year of study at the Golitsin Women’s Agricultural College in Moscow. Upon arriving in Germany, Katherine enrolled in the Agricultural College of Berlin. She spent three years at the college and developed a close acquaintance with Professor Erwin Baur, a geneticist who became famous for his studies in plant breeding.

In 1922, the Esaus left Germany for the United States, where they settled in Reedly, California, a strong Mennonite community. In 1923, Katherine took a job with the Sloan Seed Company in Oxnard, California. One year later, she was hired at the Spreckels Sugar Company in Salinas, California, to develop a sugarbeet resistant to curly-top disease, a virus that was a major problem to growers in that state. In 1928, Katherine left Spreckels to begin her graduate studies at the University of California-Berkeley. This marked the beginning of her exceptional and productive 64-year career in plant anatomy.

Katherine graduated from Berkeley in 1932 and was employed at UC-Davis as an instructor and junior botanist. Throughout her career, she studied phloem, the food conducting tissue in plants, both in relation to the effects of the phloem-limited viruses upon plant structure and development and to the unique structure of the sieve tubes, food conducting cells. Katherine had an exceptional ability for attacking basic problems, and she set new standards of excellence for the investigation of anatomical problems in the plant sciences.

During her tenure at UC-Davis, Katherine received many honors and distinctions, including a Certificate of Merit on the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the Botanical Society of America in 1956; election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1957; and an honorary degree from Mills College, Oakland, in 1962. She also served as President of the Botanical Society of America in 1951.

In 1963, Katherine moved to Santa Barbara to continue her collaboration with Dr. Vernon I. Cheadle, who had been appointed Chancellor of that UC campus. They had been research colleagues at UC-Davis for 10 years studying the comparative structure of the food conducting tissue in higher plants. She considered her years in Santa Barbara to be her most productive and fulfilling. She had been introduced to electron microscopy just before leaving Davis, and she was interested in applying this new tool to her anatomical research. An electron microscope, the first on the Santa Barbara campus, was purchased and installed soon after her arrival. Although Katherine retired in 1965, she remained actively engaged in research for 24 more years.

In 1989, Katherine was awarded the President’s National Medal of Science by George H. Bush. The citation accompanying the medal reads: “In recognition of her distinguished service to the American community of plant biologists, and for the excellence of her pioneering research, both basic and applied, on plant structure and development, which has spanned more that six decades; for her superlative performance as an educator, in the classroom and through her books; for the encouragement and inspiration she has given to a legion of young, aspiring plant biologists; and for providing a special role model for women in science.”

Katherine was especially well known for her beautifully written and comprehensive textbooks. Her first book, Plant Anatomy, was published in 1953, and it became a classic almost immediately. The book was and still is fondly called the “bible” for structural botanists. Her developmental approach and thorough presentation of the structure and development of a wide variety of economically important plants resulted in a book that revitalized plant anatomy throughout the world. In 1961, Anatomy of Seed Plants, was published for less comprehensive courses. These books provided a standardized and unified terminology for plant anatomy. Between 1965 and 1977, she revised her Plant Anatomy book and Anatomy of Seed Plants and wrote three additional books: Vascular Differentiation in Plants; Viruses in Plant Hosts: Form, Distribution, and Pathologic Effects; and The Phloem. The Phloem covers the structure and development of the phloem, beginning with the earliest records of this tissue. It is one of her greatest contributions.

Katherine was a superb teacher, serving as major professor for 15 doctoral students. She gave freely of her time and was always available to provide advice, encouragement, and praise. I was fortunate to be her last graduate student, joining her laboratory in 1979, when she was 81 years old. Our relationship as mentor and student transformed to colleague and friend, and ultimately my role became one of providing care and assistance during the last several years of her life.

Jennifer Thorsch, University of California Santa Barbara

VJERA PETAJ FINK (1894-1987)

By Danijela Poljuha

Back in 1901, when cars first appeared on the streets of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, women were allowed to enrol as full-time students at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb for the first time. Those two monumental leaps in development were miracles of equal magnitude.

Home is where they belong

Not so long ago, in the heart of Europe, attitudes towards women’s education varied greatly. Some were quite “conciliatory”, as they considered higher education to be the ideal solution for upper-class women who “were unable to get married and find happiness in fulfilling their duties at home where they belong”. 1 Instead, they would be able to pursue a profession which provides them with financial independence and “forget about the bad fate that set them aside”. 2 Some, however, were very eloquent in explaining why women should not be educated. Such opinions are expressed in Arthur Kirchoff’s book “Die akademische Frau” which was published in the year 1897 in Berlin. The book showed results of a survey in which the majority of prominent German university professors declared their willingness to let girls attend their lectures only as an exception. Most of them thought that “a woman, who possesses great mental and physical abilities as well as the capability to endure strenuous work, is an exception”. However, “considering that women still exist, it would be wrong to deprive them of the possibility to better themselves and deny them the means to acquire higher education”. 3 Not to mention that the presence of “young and beautiful women” was considered to be “a distraction which could potentially result in a lower level of science”. 3

Not pleasant to women’s temper…

This was the general environment in which women in Europe imparted on their studies of science. In Croatia, this process started in 1895, when University allowed women to attend lectures first as part-time students, then eventually in 1901 as full-time students. In the period from 1895 to 1914 in total 158 female students enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy. Interestingly enough, more than a third of them enrolled in the natural and abstract science courses, which were considered not to suit women’s temper. 4 Moreover, 10% of them studied at least one semester abroad (Vienna, Prague, Graz, Leipzig, Moscow, Sofia, etc.). However, only 21 (13%) of them finished their studies in Zagreb. A few of them probably completed their studies abroad, although we have no data to confirm this. Nevertheless, this low percentage should not mislead us. The rate of male students who graduated was only slightly higher – 18%. 5

Source: Croatian State Archives

Who was Vjera Petaj Fink?

The Croatian botanist, Prof. Vjera Petaj Fink (1894-1987) was: one of the first full-time female students at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Royal University of Francis Joseph I in Zagreb, one of only 16 women who obtained a PhD degree, and one of only nine female students of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Croatia before the end of World War I. Moreover, she was the first woman who earned a PhD in botany in Croatia .

In her PhD Thesis entitled “Extrafloral Nectaries on the Leaves of Tree of Heaven ( Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.)” she used microscopy techniques for the investigation of morphology, anatomy, microchemistry, and biology of extrafloral nectaries of this ornamental tree.

Why are the extrafloral nectaries a big deal?

Extrafloral nectaries (ENs) are specialised nectar-secreting plant glands that develop outside of flowers, generally on the leaf or petiole (foliar nectaries), and are not involved in pollination. The current knowledge of the ENs roles is still limited, except for their ecological function. Today we know that ENs provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists (primarily ants), which in turn provide protection from herbivores. The initiation of these nectaries may happen due to a carbohydrate accumulation during the ontogeny of leaves. In general, we consider foliar nectaries to be systems which allow the elimination of excess sugars and seem to play an essential role in the regulation of photosynthetic activity. 9

After thorough and detailed literature, field and laboratory research, Vjera Petaj figured out that the available research results of sparse studies conducted on those glands were superficial, incomplete and sometimes misleading. In her thesis, she aimed to describe up to then scarcely investigated extrafloral nectaries of A. altissima , commonly known as ‘tree of heaven’ or ‘China sumac’. She precisely demonstrated the anatomical structure of the extrafloral nectar-glands, proved the nectar generation by microchemical tests and determined the mechanism of its excretion (Hand-drawn Figure 1 ). She also described the new form of ENs, present all over the edge of the cataphylls and intermediate forms of leaves, for the first time (Hand-drawn Figure 2 ).

Back then, it was courageous of the young woman to oppose the authorities in the field. Opposition required absolute confidence in the correctness of her own observations and conclusions.

“ EN tissue does not have any intercellular space”; “The epidermis is not thinner in the middle of the recess”; “The epidermis has no stomata “; “The vessel does not enter into the EN tissue and is not associated with secretory cells”; “There are no special apertures or channels for the secretion on EN”; “Nectar is excreted directly through the epidermis”; “ Contrary to Delpino 10 and Macchiati 11 , myrmecophilous relationship has not been determined in our region”… These are just some of the claims stated in her research. Aware of the insufficient literature and limited possibilities of communication, in several places, she objectively states them. She also expresses her regret over the situation, which makes it impossible to verify her conclusions: “…. Unfortunately, at this unfavorable time, it was not possible for me to obtain herbarium specimens from the China sumac homeland and even the literature at my disposal could not give me any information about it .”

But, again, WHO WAS she?

Let’s get back to Vjera Petaj Fink. We, unfortunately, know just a few facts about her life and career. She was born as Vjera Petaj on 21 February 1894 in Grubišno Polje (Croatia), to Petar, a lawyer and a Governor’s Board Councilor. After completing Primary school in a small-town Gospić, she finished a Temporary Lyceum for Girls in Zagreb and, in the same city in 1912 passed the Matriculation exam in the Real Gymnasium. From 1912 to 1916 she was a full-time student at The Faculty of Philosophy at the Royal University of Francis Joseph I in Zagreb, with natural history and geography as her majors. In 1917 she passed the professor’s exam and was entrusted with teaching natural history and geography in The Temporary Lyceum for Girls and The Royal Women’s Real Gymnasium in Zagreb, first as an assistant and afterwards as a supply teacher. In July 1917 she obtained a PhD degree in botany.

 PhD – So what?

Obtaining a PhD degree is a difficult task, and probably made even more difficult for a woman at the beginning of the 20th century. To become an academic in those times, a prospective candidate had to pass two exams: Professional (National) Exam for secondary school professors – which sometimes prolonged the procedure for up to 3 years – and a rigorous exam (even called “the Rigorose”) for obtaining the PhD title. Before her dissertation defence, Vjera Petaj thus passed a “rigorose” from botany as her major and zoology as a supplementary subject, followed by “rigorose” from philosophy. Thereby, she became one of only 16 women who have passed this exam and obtained a PhD title in Croatia before 1914. At the same time, she became one of only six female students who passed both exams – Professional and Rigorose.

In April 1918 she was appointed as a teacher in Royal Women’s Real Gymnasium in Zagreb and afterwards, in November, in Temporary Small Women’s Real Gymnasium, also in the capital. In the same year she married her colleague, zoologist Dr Nikola Fink.

Family or career? – The choice is yours!

Even the most acceptable female occupation of that time – teaching – could not be imagined for a married woman. According to the School Law of 1888, it was arranged that “if a teacher marries, she will be deemed to have voluntarily relinquished her teaching service.” 12

A slightly more liberal law was the one from 1912, when it was specified that high school teachers “are generally not married”. 13

Fortunately, Vjera Petaj Fink was allowed to teach. In 1945 she was nominated as director of VII Women’s Real Gymnasium in Zagreb where she worked for two years. In 1947 she started to teach in III Gymnasium, in the same city. Unfortunately there are no further records of her professional career. She passed away in 1987 in Zagreb.

Petaj V. (1915) A fungus that hunts animals. Priroda, 5, 5, 65-67. in Croatian.

Petaj, V. (1916) Extrafloral nectaries on the leaves of Tree of Heaven ( Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.). Dep. Ra. Jugosl. Akademije, Knj.215., p. 59-81. In Croatian.

Petaj V. (1916) A tobacco in Dalmatia. Priroda, 5, 6, 105-109. In Croatian.

Petaj V. (1921) The Cork. Priroda, 4, 11, 72-75. In Croatian.

Seton, E. T. (1952). Wild Animals At Home (V. Fink, Trans). Zagreb, Croatia: Mladost.

Lessons – learned or forgotten?

In the current scientific reality with the frenetic pace of life and work, we cannot help but wonder: Have we forgotten some of the lessons that history and our predecessors teach us?

Let’s take a break for a moment and try to imagine how did research look like in the middle of  World War I, when the story of this plant science pioneer Vjera Petaj took place. What resources were available then? Practically none, we could say. But how then did they manage to achieve such results? Any results?

Allow me a very personal view on this issue. It will be the view from the perspective of a graduate and PhD student who had to study and research in the 90s of the last century, when the war raged in former Yugoslavia.

I have a somewhat romanticised vision (though from my own experience, I can say, it might not be entirely wrong) of a scientist who invests all her natural curiosity, patience, persistence, hard-earned knowledge, and plenty of time in analysis and deduction. Using essential simple equipment, and without expensive chemicals or reliable, fast tests, she carefully observes, day in day out, the trees in the gardens and parks. She re-examines herself because she does not have the opportunity to communicate with the world experts in the field. She studies the scanty literature because more than that is not available to her. She critically reflects, corrects, and then again observes, experiments, contemplates, analyses, connects, concludes, and all over again. Because that is the only thing she can do to achieve her goal. And she succeeds at it.

Observing the past (distant and the one not so long ago) sometimes I wonder – Have we lost that fundamental possibility of scientific reconsideration in today’s data overload, “publish or perish” imperative, and lightning-fast technology?

Again from my own experience, I can admit — to some extent we did. And that is why it is useful sometimes to look back and find some role models in our history, perhaps among (why not?) brave and persistent women pioneers of plant sciences.

Bibliography:

1 Official Gazette 58/1892, No 48, as cited in Luetić, 2002

2 Official Gazette 67/1901, No 123, as cited in Luetić, 2002

3 Official Gazette 63/1897, No 6, as cited in Luetić, 2002

4 From  the Report of the Committee on the establishment of Women’s Lyceum, A. Cuvaj, n.dj., vol. X, p 380, as cited in Luetić, 2002

5 Luetić T. (2002) The First Students of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Royal University of Francis Joseph I in Zagreb. Povijesni prilozi 21(22), 167-208

6 Solereder H (1899-1908) Handbuch der system. Anatomie der Dicotyl. 1899, Ergänzungband, 1908. Stuttgart.

7 Van Tieghem (1906) Ailante et Pongèle. Ann. Sc. Nat. 9. Sér. Bot. 4, p. 272-280.

8 ISSG (2017) 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species. Invasive Species Specialist Group. http://www.issg.org/worst100_species.html

9 Gérard Bory & Danielle Clair-Maczulajtys (1990) Importance of foliar nectaries in the physiology of tree of heaven (Ailanthus glandulosa Desf., Simaroubaceae), Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France. Lettres Botaniques, 137:2-3, 139-155.

10 Delpino F. (1886-1889) Funzione mirmecofilia nel regno vegetale. Mem. d. Acad. d. Scienze d. Instituto d. Bologna Bd. 7,8,9.

11 Macchiati L. (1899) Ufficio dei peli, dell’ antocianina e dei nettarii estranuziali dell’ Ailanthus glandulosa Desf. Nota preventive. Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital. , p. 103-112, Firenze.

12 Lončar Lj, School laws and the establishment of a school system for the governments of the People’s Party and in the time of Khuen Hungarianization. In: History of Education and Pedagogy in Croatia, Zagreb, 1958, p. 175, as cited in Luetić, 2002

13 Cuvaj A, n. dj. Vol. X, p 311, as cited in Luetić, 2002

Dr. Elisabeth Gantt:

Distinguished University Professor Emerita, University of Maryland at College Park, MD.

Born as Elisabeth Rohatsch Nov. 26, 1934 in Gakovo, now in Serbia, Beth immigrated at 15 years old to the United States upon learning that she had gained US citizenship through her mother. Upon graduating high school in Chicago, she worked through college and received a B.A. from Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois.  It was at Blackburn College where Beth’s interest in biology was clinched and where she met and married Raymond Gantt, a fellow student.  She went on to earn M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University with an NIH Pre-doctoral Fellowship.  At Northwestern, she met Professor Howard Arnott, who was instrumental in stimulating her interest in plant biology. Her dissertation research resulted in her first publication.  The paper on “Chloroplast division in the gametophyte of the fern Matteuccia struthiopteris   (L.) Todaro” was published in the Journal of Cell Biology (Gantt and Arnott, 1963).

Research Scientist

Beth moved to the Washington DC area in 1966, first as a postdoc that soon changed to a staff position at the Smithsonian Radiation Biology Laboratory (RBL).  Beth established her own laboratory located initially in the basement of the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall.  By 1968, the laboratory space and equipment were enhanced after a move to a new building in Rockville, Maryland.  During the 20 plus years at the RBL, her laboratory made several seminal advances.  First, she isolated and purified phycobilisomes and showed the phycobiliproteins consisted of several pigments with different spectral properties; second, her laboratory was able to isolate intact phycobilisome-thylakoid preparations that were active in light-driven electron transport.  Beth also developed productive collaborations with scientists from Japan and Israel.  Thus, she and coworkers demonstrated that phycobiliproteins served as antenna pigments that captured light energy and passed them in sequence to other pigments excited at longer wavelengths to jump start photosynthetic oxidation at Photosystem II.  The unique architecture of phycobilisomes from cyanobacteria and red algae allowed this elegant demonstration of how light energy is captured and transferred to begin photosynthesis.  This fundamental concept is widely applicable to all plants and was highlighted in the Plant Physiology textbook (Salisbury and Ross, 1985).

In 1986, when the RBL was scheduled to close, Beth explored other options in the Washington DC area.  After an open search, Beth was appointed as Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Maryland at College Park in 1988, where she had already served as Adjunct Professor since 1985.  When Beth entered academia for the first time as a senior faculty, she dived into her new role wholeheartedly and energetically as if she wanted to make up for lost time.  She demonstrated a commitment to teaching and a strong sense of responsibility to service that is rarely seen.  Beth volunteered when the Plant Biology Department needed someone to teach undergraduate classes, such as “Introductory Botany” to non-majors, and when the College needed someone to co-teach “Cell Biology and Physiology”.  These classes had 100-200 students per semester.  Furthermore, she took on heavy-duty administrative and leadership roles, including Director of Graduate Studies in Plant Biology for 4 years, and later as Director of Graduate Studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology, a new interdepartmental program.  Beth also stepped up to the plate as Acting Chair of the Botany Department when the college was undergoing reorganization.  Her teaching and many service commitments were unchanged even after she was elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 1996, and then as Distinguished University Professor.

In fact, her responsibilities and commitments increased as she gained more honors.  As students and colleagues in the same department knew, Beth worked in the building every Saturday.  She chaired several Faculty Search Committees in the department, and was involved in University Search Committees for the University President, and for Dean of the College.  Beyond the campus, Beth served on various committees including in the American Society of Plant Biologists, National Academy of Sciences, and National Research Council.  She also served as a member of proposal evaluation panels, such as at Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and United States Department of Agriculture.  In 1994, she was Program Manager of USDA-NRI Competitive Grants Program in ‘Photosynthesis and Respiration’.  The College of Life Sciences at the University of Maryland recognized her many contributions with an Excellence in Service Award (2001).

Beth’s research activity continued unabated.  The laboratory was interested in the relationship of pigment organization with photosystem complexes from diverse algae to higher plants.   In collaborative efforts with F. X. Cunningham, they also studied the origin and evolution of carotenoid biosynthesis in algae, a project supported by the National Science Foundation, and USDA-NRI Competitive Research Grants.  Other projects were funded by Department of Energy, as well as by US-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, and the Maryland Agricultural Experimental Station.  She trained graduate and undergraduate students, and took them to national ASPB as well as regional MAS-ASPB meetings.

Among the numerous honors Beth has received are: the Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America in 1981; the National Academy’s Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal in 1994 for “her discovery of a new type of light-harvesting complex called a phycobilisome, unique to red and blue-green algae”; Inductee to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1997 in recognition of “her pioneering work in understanding quantum efficiency and excitation migration paths in photosynthesis in bacteria and algae the Stephen Hales Award in 2002 from the ASPB for her “pioneering contributions to research in photosynthesis and carotenoid biosynthesis, and for her exemplary service work”; University System of Maryland Board of Regents Research Faculty Award in 2003; and an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Roanoke College in 2016.

Professor Emerita

Even though Beth officially retired in 2007, she has worked in the laboratory or office daily for eight years at the University of Maryland campus, and is now a guest at Roanoke College in Salem VA, where she and Raymond reside.  Beth continues to be fascinated with the evolution of photosynthetic organisms.  After moving to Roanoke, she has again set up a laboratory, and continues her research. There she has single-handedly cultured fresh water and marine cryptophyte algae, and is examining their unusual ultrastructure.

She has continued to write and publish research papers, reviews and book chapters.  One article about her professional life is published in the Annual Review of Plant Biology (Gantt, 2013).  As a member of the Academy, she continues to serve as communicating editor for papers submitted to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Even after retirement, Beth served the University of Maryland on diverse committees and continues to support students or postdocs when they ask her for letters of recommendation.

Starting from an education-deprived childhood, Beth clearly went through ups and downs in her life time, and yet she persevered.  In the early 1960s, when women scientists were few and far between, she took on whatever positions were available.  Her original ideas, keen scientific mind and superb experimental skills, combined with curiosity, motivation and diligence, led to seminal discoveries, and to national and international recognition.  Importantly, Beth has used her leadership status to work for the best interests of the group, be it a society, a department, or students.  She strived to raise the visibility of young women in the early 1980s, for instance, nominating them to program committees (e.g. ASPB) and as chairs of symposia.  Beth has served as a role model for generations of women in science, and now she is a role model for all scientists who have passed the customary retirement age.

By Machi F. Dilworth, National Science Foundation (Retired) Heven Sze, Professor Emerita and Research Professor, University of Maryland

Gantt E (2013) Benefits of an inclusive US education system. Annu Rev Plant Biol 64: 1-17

Gantt E, Arnott H (1963) Chloroplast division in the gametophyte of the fern matteuccia struthiopteris (l.) todaro. J Cell Biol 19: 446-448

Gantt E, Conti SF (1965) The ultrastructure of Porphyridium cruentum. J Cell Biol 26: 365-381

Gantt E, Conti SF (1966) Granules associated with the chloroplast lamellae of Porphyridium cruentum. J Cell Biol 29: 423-434

Gantt E, Edwards MR, Provasoli L (1971) Chloroplast structure of the Cryptophyceae. Evidence for phycobiliproteins within intrathylakoidal spaces. J Cell Biol 48: 280-290

Salisbury F, Ross C (1985) Plant Physiology, Ed 3rd.

Sharon Gray

Please read the In Memoriam of Sharon B. Gray published in Developmental Biology. The Women in Plant Biology have named their travel award, Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award (WYITA) , after Sharon Gray. Sharon inspires all of us to not only strive for scientific excellence, but to also mentor and empower women scientists.

Leakey ADB, Brady SM, Markelz RCJ (2016) In memoriam – Sharon B. Gray. Developmental Biology 419: 1-3

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012160616306698

Enid was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1931 and attended high school and university in that city. She studied physics for her B.Sc. degree and was awarded a 1st class honors in 1953. She stayed at the University of Edinburgh for her Ph.D. becoming the first graduate student in Jack Dainty’s new biophysics research group. The group was part of the Department of Physics, but, characteristically in those post-war years, was accommodated in a converted chicken house behind the Department of Genetics. In her Ph.D. project, Enid made the first use of radioisotopes to measure ion fluxes in plants. Her initial work was with the seaweeds Rhodymenia palmata and Ulva lactuca, but she subsequently moved to the conceptually simpler system of the giant internode cells of the alga Nitellopsis obtusa. Her thesis work established the theoretical framework for, and practical application of, isotope efflux analysis-a technique that had been developed in animal cells, but which was made more complicated in plants because of the presence of the large central vacuole. The resulting papers were pioneering and immediately established Enid’s reputation in her chosen field.

At the end of her Ph.D. research in 1957, Enid moved to a postdoctoral position with Professor H. H. Ussing at the Institute of Biological Isotope Research in Copenhagen where she studied ion transport in frog skin. After one year there, she secured a Research Fellowship at Girton College in Cambridge and moved back to the United Kingdom. Enid’s initial hope had been to work with Nobel Laureate Alan Hodgkin in the Department of Physiology but, given her interests, he suggested that it might be better if she joined George Briggs, Professor of Botany, who was interested in the ionic relations of plant cells. Thus began her association with the Botany School (now Department of Plant Sciences) in the University of Cambridge where she has been an inspirational colleague for more than 40 years. Briggs gave Enid freedom to follow her instincts, and she began using isotopes to measure fluxes of K+, Na+ and Cl- in the giant alga Nitella translucens. Her main aim was to establish which fluxes at the plasma membrane and tonoplast were active and which were passive, and how they were regulated, information that was essential to establish the molecular mechanisms of ion movement in plants. The work was outstandingly successful. It secured her international reputation and helped establish a more quantitative and biophysical approach to studies of plant transport systems.

Professor Briggs retired in 1960 and teaching quantitative plant physiology was taken over by Enid, Michael Pitman, and Martin Canny. When, in 1962, Michael Pitman left Cambridge for the University of Adelaide, Enid was recruited to the Demonstratorship (Cambridge’s equivalent of a non-tenured Assistant Professorship) he vacated. Her research was given a major boost when, in 1964, she, Jack Dainty (by then the inaugural Professor of Biophysics at the newly-opened University of East Anglia), and Charles Whittingham (at Imperial College, London) were awarded a substantial 5-year grant by the Nuffield Foundation. This allowed Enid to build a group quickly and to establish strong links with the Dainty group in Norwich. The latter brought the additional benefit of contacts with a number of talented Australian biophysicists, including Alex Hope, Alan Walker and Geoff Findlay, who became life-long scientific friends and collaborators. The Nuffield grant was doubly useful because it came with no strings attached, and Enid could spend with complete flexibility, a sharp contrast with the limitations placed on modern grants in these days of accountability! This period also saw the start of Enid’s role as an inspirational Ph.D. supervisor when F. Andrew Smith joined her in 1962 as her first Ph.D. student. A year later, John Raven and John Cram were recruited, and the group quickly grew to ten, including Roger Spanswick, who was a postdoctoral associate.

From 1962 to the mid-1970s, the group was concerned mainly with characterizing ion fluxes at the plasma membrane and tonoplast of giant algae, but in 1978, Enid made a major change in research direction when she decided to begin studying the mechanism of stomatal guard cell movement, the fundamental process by which plants regulate the uptake of gases and the loss of water. The switch to stomates was driven by the realization that the nature of the fluxes underlying changes in ion content during opening and closing were largely unknown. Enid began studying this problem using her established methods, but adapting them to the more challenging guard cell system. She received her first grant for this work in the early 1980s and it has remained the mainstay of her research since then. As with her work on giant algae, Enid has made an important contribution to our understanding of the control of stomatal closure and her research has provided important quantitative flux information that complements studies done by other means, such as patch clamping.

Enid’s laboratory has been the incubator for the fledgling career of many now-distinguished plant physiologists. These include F. Andrew Smith, John Raven, John Cram, Roger Spanswick, Mel Tyree, Richard Williamson, Dale Sanders, Roger Leigh, Carol Shennan, Mike Blatt, Mark Tester, Mary Beilby, and Gerhardt Thiel, to name just a few. Enid’s input to the work of her colleagues is always constructive. She is able to identify and focus on the key issues, and through this, draw the best out of others. Her positive outlook on the work of her colleagues remains the abiding memory of many of her former students and postdocs. As one former postdoc put it: “Some of my fondest memories of my time in Cambridge are of sitting with Enid talking through data or ideas and coming away knowing that I’ve been ‘stretched’ and have enjoyed the experience.”

An unusual feature of Enid’s approach is that she has actively encouraged the majority of the people who have worked with her to publish papers without her name on them. Thus only about 25% of the papers published by her colleagues during their time in her lab have included her as a co-author. Therefore, any literature search using her name as key words will substantially underestimate the full extent of the output of her laboratory. This has been a remarkably selfless approach to science that has given added impetus to the careers of those whom she has mentored. It is unlikely that, in these days of citation analyses, present or future scientists will feel willing or able to make such a magnanimous gesture. As a result of her unselfish approach, it can be guaranteed that the papers with Enid’s name on them indicate that she made a real and important practical contribution to the work. Throughout her career, she has always conducted her own experiments and all her free time is spent at the bench. Even now, following her official retirement in 1999, and at the start of her eighth decade, she remains active and can daily be seen performing flux measurements, reviewing papers, or offering advice to younger colleagues who regularly seek her counsel.

Enid’s influence extends well beyond her own research laboratory. In her role as a teacher, she has influenced generations of Cambridge undergraduates to consider a career in research. Together with the late Tom ap Rees, she revolutionized the content of botanical courses in Cambridge in the 1960s and 1970s by introducing more cell biology and biochemistry, and emphasising quantitative approaches and analytical thinking. She was particularly effective in the small-group tutorial teaching that is a special part of teaching in Cambridge, and it is not uncommon to meet former undergraduates for whom Enid’s teaching has been a life-long inspiration. Girton College, where she has been a Fellow since 1958, was the first women’s college in Cambridge and has an outstanding record of promoting equal opportunities for women in higher education. In her role as a teacher at the College, Enid influenced many women undergraduates to pursue science as a career and many of them have gone on to gain international recognition.

Enid’s career has resulted in many honors and measures of esteem, although often these came scandalously late considering the influence she has had on her field, possibly because she was a woman in a male-dominated environment and because of her policy of letting students and postdocs publish without her. She was appointed to a permanent Lectureship in 1966, was promoted to a Readership in 1972, and to a Personal Professorship in 1987, the first woman scientist in Cambridge to be awarded a Personal Chair. A year later, she was awarded a Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) by the University. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (the highest honor in U.K science) in 1991, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (elected 1998), and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (since 1999). She is also a Corresponding Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists. Her 40 years of service to Girton College were recognized by her election to a Life Fellowship in 1999. In her spare time, which even in retirement is not abundant, Enid amuses herself with gardening, walking, and trout fishing. The latter is mainly done when she escapes to her holiday house in Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the most westerly point on mainland Scotland.

Throughout her career, Enid MacRobbie has sought to make biologists think quantitatively. Often she has had an uphill struggle because most consider themselves mathematically inept and unable to use equations. Enid’s aim has been to show them that they can, and that their scientific understanding is enhanced as a result. Her own work more than adequately demonstrates how a quantitative approach can enlighten, and her outstanding achievements as a scientist, teacher, and unselfish individual will have influence on plant physiology for many years. Her legacy will be both an outstanding research record and a cohort of talented individuals who have gone on to make their own mark on plant biology.

Roger A. Leigh, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge

Throughout her career, Enid MacRobbie has been at the forefront of studies of ion transport in plants, addressing fundamental questions in plant nutrition and cell signalling. She pioneered the use of radiotracers to measure ion fluxes, identified active and passive transport processes and their regulation in giant algae, and unravelled the transport events involved in stomatal movement in higher plants. She has trained a succession of outstanding Ph.D. students, who have gone on to become influential scientists in their own right, and has won worldwide recognition and honors for her research. There is no doubt that her career has helped change conditions for women scientists, to the benefit of those who have followed.

Professor Margulis helps develop hands-on science teaching activities at levels from middle to graduate school, including Introduction to the Carbon Cycle: What happens to trash and garbage?; Living Sands, Using Forams to Map Time and Space and Peas and Particles: Estimating Large Numbers to Understand Natural Selection. She has made many short videos of live organisms for advanced students and researchers; the most recents ones are Eukaryosis: Origin of Nucleated Cells and Forbidden Fertilization. She is the author of many articles and books. The most recent include Symbiotic Planet: A new look at evolution (1998) and Acquiring Genomes: A theory of the origins of species (2002), co-written with Dorion Sagan. Indeed, over the past decade and a half, Professor Margulis has co-written a number of books with Sagan, among them What is Sex? (1997); What is Life? (1995); Mystery Dance: On the evolution of human sexuality (1991); Microcosmos: Four billion years of evolution from our microbial ancestors (1986); and Origins of Sex: Three billion years of genetic recombination (1986). Her work with K. V. Schwartz provides a consistent formal classification of all life on Earth and has led to the third edition of Five Kingdoms: An illustrated guide to the phyla of life on Earth (1998). Their evolutionary classification scheme was generated from the scientific results of numerous colleagues. The logical basis for it is summarized in her single-authored book Symbiosis in Cell Evolution: Microbial communities in the Archean and Proterozoic eons (second edition, 1993). The bacterial origins of both chloroplasts and mitochondria are established. At present, with colleagues and graduate students, she explores the possible origin of cilia from spirochetes. Experiments and observations involve studies of free-living mud spirochetes, sequence comparisons of eukaryotic motility proteins with those of spirochetes and other prokaryotes, and cytological studies with termite archaeprotists (amitochondriates under anoxic conditions such as the devescovinids and calonymphids).

Margulis teaches Environmental Evolution, a course on the effects of life on the evolution of the Earth’s surface, primarily to seniors and graduate students, although science teachers tend to take the course in the summer. This course itself evolves. She often has taught it with her PhD students. MIT Press has published a second edition of the text for the course, which has been taught every semester since it was begun at Boston University in 1972.

Dr. Margulis received her AB degree in liberal arts from the University of Chicago, her Master’s degree in Zoology and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her PhD in genetics at the University of California , Berkeley. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1983 and received the Presidential Medal of Science from President William J. Clinton in 1999. She was a recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt prize from Germany in 2002. The Library of Congress announced in 1998 that it will permanently archive her papers. Prior to her move to the Botany Department at the University of Massachusetts, she was a faculty member at Boston University for 22 years.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 16, 1902, Barbara McClintock was raised in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Erasmus Hall high school, she entered Cornell University at age 17, and in 1923 earned a B.S. in agriculture, concentrating in plant breeding and botany. She received both her masters (1925) and doctoral degrees (1927) from Cornell’s College of Agriculture. She majored in cytology with Lester Sharp in the Department of Botany, and minored in genetics and zoology with A.C. Fraser and H.C. Reed in the Departments of Plant Breeding and Zoology, respectively. As a graduate student, McClintock was a research and teaching assistant in the Department of Botany. During these years, Sharp referred both botany and plant breeding graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to her. Most notable were George Beadle (Ph.D. 1930), who learned cytology from McClintock and went on to head the biology division at Caltech and to win a Nobel Prize, and L. J. Stadler (NRC Fellow 1926) later elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

McClintock’s career as one of the most prominent geneticists of the 20th century was launched while she was at Cornell. Upon receiving her doctorate, McClintock was made an Instructor. At that time, this appointment was the first step leading to tenure at colleges and universities like Cornell. Jobs in academia were scarce during the Depression, and jobs for women were limited. While employed at Cornell, Instructor McClintock continued to mentor and collaborate with graduate students. She befriended graduate student Marcus Rhoades (Ph.D. 1932), who also rose to preeminence in genetics and was McClintock’s lifetime supporter. From 1927 to 1931, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Cornell’s Department of Botany.

In early 1929, McClintock published her Ph.D. dissertation in Genetics, then the foremost journal in the field. Within two years, she had published six other articles in major journals, all of which made important contributions to the newly emerging field of plant cytogenetics, and furthered the world’s knowledge about the location of genes on chromosomes. She collaborated with students on the most notable of these investigations.

Instructor McClintock gave graduate students Henry Hill and Harriet Creighton two important projects for their thesis research and co-authored these pioneering contributions with them. The first was a method to connect chromosomes with linkage groups in corn (McClintock & Hill 1931) and the second was the cytological proof for crossing over (McClintock 1931, Creighton & McClintock 1931). Creighton and McClintock’s significant study gave further confirmation to T. H. Morgan’s chromosome theory of inheritance, for which he won a Nobel Prize in 1933. These collaborative projects were based on important work that McClintock had pioneered: identification of corn’s ten chromosomes at mitosis (and later at meiotic pachytene stage), confirmation of Belling’s translocation hypothesis, and the sequence of the genes in Chromosome 9. Creighton (Ph.D. 1933) became head of Botany at Wellesley College and President of the Botanical Society of America in 1956.

From 1931 through 1934, sponsored by two National Research Council Fellowships, and a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, McClintock traveled to a series of important research institutions across the U.S., Germany, and back to Cornell, where she worked in the Department of Plant Breeding as an assistant to R. A. Emerson, head of the department. There, she conducted research, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, which would provide insights to an understanding of variegation and would eventually lead to her Nobel award winning investigations.

In 1936, McClintock accepted an appointment as Assistant Professor of Botany at the University of Missouri to join L. J. Stadler’s genetics research group. Upon learning that the research unit might be eliminated, and preferring research over teaching, McClintock requested a leave of absence from Missouri in 1941 to seek employment elsewhere. In 1943, she accepted a position as a permanent staff member of the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Genetics at Cold Spring Harbor. It was there she discovered mobile genetic elements in corn for which she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1983. She remained at Cold Spring Harbor for the duration of her career, accepting only short term appointments at national and international institutions elsewhere.

McClintock achieved considerable recognition within her lifetime. In 1944, prior to her most celebrated work, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the third woman so honored. McClintock also became the first woman elected Vice President (1939) and President (1945) of the Genetics Society of America. By 1947, she received the Achievement Award from the American Association of University Women.

But it is for McClintock’s work with maize at Cold Spring Harbor beginning in the mid 1940s, her meticulous observations of the dynamism of the genome, her communications of her theory of genetic transposition-the idea that genes could change their position on a chromosome-that cemented her reputation as a geneticist, which was widely acknowledged in later years. In 1957, the Botanical Society of America recognized her achievements with their esteemed Merit Award, and Cornell appointed her one of their first A.D. White Professor’s-at-Large in 1965 (renewed in 1971).

McClintock also won a number of prizes during her later career. A few months before she formally retired in 1967, she received the Kimber Genetics Award from the National Academy of Sciences. In that year, the Carnegie Institution of Washington appointed her a Distinguished Service Member, one of their highest honors, which made it possible to continue working at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. During the 1970s she received the National Medal of Science (1970), the Lewis S. Rosensteil Award (1978), and the Louis and Bert Freedman Foundation Award (1978). A few years before receiving the Nobel Prize, she was honored with many awards; more notable were the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal, the Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine, a shared Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, and the first Prize Fellow Laureate of the MacArthur Foundation.

McClintock’s life as a scientist was not always easy. Full appreciation of the implications of her work, which challenged generally held beliefs that the chromosome had a stable structure, was not possible until molecular biologists found similar phenomena in bacteria and other organisms. As one of the early women scientist in this country, McClintock was recognized early on for her pioneering achievements; gaining a star in American Men of Science by 1944. Yet, as an aspiring young geneticist, she experienced rejection because of her gender. Determined to succeed in her chosen field, and respected and helped by devoted colleagues, McClintock eventually found a position at an institution that gave her the freedom to pursue her love of science and which, she said, “fit her personality rather well.”

–by Lee B. Kass, Visiting Professor, Cornell University

Bibliography: COE, ED & LEE B. KASS. 2005. Proof of physical exchange of genes on the chromosomes.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Science  102 (No. 19, May): 6641-6656. COMFORT, NATHANIEL C.  The Tangled Field: Barbara McClintock’s Search for the Patterns of Genetic Control . Harvard University Press, 2001 [see critical book reviews by NINA FEDOROFF. 2002. The well mangled McClintock myth.  Trends in Genetics  18 (7): 378-379, and LEE B. KASS. 2002.  The Tangled Field , by N. Comfort. Isis. 93 (4): 729-730]. FEDOROFF, NINA & DAVID BOTSTEIN, editors. 1993.  The Dynamic Genome: Barbara McClintock’s Ideas in the Century of Genetics . Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. KASS, LEE B. 2000. McClintock, Barbara, American botanical geneticist, 1902-1992. Pp. 66-69, in  Plant Sciences , edited by R. Robinson, Macmillan Science Library, USA KASS, LEE B. 2003. Records and recollections: A new look at Barbara McClintock, Nobel Prize-Winning geneticist.  Genetics  164 (August): 1251-1260. KASS, LEE B. 2005a. Missouri compromise: tenure or freedom. New evidence clarifies why Barbara McClintock left Academe.  Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter  79: 52-71. KASS, LEE B. 2005b. Harriet Creighton: Proud Botanist.  Plant Science Bulletin  51(4): 118-125. KASS, LEE B. (Ed.). 2013. Perspectives on Nobel Laureate Barbara McClintock’s publications (1926-1984): A Companion Volume . The Internet-First University Press. [ http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34897 , On-line 30 Dec. 2013; increment #1, 20 Dec. 2014, reissued 2016 in Kass_Vol_III_Increments_v07Jun16_PRT.pdf   (15.27Mb) , p. 147.1-147.15].

KASS, LEE B. and CHRISTOPHE BONNEUIL. 2004. Mapping and seeing: Barbara McClintock and the linking of genetics and cytology in maize genetics, 1928-1935. Chap. 5, pp. 91-118, in Hans-Jörg Rheinberger and Jean-Paul Gaudilliere (eds.),  Classical Genetic Research and its Legacy: The Mapping Cultures of 20th Century Genetics . London: Routledge. KASS, LEE B. CHRIS BONNEUIL, & ED COE. 2005. Cornfests, cornfabs and cooperation: The origins and beginnings of the Maize Genetics Cooperation News Letter.  Genetics  169 (April): 1787-1797. KELLER, EVELYN FOX.1983 (reprinted 1993).  A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock . W.H. Freeman & Co.

Photo above: Cornell University 1929: (from right to left) Instructor Dr. Barbara McClintock with Professor R.A. Emerson and his graduate students Marcus Rhoades and George Beadle (kneeling), and Post-doctoral National Research Council Fellow Charles Burhnam (used with permission of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University).

Margaret’s diverse training has given her a broad outlook. She has touched upon many areas of science, from phycology to microbiology, from anatomy to physiology. Along with T.P. O’Brien, Margaret co-wrote a reference book for microscopists entitled “The Study of Plant Structure—Principles and Selected Methods”; this book is used throughout the world and contains a wealth of information of plant histochemistry and cytology. Margaret is best known, however, as an expert in root biology and her papers on this topic illustrate the broad base of her studies; she is as much at ease writing about techniques to study roots as about their anatomy and physiology. Root structure, root development, root behavior in the field, biology of the rhizosphere, water status of the plant, ion uptake, lateral root development, techniques for microscopy (light, fluorescence, electron), x-ray microanalysis—all of these are grist for Margaret’s mill. She has published more than a hundred papers in internationally refereed journals, and in the process, she has changed our views about many of these fields. One of the most significant findings, done in collaboration with Martin Canny, her husband, is that water does not enter the field-grown corn roots just near their apices but rather along their entire length. A description of this research can be found in the 1999 Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, entitled “Roots in Soil: Unearthing the Complexities of Roots and their Rhizospheres.”

Margaret is very well known internationally. She has held visiting fellowships, lectureships, or professorships at the University of Leeds and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; the University of California, Davis in the United States; and Monash University, the University of Melbourne, LaTrobe University, and the University of Western Australia in Australia. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1987, and in 1993 received a degree of D.Sc. (honoris causa) conferred by St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova-Scotia, Canada. Margaret has received a number of other honors, including two Carleton University Academic Staff Association Scholarly Achievement Awards and a major research achievement prize from Carleton University. In 1996, she was awarded the Lawson Medal Award from the Canadian Botanical Association, and in 1994, she was invited to give the Hamm Lecture at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In 1999, she and her work were recognized at the XVI International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, Missouri. A symposium was organized to honor her outstanding contributions to root biology and to plant science.

In addition to her science, Margaret McCully has been a tremendous role model for numerous students, postdoctoral scholars, and research associates. Margaret has been and still is a very demanding scientist, asking as much from her students as from herself; she has always looked for high standards and honesty. However, she has been very generous with her time and her scientific expertise, and also with her knowledge of literature, music and art. In spite of her success, Margaret continues to be genuinely interested in talking with students, undergraduate or graduate alike. She encourages her students to attend conferences, to present their work, and to talk with other participants. Very early on, she taught those of us who worked with her to “network,” to communicate not only with our peers, but also with her friends and colleagues, highly regarded scientists. Margaret encouraged her students to keep open minds and eyes to the outside world, advising them to focus broadly and not only on the tiny portion of roots they studied. Although her studies concentrated on plant organs, she never lost the sense of the organism. This is why in her lab, even though sometimes students worked on roots growing in Petri plates, they still thought of what they learned as being applied to real roots, growing in real soil. She taught students that model systems were good but only as a step to understand the bigger picture.

Margaret has been an extraordinary teacher because she is a wonderful human being. She surely put a mark on all the persons who passed through her laboratory, including the author of this biography. In Margaret’s lab, we learned on old pieces of equipment before being allowed to use the new microscope or new microtome. This was not because Margaret was worried about the state of the equipment, but rather it ensured that we understood the mechanisms of the machine before we went on to work with the more sophisticated equipment. We would be able to go anywhere in the world, and work with any piece of equipment–old or new, because we understood how it functioned. Also, because of her respect for the old literature, she taught us to read it and to use it in our research. Anatomists and microscopists of the last centuries had already observed so much!

Although Margaret retired from Carleton in 1999 and subsequently moved to Australia, she continues to do research and work with new groups of students, thus conveying her enthusiasm and her love for science.

Frédérique C. Guinel, Wilfrid Laurier University.

Rana was born and grew up in Sydney Australia where she attended the University of Sydney as an undergraduate and conducted her Ph.D. research at University of Sydney with Nigel Scott.  After her Ph.D., Rana moved to Western Australia where in 1980 she wrote a very highly cited review on salt tolerance [1] and published multiple research papers on the topic. It was at the University of Western Australia that Rana gained the reputation as one of the premier researchers in the field of salinity tolerance in plants. After her post-doctoral fellowship, Rana moved to a position at CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra. She continued testing different hypotheses regarding mechanisms of salt tolerance and extended her research activities into drought tolerance as a member of a team of physiologists, breeders and agronomists. Rana’s contributions to the field of salt tolerance during her time at CSIRO were enormously important to an area of research that had been plagued by descriptive research or phenomenology. At CSIRO, Rana and collaborators set about testing multiple hypotheses to determine the key traits that were associated with salt tolerance. In the early 1990s, she found that sodium exclusion was an important trait associated with the salt tolerance in wheat using a clever seedling stage assay [2]. At this point, Rana’s research began to include genetic approaches to physiological traits, particularly in the study of the genes controlling sodium accumulation in wheat.  This work resulted in multiple papers on sodium exclusion in wheat [3-8] and culminated in a Nature Biotechnology paper entitled “Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral transporter gene” [9]. This paper published in 2012 was the result of over 20 years of work in Rana’s laboratory together with many colleagues. This research also led to a breeding line of wheat that yielded 25% more than the current cultivar on saline soils in farmers’ fields. Her lines are currently being used by over thirty wheat breeding companies around the world.

Rana’s  publications have been beacons of light to guide the field toward hypothesis testing, more logical directions for research and practical applications of research. She is now Professor Emerita jointly in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Biology and the School of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Western Australia, as well as Honorary Fellow at CSIRO Agriculture in Canberra.

By Daniel P. Schachtman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018

References:

• Greenway, H. and R. Munns, Mechanisms of salt tolerance in non-halophytes . Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 1980. 31 : p. 149-190.
• Schachtman, D.P. and R. Munns, Sodium Accumulation in leaves of Triticum species that differ in salt tolerance . Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, 1992. 19 (3): p. 331-340.
• Lindsay, M.P., et al., A locus for sodium exclusion (Nax1), a trait for salt tolerance, mapped in durum whe at. Functional Plant Biology, 2004. 31 (11): p. 1105-1114.
• Huang, S.B., et al., A sodium transporter (HKT7) is a candidate for Nax1, a gene for salt tolerance in durum wheat . Plant Physiology, 2006. 142 (4): p. 1718-1727.
• Byrt, C.S., et al., HKT1;5-like cation transporters linked to Na + exclusion loci in wheat , Nax2 and Kna1. Plant Physiology, 2007. 143 (4): p. 1918-1928.
• James, R.A., et al., Major genes for Na + exclusion, Nax1 and Nax2 ( wheat HKT1;4 and HKT1;5), decrease Na + accumulation in bread wheat leaves under saline and waterlogged conditions . Journal of Experimental Botany, 2011. 62 (8): p. 2939-2947.
• Byrt, C.S., et al., The Na­ transporter , TaHKT1;5-D, limits shoot Na + accumulation in bread wheat . Plant Journal, 2014. 80 (3): p. 516-526.
• Xu, B., et al., Structural variations in wheat HKT1;5 underpin differences in Na + transport capacity . Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 2018. 75 (6): p. 1133-1144.
• Munns, R., et al., Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na + transporter gene . Nature Biotechnology, 2012. 30 (4): p. 360-373.
• Munns, R., Physiological processes limiting plant-growth in saline soils – some dogmas and hypotheses . Plant Cell and Environment, 1993. 16 (1): p. 15-24.
• Munns, R., Why measure osmotic adjustment . Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, 1988. 15 (6): p. 717-726.

She was born on May 7, 1930, at Narbonne in the south of France, and moved to Paris in 1948 following the completion of her secondary studies. After brilliantly passing the basic degrees at the Faculty of Sciences of Paris, she became a C.N.R.S. associate researcher and prepared a doctorate at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. This was the beginning of a fruitful and exemplary career. She obtained her doctorate degree in 1958 and became a lecturer at the Faculty of Sciences of Paris in 1959, and finally a professor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in 1961, where she created her own Laboratory of Experimental Cytology and Plant Morphogenesis. Arlette extended the focus of her research group to several domains of plant development including lateral rhizogenesis, bud dormancy, gravitropism, and root and shoot meristem regeneration in tissue culture, using a range of methods that allowed not only structural and ultrastructural approaches, but also a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon under study. Many times over Arlette developed new methods for combining physiological and dynamic information with descriptive cytological data. For example, she was the first to use histoautoradiography and DNA microspectrophotometry to study plant material in France. This approach enabled her to obtain precise information on the parameters of cell cycle activity in apical meristems at various developmental stages, including the total duration of the cell cycle, the duration of each phase, and the position of specific cells in the cycle. Her pioneering work in this area is confirmed today by molecular genetic studies of the cell cycle. Her findings opened the way to modern approaches of plant developmental biology.

Confronted by serious health problems at different times of her life, Arlette proved to be exceptionally courageous and never stopped urging work along, even when hospitalized and close to being blind. During her productive scientific career, Arlette wrote 146 original and review papers. She participated actively in the major congresses on plant morphogenesis, which led to several collaborations with American and European colleagues. Among the 18 doctoral students she supervised, six are now professors in various universities and nine are associate professors.

Arlette was also an excellent teacher, not only on the topic of plant morphogenesis, but also on basic cell biology and general botany. In 1969, she wrote a comprehensive textbook of cytology, which was a major reference book at that time. Her lectures were always very thorough, and she was a mentor for many students who decided later to become teachers, scientists, or both. She was as demanding of herself as she was of others. When we, her students, were younger, we felt sometimes rather intimidated by Arlette, but her professional rigor was always compensated for by her readiness to lend support and a helping hand to all.

When she retired in 1991, a colloquium was organized by her former students in her honor under the aegis of the French Society of Botany. Throughout her career, Arlette received a number of honors and distinctions from the French Academy of Sciences of which she is now a corresponding member. From the French government she received the titles Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, and Officier des Palmes académiques. She is also a member of the Botanical Society of America and of the Society of Biology.

Arlette has recently written a review article (Nougaréde, 2001) synthesizing the views of cytologists and molecular biologists on the concepts developed around the shoot apical meristem. This paper shows once again the open-mindedness, vision, intelligence, and capacity to integrate new ideas that characterize great scientists. There is no doubt that she would have loved to participate in the new developments in her favorite areas of research using the genetic tools that are available today.

As an Emeritus Professor, she remains in close contact with her former lab, of which the author of this biography is now the director. Moreover, as one of her students, it is with a feeling of sincere admiration and affection that I think of the life and work of Arlette, who was a most inspiring teacher.

Dominique Chriqui, University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris

Some significant papers from Arlette Nougarède

Experimental cytology of the shoot apical cells during vegetative growth and flowering. Intern. Rev. Cytol. (1967) 21, 203-351.

Méristèmes. Encyclopaedia Universalis (1985) vol. 11, 1119-1133

Chrysanthemum segetum L. In: Handbook of flowering, (1989) vol. VI, Halevy A. H. ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, U. S. A., pp. 196-227.

Le méristème caulinaire des Angiospermes : nouveaux outils, nouvelles interprétations. Acta Bot. Gallica (2001) 148 (1), 3-77.

Her higher education was at the University of Toronto in honors biology, where she developed an interest in plants, with the encouragement of Norm Good. She became excited by courses in physiology and biochemistry during her final years as an undergraduate, but maintained her interest in nature by working in the north during the summer months. After a year in Churchill, Manitoba, looking at cold hardiness in Chironomids, she studied the genetics and physiology of Chl-deficient mutants in barley for her master’s degree at the University of Saskatchewan with Michael Shaw and Tom Arnason. Following a brief spell in Roy Waygood’s lab and time at the College of Education in Toronto, she returned to Shaw’s lab in Saskatoon to complete her Ph.D. on host–parasite relationships of wheat rust. There, her interest in plant biochemistry was solidified when she took a course from Arthur Neish. Then, in the late 1950s, as an Alexander von Humboldt scholar in Freising, she worked with Otto Kandler on the path of C in photosynthesis, before moving on to Harry Beever’s lab in Purdue where she was initiated into the two interests that influenced the rest of her career: maize seedlings and nitrogen metabolism. She was appointed an assistant professor at McMaster University in 1965 and retired from there as a professor 24 years later. She then transferred her research to the University of Guelph as an adjunct professor for ten years.

Ann’s research career has been extensive and highly successful with many publications and seminal reviews; she has received the Gold Medal Award from the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists, and has been inducted into the Royal Society of Canada. Major contributions have been made to our understanding of the hydrolysis of protein reserves in the endosperm of germinated maize, but arguably her more recognized research has been to elucidate the pivotal role of nitrate reductase (NR) in the nitrogen status of maize seedlings. The hydrolysis of maize endosperm reserves to support seedling growth was shown in her lab to require the activity of unique sets of proteases. These act in a two-step process; initially there is cleavage of the insoluble zeins by a specific endopeptidase and the soluble products of this are then sensitive to hydrolysis by less specialized endo- and exo-peptidases. The reduced N released from the maize endosperm then has a profound effect on ability of the seedling to take up and assimilate nitrate-N. Ann and her coworkers have established the importance of the balance between amide-N and carbohydrate supply in the induction of NR and on the N-economy of the growing seedling. This understanding of the complexities of nitrogen/nitrate metabolism at the physiological and biochemical level has provided an essential prelude to the modern molecular era in which gene activity and interactions are being elucidated. Ann developed and cherished working relationships with researchers from India, Japan, Europe and N. America. She, and her students and collaborators, laid some of the foundations upon which modern technologies are being successfully applied.

Following retirement, her interests turned more strongly to the environment, providing often strident opinions to groups questioning the wisdom of utilizing water resources for commercial gain, the flagrant use of pesticides and herbicides, and especially what she felt was the under-tested introduction of genetically-modified organisms. She was a generous supporter of environmental groups, arts groups and charities; she financed an annual lecture in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph, as well as creating a munificent endowment to support graduate students through the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists Ann Oaks Scholarship Fund.

Ann passed away, after a long and frustrating illness on Jan. 13th, 2006 at the age of 76. She recognized, espoused and imbued in her undergraduate and graduate students and colleagues the values of mentoring, of constantly challenging and questioning, and of personal discussions and contact. As a teacher, researcher, and innovator, she has made a difference.

J. Derek Bewley, University of Guelph

(Helen) Beatrix Potter, beloved English children’s author and illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, was also a woman pioneer in botany. Although she was born to privilege in 1866, Victorian society did not encourage women to be successful or independent. Beatrix was lonely and shy as a child, and many times her only companions were her pets, wild animals she and her brother smuggled into their rooms. Probably because of her isolated childhood, self-reliance came naturally to her. From an early age, she produced excellent drawings. Her subjects were mostly the animals, insects, and plants that she collected, all drawn with sensitivity and skill.

As a young woman Beatrix Potter developed an interest in classifying, dissecting, and drawing fungi. Through this work and her research at the British Museum, she became convinced that lichens were a symbiotic association between fungi and algae. Although we now view her research and conclusions to be an excellent example of pioneering work in the field, her work was not accepted at the time. For example, in 1897, she prepared a research paper on the symbiosis of lichens entitled “On the Germination of the Spores of Agaricineae” for the Linnean Society. However, as a woman in Victorian England, she faced resistance on all fronts. First, because women were unwelcome at meetings, she was not able to read her paper before the Linnean Society membership. Although her uncle, Sir Henry Roscoe, a distinguished chemist, read Potter’s paper at the meeting, her novel ideas about the symbiosis were rejected. Finally, her future research opportunities were compromised because she was now unwelcome to continue her work at the British Museum. Although Beatrix remained a keen observer of nature for rest of her life as reflected in her Peter Rabbit illustrations, the encounter with the Linnean Society essentially ended her career as a practicing scientist.

Beatrix’s career as children’s author and illustrator began with an illustrated letter to the children of her ex-governess. It was the basis of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. After much success with her initial publication, Beatrix immersed herself in her new venture, writing and illustrating many wonderful tales. Because each new book was enthusiastically received, Beatrix wrote and illustrated 21 more children’s picture books. Eventually, she earned quite a lot of money, which gave her financial independence. With the royalties from her books, she purchased a small farm in the Lake District, called Hilltop Farm, where she found a new focus for her energies and talents: looking after her farm, caring for her animals, and supervising her home. Hilltop farm was a very important part of Beatrix’s world. The farm and the environs brought her close to nature and inspired her later books. However, it was a private world that only very few of her friends and family every glimpsed or understood.

Beatrix and her husband, William Heelis, a local solicitor, became important figures in the village of Sawrey, and they always gave back to the community that had given them so much. For example, they purchased many of the historic farms of the region to preserve them. Even in later years when health problems began to sap her energies, Beatrix continued to be an ardent naturalist, and science always remained important to her. For example, she selectively bred prize-winning Herdwick sheep.

Beatrix died quietly in the winter of 1943, leaving behind a legacy of timeless literature that continues to amaze and entertain children of all ages. However, sadly because of the times in which she lived, she never had the opportunity to develop her original interest in scientific research. One wonders what would have happened in another time.

William Eisinger, Ph.D., Department of Biology, Santa Clara University Judith Eisinger, M.S.L.S., San Jose Public Library

References and Suggested Readings

Buchan, E. 1987. Beatrix Potter: The Story of the Creator of Peter Rabbit. Sapp, J. 1994. Symbiosis: Evolution by Association. New York, Oxford Press.

Ruth was born in 1923 in New York City and grew up in Lawrence, Long Island. She graduated from Barnard College in 1944 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics. Between 1944 and 1947 she worked at Bell Laboratories and at Maxson Co. For the next 17 years she stayed home to raise her four children. In 1964, when her youngest child was 2 years old, she started her study of plant physiology as a graduate student at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, in part because she loved gardening and wanted to understand plants better. At that time, it was quite unusual for a 41-year-old woman with four children to undertake a serious study of science. Her Ph.D. thesis was on control of flowering by red/far-red light in Sinningia species (Gloxinia), and her Ph.D. advisor Donald Wetherell believes she got the idea from her observation of the plants growing in her window at home.

In 1968, she moved to Yale University as a postdoctoral fellow and began studying the mechanism by which leaf movements in some legumes are controlled both by light and by the circadian clock. At Yale, she published a series of elegant papers that clearly showed that the basis of leaf movement was due to changes in K+ and Cl- content in the cortical cells of the pulvinus, and that both red and blue light phase-shift the rhythmic leaf movements. In 1980, she returned to the University of Connecticut as a professor-in residence in the Biological Sciences Group. Although not a tenure-track position, she did not complain, but instead concentrated on understanding the mechanism of rhythmic changes in ion contents in the motor cells of the pulvinus. She found that a light-sensitive H+ pump generated the driving force for K+ and Cl- fluxes into these cells. To quantify the ionic interactions precisely, she and postdoctoral fellow Holly Gorton developed methods to isolate protoplasts from the motor cells. It was very difficult to establish a reliable protocol to isolate healthy protoplasts from the tough tissues of the Samanea pulvinus, but they were successful. The protoplasts were then used, by means of the newly developed patch clamp technique, to identify the ion channels responsible for the osmotic and turgor pressure changes. Her collaborator on this project was Nava Moran, who continued researching the system to identify the mechanism of rhythmic and light-controlled regulation of ion fluxes.

At this time, in the mid-1980s, the biological community was becoming increasingly interested in signal transduction—how cells sense and transduce environmental and internal signals to produce responses. Many interesting examples of signaling pathways had been described in animal systems, and Ruth wanted to test whether leaves used one of these signaling pathways to sense and transduce light signals. She collaborated with Richard Crain, a lipid biochemist, and together they showed that the phosphatidylinositol cycle is the basic light signal transduction mechanism in the leaf motor cells. Thus, the motor cells became one of the very first plant systems shown to have the phosphatidylinositol cycle for signal transduction. In the lab, she treated her students as equals and expected them to generate ideas as good as hers. She took them to as many scientific meetings as possible, gave them plenty of time to think and read, and provided journal clubs and seminars for stimulation. She was delighted to recruit good students from foreign countries because she wanted to help young people in need. She invited her students to her home frequently and shared her culture with the foreign students. She also wanted to learn about other cultures and was open about the different ways people live.

All through her career, Ruth was happily married and was an enthusiastic mother and grandmother. When she accepted new students in the lab she took great care of them; it was as though she was expanding her family. She loved to help people develop their talents and establish a happy life, which for her, was very important, even more so than her own research. To young women, she was an excellent example of how a woman could combine career and family life, and she encouraged them to do so. Nava Moran, a senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Botany, Hebrew University School of Agriculture, one of the young women influenced by Ruth, had this to say: “Ruth was the first and so far the only woman that became my role model both professionally and as a person. She knew a lot about things I didn’t know, but was genuinely interested in new subjects and aspects of old subjects, was eager to learn new techniques and new approaches. I saw this when she was my student in the patch-clamp course in Woods Hole. … What I really appreciated a lot about her was her devotion to her family—she could share the time between science and family—and also the freedom of decision she gave her daughter Jane to go to El Salvador as a doctor. She was so proud of her then! ” Ruth, her husband Bob and their children were very conscious of the need to serve in ways that would improve society and the world. Her daughter Jane went to El Salvador during their civil war to help as a physician. Ruth must have been terribly worried about her daughter’s security, but she did not try to dissuade her and instead was proud that Jane was serving the human community. At various times Ruth served as a member of the Governing Board, Executive Committee, and Editorial Board of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. She was the Northeastern Region chairperson of ASPP, councilor for the American Society for Photobiology, Editorial Board member of Plant Physiology, and served as a peer reviewer and on postdoctoral fellowship panels for the National Science Foundation. She was particularly concerned about children’s and women’s issues and actively participated in American Women in Science.

Ruth was diagnosed with leukemia in 1980 and her research was often interrupted due to her medical problems. However, she came back again and again to the lab with a big smile. Her love of science was a great inspiration for everyone in the lab. Despite her enthusiasm about life and science, her health deteriorated gradually, and by 1989 she had to have blood transfusions every week. In the late summer of 1989, she decided not to fight any longer. She was 66, felt good about her whole life, and gracefully accepted death. Many in the field of plant physiology still miss her insight as a scientist and most of all, her friendship.

Youngsook Lee, Pohang Institute of Science and Technology, Korea

Helen’s next three years were spent as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Chicago where she worked with Birgit Vennesland studying NAD+/NADP+ dependent dehydrogenases acting on hydroxyacids in plants. At that time, the relationship of these organic acids (found only in plants) to the di- and tricarboxylic acids of the Krebs cycle was not at all clear. During that time she also taught general plant biology, one of five sequential biology courses in the fabled undergraduate College at Chicago. Helen’s research at Chicago resulted in several papers on plant dehydrogenases, including the first publication on alcohol dehydrogenase in plants.

Helen’s ability both to teach bright science undergraduates and to conduct research publishable in leading journals, made her a prime candidate for an assistant professorship in the Department of Biology at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. She joined that department in 1954, at a time when the small biology program (three faculty) was being reorganized, slowly expanded, and its goals undergoing unique changes. Along with a few far-sighted colleagues, she helped design a highly successful, research-intensive training program for undergraduates involving faculty members who also would maintain a vigorous research program. New staff members were chosen for their teaching abilities as well as for their potential to conduct research that was funded by NSF, NIH, and private sources. Helen obtained her first NSF grant in 1955, and received continuing renewals thereafter, until one year after she retired in 1987. With such support, Helen produced a body of excellent work in an institution that has no graduate degree programs. However, every student at Reed is required to do a senior’s thesis, and most of her later co-authors were students who have gone on to graduate school and are now productive scientists in their own right.

At Reed, Helen continued working on organic acids in plants, especially the aromatic phenolic acids that serve as precursors of lignin. This directed her attention to that biopolymer for a few years. Following a sabbatical year (1963-1964) as a NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellow in Ted Geissman’s laboratory in Chemistry at UCLA, Helen’s interests centered on flavonoids, especially anthocyanins. This research led to her second “annual review” article on the metabolism of aromatic compounds (Annual Review of Plant Physiology. 1974. 25: 459-486). Through examination at different levels-the enzymes involved, their cellular localization, the biosynthetic sequences involved, their physiological role(s)-her efforts have contributed major concepts to the better understanding of aromatic compounds. Helen was the first plant biochemist to postulate that secondary biochemical pathways can be compartmentalized within multi-enzyme complexes (Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. 1974. 8: 53-79). This was a major advance because such a hypothesis could account for the often-massive flow of carbon from photosynthesis into plant products without reactive intermediates undergoing wasteful side reactions. Helen also proposed that those pathways that involve metabolic “grids” offer opportunities for metabolic regulation. These two concepts are discussed in detail in her treatise on flavonoids (Flavonoid Metabolism. 1990. CRC Press).

In the preface to her book, Helen identifies a second major shift in her research interests to proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) after she spent a sabbatical with T. Cheng at the Oregon Graduate Center in Portland. Two reviews, resulting from her numerous research papers on these complex substances in the following decade, have clarified information about their structures, biosynthesis (Chemistry and Significance of Condensed Tannins. 1989. R. W. Hemingway and J.J. Karchesky, eds., Plenum Press), and their relation to lignin (Phytochemistry. 1987. 27: 1-6). Because her career in plant biochemistry and physiology has been both broad and deep, Helen continues to write stimulating papers such as those listed at the end of this biography.

In addition to her teaching and research career at Reed, Helen Stafford has served the plant sciences in numerous ways. She was a member of the editorial board of Plant Physiology for nearly 30 years (1964-1992). She was a CUEBS Commissioner (1968-1971) and a member of the NSF panel on metabolic biology (1973-1975). Helen has served as president of the Phytochemical Society of North America (1977-1978) and Editor-in-Chief (1989-1993) of its serial publication Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. This series has chronicled research in plant biochemistry for 32 years, especially in the area of plant natural (secondary) products. In 1996, Helen received the Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award of the American Society of Plant Physiology.

As a distinguished woman pioneer in plant biochemistry and physiology, Helen has been aware of unequal treatment for women in science. She was the first woman allowed to teach male botany students at the University of Pennsylvania in 1949. At Reed, she was the only female faculty member in the sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) for many years. Today there are three women among 10 faculty members in Biology.

In summary, Helen Stafford is not only recognized internationally for her research, but also as an influential teacher in one of the country’s premier undergraduate colleges. She has shown her students the excitement, pleasure, and rewards of having a distinguished research career.

Eric C. Conn, University of California, Davis

2008 Phytochemistry Pioneer Award PPT

Some Papers of interest by Helen Stafford

Flavonoid Evolution: An Enzymic Approach (Plant Physiology. 1991. 96: 680-685).

Anthocyanins and Betalains: Evolution of the Mutually Exclusive Pathways (Plant Science. 1994. 101: 911-98).

Metabolism and regulation of Phenolics: Gaps in our Knowledge (in: Phytochemicals and Health, Current Topics in Plant Physiology. 1995. 15:15-30).

Teosinte to Maize: Some Aspects of Missing Biochemical and Physiological Data Concerning Regulation of Flavonoid Pathways (Phytochemistry, 1998. 49: 285-293).

The Evolution of Phenolics in Plants (Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. 2000. 34: 25-54).

As she wrote in her prefatory chapter in Annual Reviews of Plant Physiology (32:1-20 [1981]), their parents “tired of waiting for the end of World War I” and in May 1917 their mother sailed for the United Sates with her daughters to rejoin the father in Chicago. Both girls rapidly became bilingual, learning English from their friends at school while speaking Norwegian at home. Because their parents greatly valued education, their home overflowed with books, both Norwegian and English.

Vennesland entered the University of Chicago in 1930 on a scholarship awarded to her on the basis of a competitive examination in physics. Robert Maynard Hutchins, the new university president, was “reorganizing” college education, and Vennesland entered the last class operating under the “old” plan. She therefore enjoyed the benefits of both systems, and enrolled in a general science course entitled “The Nature of the World and Man”. Top science faculty, each of whom gave a few lectures in their specialty, taught this course, which began with astronomy and ended with zoology. It influenced Vennesland to follow a pre-med program that allowed her a mix of the physical and biological sciences. Eventually she settled on a biochemistry major and received her B.S. degree in that discipline in the spring of 1934.

After brief employment as a research technician at the University of Illinois Medical School, Vennesland recognized her need for more knowledge. So she returned to the University of Chicago to do graduate work in biochemistry. Biochemistry in the 1930s was the chemistry of small molecules such as vitamins, amino acids, steroids and hormones that were being continuously identified. It also included aspects of animal physiology such as diabetes, gluconeogenesis, and ketogenesis. Metabolism, which would eventually clarify relationships among these subjects, was largely unknown, although knowledge of some of the enzymes involved was developing. The department’s laboratory courses emphasized analytical techniques suitable for blood and urine, and in hospital laboratories some jobs were available for biochemists with such training. Vennesland selected her own thesis project, the oxidation/reduction potential of an obligate anaerobe, which she completed in 1938. During her thesis research she observed that bacteria, including anaerobes, require small amounts of CO2 to grow. This finding was to influence one of her later research interests.

In 1939, Vennesland received a fellowship from the International Federation of University Women that would allow her to work with Otto Meyerhof who was then in Paris. But the war in Europe forced her plans to change, and she went instead to Harvard to work in Baird Hastings’ biochemistry department. There she joined his team studying glycogen formation with the short-lived (20 minute half-life) isotope of carbon, 11C, use of which required careful planning and speedy work-up of experiments. While the research team readily showed that 11C-labelled lactic acid gave rise to labeled liver glycogen in starved rats, the more exciting finding was the incorporation of 11CO2 into liver glycogen. This observation demonstrated that there was “a pool of metabolites that contributed to liver glycogen” that could be labeled by 11CO2. (B. Vennesland, 1991. FASEB Jour. 5: 2868.)

Vennesland returned to the University of Chicago as an instructor in the biochemistry department in 1941 where she intended to examine CO2 fixation reactions in non-photosynthetic plant tissues. However, heavy teaching loads and involvement in a malarial research project on campus, resulted in little else being done until the war finished. Then in the fall of 1946, students began to return to graduate school, and Vennesland’s research program flourished. She had purchased a Beckman DU spectrophotometer, which became commercially available only after the war and was essential for measuring the oxidation/reduction of the pyridine nucleotides DPN+ and TPN+(as NAD+ and NADP+ were then called). Her first students isolated enzymes such as yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, rabbit muscle lactic dehydrogenase, Warburg’s “old yellow enzyme” and “Zwischenferment” (i.e. glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase); the two-last mentioned were utilized in manometric assays of TPN+. Although ATP and DPN+ became commercially available from the Pabst brewing company about that time, TPN+had to be isolated from hog liver. This was accomplished by two of her students using a procedure of Warburg’s that had been carried to the United States by Erwin Haas, one of his former technicians, and for several years Vennesland’s laboratory was the only source of TPN+ outside of Germany. Samples were given to such investigators as Leonard Tolmach who, working in James Franck’s and Hans Gaffron’s photosynthesis laboratory at Chicago, independently discovered that TPN+ could act as a Hill-reagent and be reduced by spinach grana in a light-dependent reaction. Also, Severo Ochoa and his postdoctoral associate, Arthur Kornberg, received TPN+with which they examined malic enzyme in animal tissues.

Equipped with such enzymes and their coenzymes, Vennesland and her students began examining reactions of intermediary metabolism in plant tissues. (She intentionally avoided examining reactions that might be involved in photosynthesis because there was general agreement that research groups at Chicago should not compete with each other.) As a result papers and reviews describing research in plant tissues on the following enzymes appeared during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s: TPN+-malic enzyme; alcohol, formic acid, glucose-6-phosphate, phosphogluconate, glucose, D-glyceric acid, and dihydro-orotic acid dehydrogenases; glutathione reductase; PEP carboxykinase; TPNH oxidase; dihydroxyfumaric and hydroxypyruvic acid “reductases”; and glyoxalate carboligase.

In 1950 Vennesland and Frank Westheimer, then in the chemistry department at the University of Chicago, initiated a collaboration that greatly advanced our knowledge of the reaction mechanism of the pyridine nucleotide dehydrogenases. In their first experiments, they and their students showed that the two hydrogen atoms at carbon-4 of the dihydropyridine ring of DPNH and TPNH (i.e., NADH and NADPH) are enzymatically non-equivalent, and that these dehydrogenases transfer hydrogen (as hydride) stereospecifically between substrates and coenzymes. This was the first experimental demonstration of the enzymatic inequality of the two enantiotopic hydrogen atoms on the methylene carbon atom of ethanol (see TIBS, 3:265-8 [1978]). It made possible the enzymatic synthesis of a pure enantiomorph of ethanol-1-d. This discovery also permitted the classification of pyridine nucleotide-linked dehydrogenases into two groups. The A-stereospecific enzymes remove the hydrogen at the pro-R side of the dihydropyridine ring, while B-stereospecific enzymes transfer the pro-S hydrogen. This work therefore represented an early example of the non-equivalency of the two identical groups on a pro-chiral carbon atom when an enzyme acts upon substrates containing such atoms. Numerous papers on the enzymatic transfer of hydrogen, and the stereospecificity of enzymes involved resulted from this research. A stimulating review on stereospecificity in biology and the Ogston hypothesis is authored by Vennesland in Topics in Current Chemistry, 1974. 48:39-65.

With the departure of Gaffron (and the death of Franck), research on the “light” reactions of photosynthesis terminated in their laboratory. Vennesland then began work on the Hill reaction, showing that CO2 was required. Research in her lab in the 1950s and 1960s therefore broadened considerably as she and her students took up this new area but continued to examine plant intermediary metabolism and the stereochemistry of enzymes. (A list of many of her papers can be found in the chapter regarding Vennesland in Women in the Biological Sciences, a bibliographic sourcebook, 1997, L. S. Grinstein, et al. eds. (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT)). By 1968, Vennesland’s many research accomplishments had been recognized by her receipt of the Stephen Hales Prize of the American Society of Plant Physiologists (1950), an honorary D.Sc. from Mount Holyoke College (1960), and the Garvin Medal of the American Chemical Society (1964).

Vennesland’s investigations of the Hill reaction of photosynthesis, and some shared views and common methodologies, led to several extended trips to visit Otto Warburg at the Max Planck Institute for Cell Physiology in Berlin during the early and mid-1960s. These visits resulted in an invitation from Warburg to join the Institute as Director (and his handpicked successor). She therefore left the University of Chicago in 1968 and moved to Berlin. Promises and expectations were apparently not fulfilled and conditions (scientifically and personally) worsened after her move to Berlin. The Max Planck Gesellschaft came to her rescue and arranged for her move, in 1970, to a nearby Max Planck Institute, designated the Forschungsstelle Vennesland (literally Research Place Vennesland). Before this move, she had become intrigued with the possibility that the controversial quantum yields reported by Warburg could be attributed, in part, to the presence of nitrate in the medium. This led to her interest in the process of nitrate assimilation in photosynthetic organisms, and to her pioneering work in this and related areas from the early 1970s until her retirement in 1984. Some noteworthy accomplishments during this period were the first complete characterization of assimilatory nitrate reductase (quaternary structure, identity and stoichiometry of prosthetic groups, and site of regulation); identification of cyanide as a natural metabolite in photosynthetic organisms and as a physiological regulator of nitrate assimilation; and metabolic routes for cyanide formation in photosynthetic organisms. For example, she found that cyanide is a major end product in the oxidation of D-histidine, catalyzed by D-amino acid oxidase. Postdoctoral associates who trained with her during this period carried on some of this work.

After retirement, Vennesland moved to Hawaii where her sister Kirsten, a M.D., had gone in 1967 as the tuberculosis control officer for the U. S. Public Health Service. Following Kirsten’s death in 1995, Birgit Vennesland moved to a retirement community in Kaneohe, HI. Following a short illness, Birgit Vennesland died on October 15, 2001.

Birgit Vennesland was a remarkable scientist as evidenced by the breadth and originality of her research. She was an outstanding role model who had a lasting influence on the many students and postdoctoral associates who worked with her over the years. Her fascination with science and approach to research were contagious. A large number of these students and postdoctoral associates went on to successful careers at prestigious institutions in the United States and abroad, including two members of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).

Eric E. Conn, University of California, Davis Larry P. Solomonson, University of South Florida

Although plant biology now has a considerable number of practitioners who are women, this was not always the case. Even three-quarters into the twentieth century, there were few women in research or academic positions who pursued the study of plant biology. The women featured in this website were pioneers. By following their heart and their interest in studying plants and plant processes, they paved the way for many women who followed them. The Women in Plant Biology Committee is pleased to highlight the careers of these women so that their contributions to science and to humanity will not be forgotten.

Our earliest pioneer is Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard was born in 1098 in Boeckelheim to Hildebert, a nobleman, and his wife Mechthild of Bermersheim. Hildegard was their tenth child and as was the tradition of the time, Hildegard was dedicated to the church. At eight years of age, she was sent to study with Jutta von Spanheim, the sister of Count Meginhard and the Abbess at a Benedictine convent that had been founded in 675. Jutta taught a number of young girls in addition to Hildegard, who learned Latin and music, and read the works of Galen, Dioscorides and other ancient scholars. When Jutta died, Hildegard, by then a Benedictine nun, replaced her as the Abbess of the cloister; she was 38 years old at the time. At the age of 50, she founded a new convent in Rupertsburg near Bingen, and later in her life, she established another one across the Rhine, on the east bank, in Eibingen. She corresponded with emperors, kings, bishops, cardinals, and popes, and was well known in Germany and abroad.

Hildegard was a mystic, subject to visions, which some have suggested resulted from migraine headaches, and also an illness, which sometimes left her bedridden. In spite of these difficulties, Hildegard was a prolific writer of books and music; she was also a painter. In addition, she was a stalwart supporter of the medieval Church. Parts of her first book, Scivias (Know the Way of the Lord), were read by Pope Eugene III at the Synod of Trier in 1147. This established her reputation, and numerous pilgrims came to the convent to consult with Hildegard. In addition to hymns, paintings, and books on dogma, Hildegard wrote two books, Physica (Natural History) and Causae et Cures (Causes and Cures), dealing with plants and medicine. The original Physica manuscript, which was probably written in 1150, is lost. What remains are parts of the manuscript dating from the 13th to the 15th centuries, and a printed version dating from 1533. Hildegard died in 1179 at the age of 81, and although almost a millennium has gone by, her works, especially her music, are still known today.

Hildegard’s contribution to plant biology was as an herbalist. In her time, plants were primarily written about in terms of their impact on human health. The herbalists usually copied the works of Dioscorides and Theophrastus, producing handwritten manuscripts that were lavishly illustrated. Hildegard took another approach. Her books are not merely copies of previous texts; rather they are Hildegard’s own reflections on plants and their medical uses, based in part on the Bible and knowledge of the past, but also on local wisdom. Many monasteries and convents in the Medieval Europe were the repositories of medical knowledge for much of the local population. Some of Hildegard’s recommendations, such as using Psyllium for “fevers in [the] stomach”, or hemp, which-“if one is weak in the head, and has a vacant brain, eats hemp, it easily afflicts his brain. It does not harm one who has a healthy head and full brain”-have validity today. Although her approach to medicine recognized that plants could help remedy certain ills, she was also very sanguine about the efficacy of some of the suggested cures. She wrote in Causae et Cures: “These remedies come from God and will either heal people or they must die, or God does not wish them to be healed”.

In Isley’s book, One Hundred and One Botanists, one of the references used in preparation of this biography, Hildegard of Bingen is one of only four women who are profiled. There must have been many others since Hildegard’s time and now, no doubt numerous unsung heroines, either working behind the scenes or neglected by history. Our goal in this website is to bring women pioneers in plant biology out of the shadows and into the light.

Ann M. Hirsch, University of California-Los Angeles

Literature Cited Isley, D. 1994. One Hundred and One Botanists. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. Strehlow, W. and Hertzka, G. 1988. Hildegard of Bingen’s Medicine. Bear & Company, Santa Fe, NM. Throop, P. 1998. Hildegard von Bingen’s Physica. The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT.

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Foray Bioscience is breaking down the barriers of bringing biomanufacturing to plants

Ashley Beckwith spent years of her academic and professional career focused on the intersection of biology, materials and manufacturing to build medical solutions more efficiently. When she realized the tech could be applied to plants and plant-based materials, an area that desperately needed it, she decided to switch gears.

“Life on earth is only as secure as our global plant populations, and today our plant populations are really in crisis,” Beckwith told TechCrunch. “Nearly 40% of our plant species are threatened by extinction. Forest landscapes unscathed by humans shrunk 12% [in 2022]. These plant resources are being squeezed on all fronts.”

Beckwith took what she knew about biomanufacturing, the process of using microorganisms and cell cultures to produce biological molecules and materials on a commercial scale, and launched Foray Bioscience in February 2022. The company uses biomanufacturing to grow harvest-free plant-based materials, seeds and molecules.

Biomanufacturing has been around for about 100 years, Beckwith said, but it hasn’t had many practical use cases for plants thus far. Because each plant species is so different, there wasn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to cultivate cells, which made biomanufacturing with plant cell cultures laborious. Foray looks to change that through its database approach; it provides predictive insights and experimental direction to help speed up the research and development process for each plant species.

“At Foray, we are developing these advanced tools for plant-less production to ask less of these resources and start to give back more,” Beckwith said.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup raised a $3 million seed round led by ReGen Ventures, an Australian firm focused on backing technology that helps restore the planet’s resources. Engine Ventures, Understorey Ventures and Superorganism also participated in the round. The startup has now raised $3.875 million in total funding and plans to build out its team.

Beckwith said that it took a while to fundraise the round because what the company is trying to do doesn’t fit squarely into one category but rather at the intersection of many, from manufacturing to biology to conservation. This “odd ball” feeling is something Beckwith is used to running up against. She said that the reason she launched the company to begin with is that there wasn’t a natural home for the research she was doing in plant biomanufacturing.

“I was in this weird cross-disciplinary bubble,” Beckwith said. “That was really apparent to me when I got toward the end of my PhD. If this research was going to move forward and progress, I had to carry it forward into the next iteration of itself. Because of the newness of the field, there wasn’t really a home for it in the academic setting or manufacturing setting. We had to make our own space.”

She described taking the science out of the lab and launching the company as a “long journey.” The startup currently is working with other companies to help them set up their biomanufacturing by designing their clients a research and development roadmap and helping them develop commercialization strategies.

Beckwith also has a vision that this work will allow Foray to create a genetic banking system for plant seeds, especially those that aren’t easy to document, and allow new seeds to be grown from just a few cells. This will help with conservation efforts, too.

There are many parallels between Foray’s tech and mission and the rise of lab-grown meat and seafood. While the science isn’t exactly the same, Beckwith said, both have the same goal of replacing products and resources that humans are used to getting from nature with a lab-grown option that’s less harmful to natural environments. While lab-grown meat is a little further along in the journey, Beckwith is optimistic about Foray’s future.

“With the scale of the growing human population, and our growing demands on natural resources, it’s really important for us to be as efficient with those natural resources as possible so we can keep them around for the long-term,” Beckwith said. “This tool really allows us to move past the natural constraints that exist in the wider world and get more from less so that we can reduce our footprint on these natural resources, but still have access to the goods we need to survive as a society.”

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Editorial: Women in plant biotechnology 2022

Rose a. marks.

1 Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

2 Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Jill M. Farrant

3 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

Maximizing diversity promotes the growth and maintenance of vibrant, productive, and resilient systems Montgomery, 2020 . This is true of both the biological systems we study and the human systems we work within. Unfortunately, diversity is rarely maximized within the socioeconomic landscape of scientific research, and many perspectives and identities remain severely underrepresented in science. Noteworthy biases and inequities exist in research communities along national, racial, class, and gender axes ( West et al., 2013 ; Holman et al., 2018 ; Amarante et al., 2021 ; Hotaling et al., 2021 ; Maas et al., 2021 ; Madzima and MacIntosh, 2021 ; Marks et al., 2021 , 2023 ). At present, fewer than 30% of researchers worldwide are women, and plant biology is no exception to this trend ( Marks et al., 2023 ). Long-standing biases and gender stereotypes have excluded women from science-related fields, collaboration networks, and prestigious leadership positions ( West et al., 2013 ; Frances et al., 2020 ; Madzima and MacIntosh, 2021 ; Lerman et al., 2022 ), and progress toward a gender-balanced research environment has been painfully slow. Despite substantial and meaningful scientific contributions by women throughout history, gender biases persist in hiring, funding decisions, and citation rates ( Larivière et al., 2013 ; Fox et al., 2016 ; Bonham and Stefan, 2017 ; Holman et al., 2018 ; Witteman et al., 2019 ; Frances et al., 2020 ; Wapman et al., 2022 ). These factors, in addition to more subtle biases, contribute to the widespread underrepresentation of women in science.

In order to create a more equitable and inclusive discipline, gender equality must be promoted, stereotypes defeated, and girls and women should be encouraged to participate in research and other scientific activities. This Research Topic, “ Women in Biotechnology ”, aims to do just that–to promote the work of women scientists across the globe in plant biotechnology. Despite the importance of this topic and the undeniable talent of women scientists, very few articles have been submitted to this Research Topic. Furthermore, some of the submissions received were led by male authors and therefore excluded. As a result, the final collection contains only four articles. While it is difficult to determine the reason behind the low submission number, we speculate that it is a symptom of the overall underrepresentation of women in science. Alternatively, it is possible that some women authors preferred to publish in subject-specific collections, journals, or other topics that are not directly related to their gender identity. Still, the four articles included in this Research Topic highlight the talent, diversity, and ingenuity of women scientists.

The articles in this Research Topic fall into two distinct categories. The first two articles describe transgenic manipulations to overexpress and silence genes of interest, while the second two articles describe methodological advances that increase the efficiency of transformation protocols, a major bottleneck in plant biotechnology.

Transgene expression

The papers by Kopertekh and Reichardt and Kiełbowicz‐Matuk et al. describe important phenotypic consequences of transgenic manipulations on agronomically relevant traits, including biomass, flowering time, and stress tolerance. Kopertekh and Reichardt show that the transient expression of a cell cycle regulatory gene (At-CDC27a) leads to enlarged cells, increased protein accumulation, and overall elevated biomass in Nicotiana benthamiana . Kiełbowicz‐Matuk et al. have overexpressed and also silenced a clock-controlled gene encoding a B-box protein (StBBX24) in Solanum tuberosum . They show that silenced lines flowered earlier than wild-type plants, while overexpressing plants did not flower at all. Overexpressing lines also exhibited substantial modifications to the expression of downstream genes in flowering pathways, while silenced lines showed a reduction in salt tolerance, lower antioxidant activity, and decreased Na+ transporter expression. Both of these studies are exciting success stories of single-gene work with important downstream consequences for traits with agronomic value. Work in this area has promising applications for improving food security, sustainability, and agronomic resilience.

Methodological advances

The second set of papers by Wang et al. and Monroy-Borrego and Steinmetz provide useful methodological advances that can be used to accelerate plant transformation. Wang et al. describe a new protocol to transform wheat via particle bombardment. They present a carefully optimized methodology along with detailed instructions for performing particle bombardment on wheat. They also include customized recommendations and troubleshooting advice. Monroy-Borrego and Steinmetz describe three methods (mechanical, foliar spray, and petiole and stem injection) for initiating tobacco mosaic virus infection in Nicotiana benthamiana . Each of these three methods offers different advantages – mechanical application is highly reproducible, foliar spray is scalable in agricultural settings, and syringe inoculation is aseptic and may therefore be suitable for the pharmaceutical industry. Plant transformation is a major bottleneck in plant biotechnology, and the improved approaches presented in these two studies could help advance the field and overcome current roadblocks.

Women are doing excellent work across biotechnology, from validating important genes to developing improved tools and techniques. However, they may not be gaining the recognition or promotion their men counterparts enjoy. As indicated above, in the plant sciences alone, a considerable majority of articles are authored by men, who receive more citations and generally have access to increased funding opportunities compared to their women counterparts. Considerable and active efforts to engage with and highlight women in science are important steps toward increasing equity in the field of plant biotechnology.

Author contributions

RM: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft. JF: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Amarante V., Burger R., Chelwa G., Cockburn J., Kassouf A., McKay A., et al.. (2021). Underrepresentation of developing country researchers in development research . Appl. economics Lett. 29 , 1–6. doi:  10.1080/13504851.2021.1965528 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
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• Holman L., Stuart-Fox D., Hauser C. E. (2018). The gender gap in science: How long until women are equally represented ? PloS Biol. 16 , e2004956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2004956 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hotaling S., Kelley J. L., Frandsen P. B. (2021). Toward a genome sequence for every animal: Where are we now ? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. United States America 118 ( 52 ) e2109019118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2109019118 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Larivière V., Ni C., Gingras Y., Cronin B., Sugimoto C. R. (2013). Bibliometrics: global gender disparities in science . Nature 504 , 211–213. doi: 10.1038/504211a [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
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• Maas B., Pakeman R. J., Godet L., Smith L., Devictor V., Primack R. (2021). Women and Global South strikingly underrepresented among top-publishing ecologists . Conserv. Lett. 14 . doi: 10.1111/conl.12797 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Madzima T. F., MacIntosh G. C. (2021). Equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts in professional societies: intention versus reaction . Plant Cell 33 , 3189–3193. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab186 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Marks R. A., Amézquita E. J., Percival S., Rougon-Cardoso A., Chibici-Revneanu C., Tebele S. M., et al.. (2023). A critical analysis of plant science literature reveals ongoing inequities . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. United States America 120 , e2217564120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2217564120 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Marks R. A., Hotaling S., Frandsen P. B., VanBuren R. (2021). Representation and participation across 20 years of plant genome sequencing . Nat. plants 7 , 1571–1578. doi: 10.1038/s41477-021-01031-8 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
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• Wapman K. H., Zhang S., Clauset A., Larremore D. B. (2022). Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention . Nat. 610 , 120–127. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05222-x [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• West J. D., Jacquet J., King M. M., Correll S. J., Bergstrom C. T. (2013). The role of gender in scholarly authorship . PloS One 8 , e66212. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066212 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Witteman H. O., Hendricks M., Straus S., Tannenbaum C. (2019). Are gender gaps due to evaluations of the applicant or the science? A natural experiment at a national funding agency . Lancet 393 , 531–540. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32611-4 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

Plantae Presents: Celebrating Women in Plant Science

Featuring Dr. Thelma Madzima, Dr. Burcu Alptekin, and Dr. Gitanjali Yadav

When: Thursday, March 21, 2024, at

8:00 AM PDT | 11:00 AM EDT | 4:00 PM GMT | 8:30 PM IST

About this Webinar

Join us for an enriching webinar, “Celebrating Women in Plant Sciences,” where three distinguished women scientists in the field will share their captivating stories, experiences, challenges, and triumphs. Delve into their journeys, from overcoming obstacles to seizing opportunities, as they inspire and empower women in plant sciences and beyond. This event promises to illuminate the diverse contributions of women in shaping the landscape of botanical research and environmental sustainability. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired and motivated by their remarkable narratives. Register now to celebrate the achievements and resilience of women in plant sciences.

Hosted by the 2024 Plantae Fellows .

Dr. Madzima recently joined the faculty at Michigan State University as an 1855 Associate Professor of Diversity and Data Science in the Department of Plant Biology. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Washington Bothell. She received her bachelor’s degree in plant science/biotechnology in 2004 from Fort Valley State University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) and her PhD in plant molecular and cellular biology from the University of Florida in 2009 with Dr. Kevin Folta, where she was the recipient of the University of Florida Alumni Association Graduate Research Fellowship. Upon completion of her graduate training, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Karen McGinnis at Florida State University as a postdoctoral scholar. The overarching goal of her research program is to understand how epigenetic mechanisms facilitate growth, development, and response to abiotic stress stimuli in crop plants. Her research interests stem from her upbringing in Zimbabwe, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of drought on agricultural productivity and human livelihood. Dr. Madzima is dedicated to broadening the participation of individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM and is involved in several minority recruitment and retention activities within the scientific community. She previously served on the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC), the MGC Advocacy Committee and the MGC Committee on Outreach, Diversity, Inclusion and Education (CODIE). In recognition of her efforts, she was recently awarded the 2021 UW Bothell School of STEM Inclusive Service Award, the 2022 MGC Leadership Award, 2022 ASPB Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, and the 2022 ASPB Excellence in Education Award. You can find her on X:  @thelma_madzima .

Dr. Alptekin is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was born and raised in Istanbul/Turkey, where she also received her BSc in molecular biology and genetics from Istanbul Technical University. In 2016, she moved to the US to pursue her graduate degree and received her PhD in plant genetics from Montana State University in 2020. Her research aims to improve the abiotic stress tolerance of modern-day crops through omics, molecular genetics, and beneficial plant-microbe interactions. As a first-generation, international woman in science, Burcu is committed to increasing the representation of women in plant science. Along with her various DEI–related activities at UW-Madison, she is an early career representative at the Women in Plant Science Committee of ASPB. You can find her on X:  @burcuplants .

Dr. Yadav is a Scientist at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi and a Professor of Data Science at the Indian Institute of Science, Education, and Research (IISER) in Bhopal, India. She is an expert in AI for Genomics with applications in food security and conservation. Dr. Yadav is a Trustee of St. Edmund’s College at the University of Cambridge and co-chairs the International Data Policy Committee (IDPC) of CODATA. She has a diverse educational background with a graduate degree with Honors in botany, followed by a postgraduate degree in biomedical research, and a PhD in computational immunology. She is a strong advocate of Open Notebook Science, and has been recognized globally for her work, e.g., the INSA Medal, the Obaid Siddiqi Life Science Award, Yusuf Hamied Award from Cambridge, and Exceptional Talent Award from the Royal Society of London. You can find her on X: @gilienv.

Prakshi is a PhD scholar at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research in India and a 2022 Plantae Fellow. Her current research focuses on leaf development, particularly understanding the genetic basis and cellular morphogenesis during the development of leaves in third dimension. Besides research, Prakshi is passionate about music and loves playing the guitar. She is also an amateur photographer and enjoys snapping photos of nature. You can find her on X: @PrakshiAneja .

Abira is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Michigan State University Plant Research Laboratory. She was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She received a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata. She moved to the US in 2015 to pursue graduate studies and received a PhD in biology from Texas A&M University in 2020. During her PhD, she studied spatiotemporal regulation of phosphate homeostasis in root developmental zones. Her current research focuses on the regulation of isoprene emission from plants and its significance in modulating the atmospheric chemistry as well as plant physiology and stress tolerance. Outside of the lab, she enjoys painting and making digital art. You can find her on X:  @AbiraSahu .

Alice Pierce

Alice is a Plant Biology PhD Candidate at the University of California, Davis. She studies the relationship between intron architecture and chromatin biology. She received her BS from UC Davis in plant biotechnology, studying the effects of Intron-Mediated Enhancement on gene expression in plants. Outside of the lab, she enjoys participating in K-16 outreach and making science art. You can find her on X: @alicevpierce .

Isabel Pochet-Pimentel

Isabel works with plant-bacteria interactions in the context of nitrogen limitation. She is interested to find out how plants communicate with microorganisms to survive under poor environmental conditions. You can find her on X: @isabelpochet .

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31 January 2024

Women who transformed the world of plants and fungi

In honour of international day of women and girls in science, learn about leading female plant and fungal scientists, illustrators and horticulturist throughout history..

By Grace Brewer

Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943)

Beatrix Potter was a remarkable woman.

Widely recognised as an excellent writer and illustrator of some of the most beloved children’s books, such as The Tales of Peter Rabbit, many of us may not appreciate that she was also a scientist fascinated by fungi.

Beatrix studied and conducted experiments on fungi reproduction and development.

She also used a microscope to draw hundreds of highly detailed illustrations of fungi.

The very first illustration in Britain of the fungus Tremella simplex was created by Beatrix Potter.

Elsie Wakefield (1886 – 1972)

The entire works of Elsie Wakefield, fungus scientist (mycologist) and illustrator, can also be found in our Library, Art and Archives collection .

Elsie was Head of Kew Mycology in 1915 and Deputy Keeper of the Herbarium from 1945 to 1951. 

She published around 100 papers on fungi and plants and wrote two field guides on British fungi.

Elsie also named and described many new species of fungi and produced beautiful watercolour illustrations of the species she identified.

Barbara McClintock (1902 – 1992)

The American scientist, Barbara McClintock, was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

This was for her pioneering work that led to the discovery of ‘jumping genes’. 

In the 1940s and 50s, Barbara looked at how these mobile genes worked in plant cells. 

She found that they were involved in inheritance of characteristics in plants.

Elizabeth Blackwell (1707 – 1758)

Scientists at Kew used the International Plant Names Index ’s author database to research the contributions women have made to naming and describing plants.

This research revealed that Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to publish a plant name under the binomial naming system in 1757.

This naming system, which is still used to this day, was devised by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and means that scientific names comprise of two parts: genus and species.

Other prolific female plant authors

Our scientists also found that Harriet Margaret Louise Bolus (1877 – 1970)  is the most published female plant author.

From just before the First World War (1913) to the year before she died aged 93 (1969), Harriet was involved in publishing over 2,200 new species names.

Dr Charlotte Taylor (1955 – present) is another of the top ten female plant authors.

She works at the Missouri Botanical Garden and continues to publish new species names to this day.

Marianne North (1830 – 1890)

Many botanical artists have had a huge impact on our current understanding of plants.

Marianne North was a remarkable plant hunter and botanical painter.

She created over 800 paintings of more than 900 species of plants during her solo travels across the world in the late 1800s.

These masterpieces now line the walls of the Marianne North gallery here at Kew.

Sarah Anne Drake (1803 – 1857)

Another highly accomplished botanical artist who produced an enormous body of work, including an astonishing 1,100 plates for The Botanical Register, was Sarah Anne Drake.

Sarah specialised in orchids and contributed to one of the most famous orchid books ever published, James Bateman's Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala.

The Australian orchid Drakea is named in her honour.

Margaret Mee (1909 – 1988)

One of the first people to draw attention to the impact of large-scale mining and deforestation on the Amazon Basin was Margaret Ursula Mee, MBE.

She was a British botanical artist who specialised in plants from the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest and produced hundreds of paintings on the flora that grew there with a particular interest on bromeliads and orchids. 

In fact, at 42 years old, she made the adventurous decision to live right in the Amazon and study local species for 30 years. There, she survived storms and insect bites to become a passionate defender of the rainforest. 

Horticulturists during the First World War

When the First World War broke out in 1914, Kew employed female horticulturists to replace the men who had left to join the war effort.

The women were first appointed to the Herbaceous Grounds, Rock Gardens and Flower Gardens, and later went on to work in the glasshouses as more men left Kew. 

Over 30 women gardeners worked at Kew until 1918; they were instrumental to maintaining the Gardens during the war.

During their time at Kew, the women gardeners also attempted to improve working conditions by petitioning on issues such as hours of work and rates of pay on behalf of both women and men.

Showcasing the remarkable achievements of women across the world may inspire the next generation of extraordinary female scientists, artists, and horticulturists, celebrated on International Women's Day for years to come.

You can support our vital science work by becoming a member, donating as an individual or organisation, or volunteering your time.

Read & watch

250 years of women in botany

Beatrix Potter: tales from the Archives

Women gardeners during the First World War

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PlantGENE to catalyze plant biotechnology improvement

By aaron j. bouchie.

As the global population booms and climate change continues, improving crops to produce more food, use less resources like water and pesticides, and survive harsher environments will be needed to feed the planet sustainably. For example, fungal diseases are increasingly crippling production of crops like coffee, chocolate and bananas. Improving the crops to be resistant to disease could be essential to their survival.

Biotechnology is key to crop improvement, enabling researchers to determine the functions of genes, which can then be bred into crops using traditional methods or modern engineering methods. Unfortunately, there is a big bottleneck: There aren’t enough service providers to deliver genetically engineered plants to the research community, nor are there enough scientists trained to engineer the plants.

“The global capacity to produce plants using genetic engineering is critically short of demand,” said Joyce Van Eck , Associate Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute. “There are too few facilities and people with the expertise to perform this work, which is having a negative impact on plant science research worldwide.”

To overcome this bottleneck, Van Eck was recently awarded a $500,000 grant (IOS 2210962) from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to create the Plant Genetic Engineering Network Research Coordination Network ( PlantGENE ).

PlantGENE is a network of plant biotechnologists that will work together to facilitate the sharing of technology, knowledge and protocols. The community-driven initiative also will have a website to serve as a repository of protocols, and they will host workshops and masterclasses to train people on how to engineer different species.

“PlantGENE will be a catalyst to bring groups together to tackle issues related to plant biotechnology and crop improvement,” says Van Eck. “The network will help increase capacity for plant genetic engineering, coordinate facilities to work together, and train new scientists who can become experts in plant genetic engineering techniques.”

“Ultimately, PlantGENE will increase capacity for delivering genetically engineered plants to the research community,” added Van Eck, who is also an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.

A coordinator for PlantGENE, to be located at BTI, will work with facility managers at all of the different facilities to facilitate communication among the network, universities, private sector and international organizations.

“This person will make BTI the hub of a network coordinating training and workshops to get more people doing plant biotechnology,” says Van Eck.

She is currently accepting applications for the position.

Diane Jofuku Okamuro, program director at NSF, said PlantGENE aligns with the agency’s history of supporting research on plants, their genomes, and their role in our ecosystems and food systems.

“Connecting researchers with tools to test and validate the function of genes is critical to our ability to translate agriculturally relevant plant research into applications as demands on crop production increase and our climate changes. NSF is proud to support PlantGENE in doing that,” said Okamuro.

The PlantGENE steering committee includes Van Eck, Veena Veena and Nigel Taylor of the Danforth Plant Science Center, Heidi Kaeppler of the University of Wisconsin, Keunsub Lee of Iowa State University, Wayne Parrott of the University of Georgia, and Bill Gordon-Kamm of Corteva Agriscience.

Aaron J. Bouchie is a science writer at Boyce Thompson Institute.

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History of Plant Biotechnology Development

• Reference work entry
• First Online: 21 April 2018
• Cite this reference work entry

• Ivelin Pantchev 5 , 7 ,
• Goritsa Rakleova 5 ,
• Atanas Pavlov 6 , 8 &
• Atanas Atanassov 5  

Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

1150 Accesses

It is difficult to write a review on the history of plant biotechnology, especially after the excellent works of Vasil (Plant Cell Rep 27(9):1423–1440, 2008) Thorpe (Mol Biotechnol 37:169–180, 2007), and Sussex (Plant Cell 20(5):1189–1198, 2008). It is even more difficult to overview the current state of this fast-developing field. Nevertheless, in this review we will make an attempt not only to make a narrative of main stages but also to show the links between plant biotechnology and latest progress in biological science.

Plant biotechnology has its roots deep in human civilization but was established just a century ago. Starting outside the science mainstream of the time period, classical plant biotechnology slowly but steadily grew into a recognized discipline. The explosive growth of biology research at the end of the twentieth century brought plant biotechnology to the fast-track line. The field grew very rapidly and currently turned into a key tool for fundamental research and practical uses. Currently plant biotechnology has been essentially grown, and new disciplines as omics technologies as genome editing have arisen which further intensify both fundamental and practical studies in biology and make a bridge with other scientific areas as informatics, nanotechnology, and so-called digital and intelligent science. As such modern biotechnology speeds up the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Schwab, The fourth industrial revolution. World Economic Forum. ISBN 1944835008, 2016).

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Abbreviations

Two-dimensional electrophoresis

Toxic protein from Bacillus thuringiensis

Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein

Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre)

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Genetic modification

Genetically modified organism

Genome-wide association studies

International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

Intellectual property rights

International Rice Research Institute

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Near-infrared spectroscopy

Nuclear magnetic resonance

RNA interference

Single-nucleotide polymorphism

Transferred DNA from Ti-plasmid (or binary vector) into plant cell

Tumor-inducing plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Thorpe TA (2007) History of plant tissue culture. Mol Biotechnol 37:169–180

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Vasil IK (2008) A history of plant biotechnology: from the cell theory of Schleiden and Schwann to biotech crops. Plant Cell Rep 27(9):1423–1440

Sussex IM (2008) The scientific roots of modern plant biotechnology. Plant Cell 20(5):1189–1198

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Pantchev, I., Rakleova, G., Pavlov, A., Atanassov, A. (2018). History of Plant Biotechnology Development. In: Pavlov, A., Bley, T. (eds) Bioprocessing of Plant In Vitro Systems. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54600-1_25

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Plant biotechnology: Why plants represent ‘untapped potential’ for innovative drug discovery

by Allie Nicodemo

The field of medicine has come a long way from using heroin as a cough remedy or magnet therapy to improve blood flow. These outdated methods were put to bed decades ago. But there are plenty of ancient medicinal practices that have stood the test of time. In fact, many of the life-saving pharmaceuticals we rely on today are derived from plants first discovered by indigenous communities.

Ethnobotany is the scientific study of traditional plant knowledge. It’s what gave us morphine, aspirin, and ephedrine, to name a few. And there is still untapped potential.

In a paper published on Tuesday in Trends in Biotechnology, Northeastern University doctoral candidate John de la Parra described a new field called ethnophytotechnology. It’s the use of plant biotechnology to improve the plant-based drug discovery pipeline.

“New production, engineering, and analysis methods have made it easier to meet scientific challenges that have confronted traditionally used plant-derived medicines,” said de la Parra, PhD’18, who is earning his doctorate in chemistry. “It is our hope that as the field expands, rich troves of indigenous knowledge can find prominence within innovative drug discovery and production platforms.”

In collaboration with Cassandra Leah Quave, a medical ethnobotanist at Emory University, de la Parra examines the vast opportunities for ethnobotany and ethnophytotechnology to promote new drug discovery and solve health challenges. Here, he and Quave take a deeper dive into their recent paper.

You mentioned that traditional plant knowledge has been the foundation of some important medicines. Could you share some examples?

de la Parra: Plants have given us some of our oldest and most important medicines and there are countless examples, from aspirin to the chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel, crossing cultures across the world. Historically, to practice medicine or pharmacy has usually meant, in some regard, to be a botanist.

An interesting place to start is by looking at diseases that we know existed in the ancient world and still persist today. Take malaria for example. An extract from the bark of the cinchona tree was traditionally used to treat victims of this parasitic disease. Chemists then isolated quinine from this plant and until fairly recently, quinine derivatives were our most important anti-malarial drugs. However, the isolation of this type of single molecule treatment led to the rise of quinine-resistant malaria. Luckily, traditional plant knowledge came to the rescue with artemisinin. This compound was discovered by 2015 Nobel laureate Tu Youyou when she consulted a nearly 2,000-year-old Chinese medicinal text that described methods to extract the plant Artemisia annua.

The paper suggests that using indigenous knowledge for drug development is more important now than ever. Why is that?

de la Parra: There are many reasons why plant medicine is so important right now. Cassandra’s work has focused on the alarming rise of drug-resistant infections—infections for which we have no effective treatments. Plant-derived drugs present the potential for novel drug scaffolds that often have a history of safe and effective usage.

I tend to think about my work from a broad perspective. A rapidly expanding global population with ever-growing economic disparity has led to shocking inequalities in medical treatment. In the West, pharmaceutical companies have focused more on diseases of the affluent—chronic diseases—and less on improving treatments for acute infections that tend to affect the developing world. Many of these areas of the world also rely on traditional plant treatments. Ethnophytotechnology is a chance for combined expertise—the West’s mechanization and biotechnology strengths combined with the developing world’s thousands of years of rich ethnobotanical knowledge—to find and develop effective drugs for otherwise neglected diseases. This is all at a time when we see those same diseases spreading around the world despite our artificial borders—think of Zika, Ebola, and Chagas disease for instance.

Quave: We’re entering into a new era of medicine—one in which previously useful antibiotic compounds are losing their ability to effectively treat microbial infections. Although we’ve recently come to rely more and more on synthetic chemistry for the generation of medically important drugs, humankind shares a long and extensive history in which nature was the major source of cures for various maladies. The advantages of ethnophytotechnological innovation, represented by the merger of traditional knowledge with technological advancement, will be an increased ability to tap into nature’s resources to sustainably produce large quantities of novel chemical entities to fill the drug discovery pipeline in the future and better address emerging medical needs.

How can it be assured that indigenous populations and practices are not damaged by the biomedical field?

de la Parra: As an ethnobotanist, someone whose concern is the honoring and preservation of human plant knowledge, this is a huge and primary concern. First it must be acknowledged that the historical record is full of accounts of how many indigenous communities have been preyed upon, destroyed, and systematically dismantled by greedy interests. Then, the international community must agree upon and enforce regulations to protect indigenous people, knowledge, and culture. The Nagoya Protocol is an important first step for individual researchers and corporations to follow, even if one’s home country is not a signatory. It sets forth important standards for researchers and protections for indigenous communities.

Why did you get into this type of research? What is your inspiration for pursuing ethnobotany and ethnophytotechnology?

de la Parra: I grew up on a farm in Alabama where we lived closely with plants and relied on them for many things. I remember being fascinated by my grandmother’s use of plants as medicine. As I began my academic pursuits I often felt that the scientific community was skeptical of the idea of plant-derived medicine. And truthfully, there has been a lot of misinformation disseminated about plant remedies. Biotechnology provides the rigor, accuracy, and reproducibility to help dispel scientific apprehension about plant-derived treatments and that’s why I work at the interface of ethnobotany and biotechnology.

Originally published in news@Northeastern on July 31, 2017.

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biotechnology?

The role of women in biotechnology

Often hidden from view, women have played a major role in the development of biotechnology and medicine. Indeed, women have been at the cutting edge of biotechnology, including Rosalind Franklin who played a fundamental role in deciphering the structure of DNA; Esther Lederberg who discovered the lambda phage which is now a major tool for studying gene regulation and genetic recombination; Margaret Dayhoff who developed the field of bioinformatics; Janet Mertz who created the first piece of recombinant DNA; and Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier who helped pioneer CRISPR, a revolutionary technique for genome editing.

Here we provide a number of profiles of women who have been key pioneers in biotechnology. These profiles have been compiled as part of an ongoing project to highlight the many contributions women have made to biotechnology. This is a work in progress and we welcome suggestions for other women to be included.

Some of the leading women in biotechnology

Don't hesitate to contact us if you think of other women who have played an important role in the development of biotechnology and who are not here.

Learn more about June Almeida

Learn more about Brigitte Askonas

Learn more about Fran Balkwill

Learn more about Sally Davies

Learn more about Margaret Dayhoff

Learn more about Jennifer Doudna

Learn more about Rosalind Franklin

Learn more about Carolyn Green

Learn more about Beverly Griffin

Learn more about Esther Lederberg

Learn more about Rita Levi-Montalcini

Learn more about Janet Mertz

Learn more about Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Learn more about Padmanee Sharma

Learn more about Rosemary Versteegen

Born: Paris, France . Barre-Sinoussi shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to identify the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS in 1983. Over the years she has made substantial contributions to understanding the role of innate immune defences in the host in controlling HIV/AIDS and how HIV is transmitted between the mother and child. She has also studied the characteristics that allow some HIV-positive individuals gain resistance to HIV without antiretrioviral drugs. (Photo credit: Karolinska Institute, Press conference, 2008).

Born: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia . Blackburn is a molecular biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009. She is best known for having discovered a particular repetative sequence of DNA on the telomere, a particular region found at the end of a chromosome that prevents the chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other. She also helped identify telomerase, an enzyme that helps replenish telomeres which get shorter every time a cell divides. Such shortening is associated with aging and cancer. (Photo credit: Chemical Heritage Foundation).

Born: New York City, United States . Elion shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her contributions to the development of a multitude of new drugs. This included drugs for herpes, leukemia, malaria, gout, immune disorders, and AIDS, and immune suppressants to overcome rejection of donated organs in transplant surgery. Her work earned 45 patents. (Photo credit: Wellcome Images).

Born: San Diego, California, United States . Greider shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for helping to elucidate the structure of telomeres, a particular region found at the end of a chromosome that prevents the chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, and to identify telomerase, an enzyme that helps replenish telomeres which get shorter every time a cell divides. Such shortening is associated with aging and cancer. She also collaborated in the development of the first telomerase knockout mouse which helped demonstrate how premature aging is linked to increasingly short telomeres. (Photo credit: Keith Weller).

Born: Vienna, Austria . Hochmair-Desoyer is an electrical engineer who helped create the world's first micro-electric multi-channel cochlear implant. Developed in 1977 the implant enables the user to not only hear sounds but also to understand speech. Since 2000 she has co-founded a number of medical device companies working to help with hearing loss. In 2013 she was awarded the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. (Photo credit: Ingeborg J Hochmair-Desoyer).

Born: Cairo, Egypt . Dorothy Hodgkin, was a British biochemist who developed protein crystallography and X-ray crystallography which was used to confirm the structure of penicillin, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. (Photo credit: Peter Lofts Photography, National Portrait Gallery, London Peter Lofts Photography, National Portrait Gallery, London ).

Born: Illinois, United States . King is a human geneticist who studies the interplay between genetics and the environment on human disease. She is best known for having identified BRCA1, a single gene responsible for many breast and ovarian cancers. Her technique for identifying the BRCA1 gene is now used for studying many other diseases. She was also responsible for the development of a technique, using mitrochondial DNA and human leukocyte antigen, for genetically identifying the remains of missing people. (Photo credit: Mary-Claire King).

Born: Hartford, Connecticut, United States . Through her work on maize, McClintock demonstrated the ability of genes to change position on the chromosome. (Photo credit: American Philosophical Society).

Born: United States . A key pioneer in the development of antibody engineering techniques, Morrison helped develop some of the first chimeric monoclonal antibodies. This work paved the way to the creation of safer and more effective monoclonal antibody drugs. (Photo credit: Sherie Morrison).

Born: Fosnavag, Norway . Moser shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to discover cells located in the centre of the brain that are important for determining spacial position. Her work has helped scientists gain new understanding into the cognitive processes and spacial deficits linked to neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease. (Photo credit: NBC News).

Born: New York City, United States . Witkin is an American geneticist who is best known for her work on DNA mutagenesis and DNA repair. She helped elucidate the first co-ordinated stress response. This she did studying the response of bacteria to UV radiation. Witkins was one of the first few women to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences, in 1977 and in 2002 was awarded the National Medal of Science. (Photo credit: YouTube).

Born: New York City, United States . The second American woman to ever be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, Yalow is best known for having co-developed a diagnostic technique, known as a radioimmunoassay, for measuring tiny quantities of various biological samples in blood and other bodily fluids. The test's primary detection mechanism is an antibody combined with a radioisotope. First devised for determining insulin levels in diabetes patients, the technique is now used for hundreds of other substances previously difficult to detect because they were too small. Among the substances it can quantify are hormones, vitamins, enzymes. It is also used to measure the effectiveness of dose levels of antibiotics and other drugs. (Photo credit: US Information Agency).

Born: Zhejiang, China . Tu Youyou is a Chinese chemist who discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria. YouYou received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William Campbell and Satoshi Omura. Youyou is the first Chinese Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and the first female citizen of the People's Republic of China to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. (Photo credit: Bengt Nyman).

Women in biotechnology: timeline of key events

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, EnglandBlackwell Garrett Anderson was the first woman to qualify as a woman in Britain (1865) and the first woman to receive a medical degree in France (1870). Unable to take up a medical post in any hospital in Britain, Garrett Anderson opened her own practice and in 1866 opened the St Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children. She subsequently co-founded the London School of Medicine for Women (later called the Royal Free Hospital of Medicine). It was the first hospital to be staffed by women and to train women doctors. Garrett Anderson was dean of the hospital's medical school from 1883-1903. .1836-06-19T00:00:00+000019 Jun 1836Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was bornGarrett AndersonRoyal Free HospitalHyde was a physiologist who is credited with the invention of the intracellular micropippette electrode. It provided the first means to record electrical activity within a cell without destroying the cellular wall. The electrode was powerful enough to stimulate tissue chemically or electronically and small enough to inject or remove tissue from a cell. She devised the electrode as part of her research into animal cardiac movement, circulation, respiration, and nervous systems. Overall her device revolutionised neurophysiology and the study of contractile nerve tissue. Hyde was the first woman to graduate from the University or Hedidelberg and to do research at Harvard Medical School. She was also the first woman to be elected to the American Physiology Society. 1857-09-08T00:00:00+00008 Sep 1857Ida H Hyde was born in Davenport, Iowa, USAHydeHeidelberg University, University of Kansas, University of Berne, Radcliffe CollegePicotte was the first Native American woman to gain a medical degree in the USA. She was first inspired to train as a physician when as a child she witnessed a sick Indian woman die because the local white doctor refused to care for her. Picotte opened a hospital in the reservation town of Walthill, Nebraska and set up a private practice to look after both white and non-white patients. She was a strong campaigner to prohibit alcohol on reservations. 1865-06-17T00:00:00+000017 Jun 1865Susan LaFlesche Picotte was born on the Omaha Reservation, USALaFlesche Picotte  Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, in 1903, and the first person to win it twice, in 1911. She developed techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes and discovered the two elements, polonium and radium. Curie also pioneered the use of radioactive isotopes to treat cancer and developed mobile radiography mobile unites to provide X-ray services in field hospitals during World War I. Throughout her life Curie experienced major challenges because of her sex. Denied a regular university education in Poland, her home country, because she was a woman, she had to study in France to get her degree. In 1903 the French Academy of Sciences tried to keep her name off its list of Nobel Prize nominees and the Swedish Academy of Sciences asked her not to attend the Nobel ceremony in 1911 because of negative publicity surrounding her personal life.1867-11-07T00:00:00+00007 Nov 1867Marie Curie, nee Sklodowska, born in Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Poland)CurieWarsawWollstein was a pioneer paediatric pathologist at a time when women rarely worked in the field of pathology. One of her key contributions was the development of antiserum therapies to treat both paediatric and adult infectious diseases, including a potent polyvalent antiserum to treat meningitis. She was the first woman to ever be elected a member of the American Pediatric Society. In 1904 she joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research where she did important experimental work on polio, pneumonia and other diseases. Her work was important for showing that mumps could be viral in nature. 1868-11-21T00:00:00+000021 Nov 1868Martha Wollstein was born in New York City, USAWollsteinRockefeller Institute for Medical ResearchSabin was a pioneering medical scientist who was the first woman to be appointed a full professor at Johns Hopkins University. She was also the first woman to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences and to head up a department at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. For many years she was involved in the investigation of the lymphatic system. She demonstrated that lymphatic vessels develop from a special layer of cells in certain fetal veins. She also made many discoveries relating to the origin and development of blood vessels and blood cells. 1871-11-09T00:00:00+00009 Nov 1871Florence R Sabin was born in Colorado, USAFlorence Sabin McCormick was one of the first women to earn a biology degree from MIT. She went on to become a prominent suffragist and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the first oral contraceptive pill. She provided $2 million of her own money for the development of the pill, first approved for gynaecological disorders in 1957. McCormick continued to provide funding to improve birth control once the pill was approved. 1875-08-27T00:00:00+000027 Aug 1875Katherine McCormick bornMcCormickMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyA trained botanist and geologist, Stopes was the first female academic to get a position at the University of Manchester where she conducted research on plant palaeontology and coal classification. She is best known for her campaigning work to make birth control available to women. In 1921 she helped to open the first clinic in London that offered birth control advice and dispensed contraception to poor mothers.1880-10-15T00:00:00+000015 Oct 1880Marie Stopes was born in Edinburgh, ScotlandStopesManchester UniversityDick originally trained as a zoologist and then completed a medical degree. She made her name studying scarlet fever after she herself caught the disease. In 1923 she and her husband George Dick, worked out that the disease was caused by a toxin released by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. This enabled them to create an antitoxin for treatment and vaccine for prevention. She also devised a technique to prevent cross infection of scarlet fever among infants. Known as the Dick Aseptic Nursery Technique this promoted strict sterilisation and aseptic procedures. 1881-12-18T00:00:00+000018 Dec 1881Gladys Rowena H Dick was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, USAGladys Dick University of Chicago, John R. McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases, St Luke's HospitalWillis was a haematologist who discovered a nutritional factor in yeast, now known as folic acid, which prevents and cures macrocytic anaemia, a life-threatening condition that can develop in pregnancy. The disease is particularly prevalent in poor women in the tropics who have inadequate diets. Willis made her discovery while working in India. Noticing that wealthy women seemed to suffer less from the symptoms of anaemia than poor women, Willis hypothesised that the disease was linked to nutrition. She found that liver supplements and Marmite, a spread high in vitamin B made from brewer's yeast could combat anaemia in rats. This led her to successfully treating anaemia in pregnant Indian women by using liver supplements and Marmite. Her results were published in 1931. 1888-05-10T00:00:00+000010 May 1888Lucy Willis was born in Sutton Coldfield, United KingdomWillisRoyal Free Hospital, Haffkine Institute Ball was an African-American chemist who developed the first effective treatment for leprosy or Hansen's disease. The treatment emerged out of her investigation of the chemical makeup of the active principle of the Piper methysticum (kava), a plant grown on the Pacific islands, for her master's thesis at the University of Hawaii. Aged just 23 she developed an extract from the plant that was easily absorbed in the body when injected. Sadly she died a year later and was never given credit for her achievement. She was the first woman and Black African American to graduate with a master's degree from the University of Hawaii and the first woman professor at the university.1892-07-24T00:00:00+000024 Jul 1892Alice A Ball was born in Seattle, Washington, USABallUniversity of HawaiiCurie's idea laid the foundation for disproving the traditional belief that atoms were indivisible. She made the hypothesis after discovering that the activity of uranium compounds depend on the quantity of uranium present1897-01-01T00:00:00+00001897Marie Curie hypothesised that radiation came from the atom and not from the interaction of molecules.Curie 1897-01-01T00:00:00+00001897 - 1899Marie Curie devised methods for measuring radioactivityCurie Seibert was a biochemist whose isolation of a pure form of tuberculin (a protein substance from the tuberculosis-causing bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis) in the 1930s paved the way to her development of the first reliable TB test. Devised at the University of Uppsala, Seibert's test, which is carried out on the skin, was adopted as the standard TB test in the United States in 1941 and by the World Health Organisation in 1952. Her test is still in use today. Prior to her work on TB, Seibert invented a new distillation process for intravenous injections that eliminated all bacteria. She developed the technique during her doctorate after finding that intravenous injections contaminated with distilled water could cause fevers in patients. 1897-10-06T00:00:00+00006 Oct 1897Florence B Seibert was born in Easton, PA, USASeibertYale University, University of Uppsala, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania1898-01-01T00:00:00+00001898Marie Curie, together with her husband Pierre, discovered polonium and radium, two new elementsCurie Curie used the term to describe the behaviour of uranium and thorium. 1898-04-01T00:00:00+0000April 1898Marie Curie coined the term 'radioactivity'Curie Alexander was a paediatrician and microbiologist. In the 1940s she developed the first effective treatment against Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), a major killer of infants. Her treatment helped reduce mortality from the disease from nearly 100 per cent to less than 25 per cent. It involved the combination of antiserum therapy with sulfa drugs. Alexander was also one of the first scientists to identify and study antibiotics resistance, which emerged out of her search for antibiotics to treat Hib. She worked out that the resistance was due to random genetic mutations in DNA that were positively selected through evolution. 1901-04-05T00:00:00+00005 Apr 1901Hattie Elizabeth Alexander was born in New York City, USAAlexanderColumbia UniversityMcClintock was a pioneer in the field of cytogenetics, a branch of genetics concerned with how chromosomes affect cell behaviour. Based on her investigation of how chromosomes change in reproduction in maize she demonstrated in the late 1920s that genes can shift to different locations by themselves. In the 1940s and 1950s she showed that genes are responsible for turning physical characteristics on and off, a process called transposition. Initially scientists were sceptical of her findings so she stopped publishing her data in 1953. By the 1960s and 1970s attitudes towards her work changed as more scientists made similar findings. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1983 for her work.1902-06-16T00:00:00+000016 Jun 1902Barbara McClintock was born in Hartford CT, USAMcClintockUniversity of MissouriVogt was a pharmacologist who left Nazi Germany in 1933 for Britain where she became one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. Her most important contribution was advancing knowledge about the role of neurotransmitters in the brain. She demonstrated that the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine enable brain cells to communicate. In 1954 she published a paper on sympathin which helped to establish the important role of amines in the brain and paved the way to the development of modern anti-depressant therapy.1903-09-08T00:00:00+00008 Sep 1903Marthe L Vogt was born in Berlin, GermanyVogtNational Institute for Medical ResearchCurie shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with the physicist Antoine Becquerel and her husband Pierre Curie. The Prize was given in recognition for the work they did on radiation. Originally the Nobel Committee failed to include Marie in on the award but changed their position after receiving a complaint from Pierre who had been alerted by Magnus Goesta Mittag-Leffler of their failure to recognise Marie's work. 1903-12-10T00:00:00+000010 Dec 1903Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel PrizeCurie Gwei-djen was a biochemist who undertook pioneering work on metabolic pathways. In 1933, Gwei-djen took the bold decision to leave China, then isolated from the West, to study for a doctorate at Cambridge University where she remained for the rest of her career. By 1939 she had developed the first sensitive assay for detecting low levels of pyruvic acid, an intermediate involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates. Her work demonstrated that the levels of pyruvic acid could be raised by vitamin B1 deficiency and exercise. Gwei-djen worked closely with both Dorothy and Joseph Needham. Together with Joseph she compiled a series of books detailing Chinese achievements in science and technology.1904-07-22T00:00:00+000022 Jul 1904Lu Gwei-djen was born in Nanjing, Qing ChinaGwei-djen University of CambridgeStudying the mealworm, Stevens found that males made reproductive cells with both X and Y chromosomes whereas the females made only those with X. NM Stevens, 'Studies in spermatogenesis with special reference to the accessory chromosome', Studies in Sermatogenesis (Washington, DC, 1905), 1-32. 1905-01-01T00:00:00+00001905Nettie Stevens showed that sex is inherited by a chromosomal factor and that males determine the gender of offspringStevens Stewart was a physician who was the first person to demonstrate the link between x-rays of pregnant women and childhood cancer. While it took time for her findings, first published in 1956, to be accepted, her work paved the way to the eventual curtailment of the use of medical x-rays during pregnancy and early childhood. The early criticism of her results prevented her from being appointed a professor. She only gained proper recognition for her research after an American study confirmed her findings in 1962. She was invited to become the first Chair of the European Committee on Radiation Risk in 1997. 1906-10-04T00:00:00+00004 Oct 1906Alice M Stewart was born in Sheffield, UKStewartOxford UniversityLevi-Montalcini is best known for sharing the Nobel Prize in 1986 for helping to discover and isolate the nerve growth factor which helps regulate the growth, maintenance, proliferation and survival of certain neurons. Banned by Mussolini from working in academia because she was Jewish, Levi-Montalcini conducted much of her early work in a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom. She later became the director of the Research Center of Neurobiology and the Laboratory of Cellular Biology in Washington University and founded the European Brain Research Institute. 1909-04-22T00:00:00+000022 Apr 1909Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin, Italy Washington UniversityApgar was an obstetrical anaesthesiologist who introduced the first test for assessing the health of newborn babies in 1953. Known as the Apgar Score. this test assesses the baby's heart rate, respiration, colour, muscle tone and reflect irritability. During the rubella pandemic of 1964-65, Apgar became a strong advocate for universal vaccination to prevent mother to child transmission of the disease. She also promoted the effective use of Rh testing to identify women at risk of transmitting maternal antibodies against they placenta which can cause life-threatening anaemia in the baby. Apgar was the first woman to head a specialty division at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. 1909-06-07T00:00:00+00007 Jun 1909Virginia Apgar was born in Westfield, NJ, USAApgarColumbia UniversityDorothy Hodgkin, was a British chemist who pioneered protein crystallography, a technique the uses x-ray crystallography to determine the three dimensional structure of protein crystals. She used the technique to confirm the structure of penicillin, in 1945, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. Hodgkin was the third woman to win the Nobel Prize. In addition to penicillin, Hodgkin published the first structure of a steroid and deciphered the structure of vitamin B12 and insulin. Her protein crystallography technique is now an essential tool for research into structural biology.1910-05-12T00:00:00+000012 May 1910Dorothy M Crowfoot Hodgkin was born in Cairo, EgyptD HodgkinCairo, EgyptBorn in Britain, Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from a medical school in US (Geneva Medical College, New York). In 1857 she set up the New York Dispensary for Indigent Women and Children. A year later she became the first woman registered on UK Medical Register. Blackwell was an ardent promoter of women's education in medicine. In 1874 she helped set up the London School of Medicine for Women which prepared women to take the licensing exams. Blackwell saw medicine as a tool for social and moral reform. Between 1880 and 1895 she was involved in a number of reform movements, including moral reform, sexual purity, hygiene, Eugenics, medical ethics, and women's rights. 1910-05-31T00:00:00+000031 May 1910Elizabeth Blackwell diedBlackwell Hobby was a microbiologist whose work was pivotal to scaling up the production of penicillin in World War II and the development of other antibiotics. She first became involved in work on nonpathogenic organisms when doing her doctorate at Columbia University in 1935. From 1934 to 1943 Hobby worked for Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia Medical School. Thereafter she went to work for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in New York where she conducted research on streptomycin and other antibiotics. She founded the monthly publication 'Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy' in 1972 and published 'Penicillin: Meeting the Challenge' in 1985. 1910-11-19T00:00:00+000019 Nov 1910Gladys Lounsbury Hobby was bornHobbyColumbia University, Pfizer1911-01-01T00:00:00+00001911Marie Curie published the standard for radiumCurie Known as 'Petits Curies' the technology helped locate fractures, bullets and shrapnel in wounded soldiers. 1914-01-01T00:00:00+00001914Marie Curie developed small, mobile x-ray units for the diagnosis of injuries at the battlefront in World War ICurie Picotte was the first Native American woman to gain a medical degree in the USA. She was first inspired to train as a physician when as a child she witnessed a sick Indian woman die because the local white doctor refused to care for her. Picotte opened a hospital in the reservation town of Walthill, Nebraska and set up a private practice to look after both white and non-white patients. She was a strong campaigner to prohibit alcohol on reservations. 1915-09-18T00:00:00+000018 Sep 1915Susan LaFlesche Picotte diedLaFlesche Picotte Stern was the first to describe how a healthy cell changes into a cancerous cell. She showed that a normal cell goes through 250 distinct stages before it become cancerous. Stern's work helped transform cervical cancer into an easily diagnosed and treatable condition. She also demonstrated the links between the herpes simplex virus and cervical cancer and between cervical cancer and the oral contraceptive pill. 1915-09-19T00:00:00+000019 Sep 1915Elizabeth Stern was born in Cobalt, Ontario, CanadaSternUniversity of California Los AngelesBall was an African-American chemist who developed the first effective treatment for leprosy or Hansen's disease. The treatment emerged out of her investigation of the chemical makeup of the active principle of the Piper methysticum (kava), a plant grown on the Pacific islands, for her master's thesis at the University of Hawaii. Aged just 23 she developed an extract from the plant that was easily absorbed in the body when injected. Sadly she died a year later and was never given credit for her achievement. She was the first woman and Black African American to graduate with a master's degree from the University of Hawaii and the first woman chemistry professor at the university.1916-12-31T00:00:00+000031 Dec 1916Alice A Ball diedBallUniversity of HawaiiChatterjee was an organic chemist who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in science from an Indian university - Calcutta University. Most of her work concentrated on researching various alkaloid compounds. She is best known for her discovery of the anti-epileptic activity of Marsilea minuta, an aquatic fern, which led to the development of the an epilepsy drug called Ayush-56. Chatterjee also found the anti-malarial properties of the plants Alstonia scholaris, Swertia chirata, Picrorhiza kurroa and Caesalpinia crista which led to antimalarial drugs. 1917-09-23T00:00:00+000023 Sep 1917Asima Chatterjee was born in Bengal, IndiaChatterjeeUniversity of CalcuttaGarrett Anderson was the first woman to qualify as a woman in Britain (1865) and the first woman to receive a medical degree in France (1870). Unable to take up a medical post in any hospital in Britain, Garrett Anderson opened her own practice and in 1866 opened the St Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children. She subsequently co-founded the London School of Medicine for Women (later called the Royal Free Hospital of Medicine). It was the first hospital to be staffed by women and to train women doctors. Garrett Anderson was dean of the hospital's medical school from 1883-1903. . 1917-12-17T00:00:00+000017 Dec 1917Elizabeth Garrett Anderson diedGarrett AndersonRoyal Free HospitalElion was a biochemist and pharmacologist renowned for developing new methods to design drugs that took advantage of the biochemical differences between normal human cells and pathogens (disease-causing agents). The aim was to create a drug capable of killing or inhibiting the reproduction of pathogens without harming healthy cells. Elion helped develop a number of drugs for a variety of diseases, including leukaemia and malaria. One of her most notable achievements was the creation of the first immunosuppressive drug for organ transplant patients. In 1988 she was joined awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 'discoveries of important principles for drug treatment.'1918-01-23T00:00:00+000023 Jan 1918Gertrude B Elion was born in New York NY, USAElionWellcome Research LaboratoriesSaruhashi is renowned for being the first scientist to demonstrate the dangers of radioactive fallout in seawater that resulted from nuclear bomb testing in 1954. Her evidence was later used to prevent further nuclear testing by governments. Despite her achievement, she suffered discrimination as a woman scientist. She was the first woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1957. Convinced that technical expertise was the key to women's independence she established the Society of Japanese Scientists in 1958 to promote women in science. 1920-03-22T00:00:00+000022 Mar 1920Katsuko Saruhashi was born in Tokyo, JapanSaruhashi Franklin was a biophysicist. She is best known for having taken photo 51, in 1952, which provided the first evidence of the double helix structure of DNA. She took the photo using x-ray crystallography. Data from the photo was pivotal to Crick and Watson's building of their DNA double helical structure of DNA FOR which they won the Nobel Prize in 1962. Sadly Franklin died too early to receive the Nobel Prize for her work.1920-07-25T00:00:00+000025 Jul 1920Rosalind E Franklin was born in London, UK Witkin is best known for her work on DNA mutagenesis and DNA repair. She helped elucidate the first co-ordinated stress response. This she did by studying the response of bacteria to UV radiation. Witkins was one of the first few women to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences, in 1977. She was also awarded the National Medal of Science in 2002. 1921-03-09T00:00:00+00009 Mar 1921Evelyn Witkin was born in New York City, USAWitkinNew York CityDaly trained as a biochemist and was the first Black American woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry (from Columbia University, 1947). Her early research looked at the effects of cholesterol on the mechanisms of the heart, the effects sugars and other nutrients on the health of the arteries and the impact of advanced aged and hypertension on the circulatory system. This she did at Rockefeller Institute in New York. She subsequently joined Columbia University where she investigated how proteins are produced and organised in the cell. In addition to her scientific work, Daly was an ardent campaigner for getting minority students into medical school and graduate science programmes. 1921-04-16T00:00:00+000016 Apr 1921Marie M Daly was born in Corona, Queens, NY, USAMary DalyRockefeller Institute, Columbia UniversityYalow was a medical physicist who made her name by helping to develop the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. RIA uses two reagents. One is a radioisotope atom bound to a molecule of the target substance and the other is an antibody that will bind to the target substance when the two are in contact. Measurements are taken of the initial radioactivity of the mixture which is then added to a measured quantity of fluid, such as blood, that contains low concentrations of an unknown target substance. The test takes advantage of the fact that antibodies prefer to attach to non-radioactive molecules. Measurements are taken of the reduction in radioactivity of the antibody reagent to calculate the concentration of the target substance. The RIA method is now an important component in diagnostic tests, being used to measure the concentration of hormones, vitamins, viruses, enzymes, drugs and other substances. The technique transformed the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and other hormonal problems related to growth, thyroid function and fertility. It is used to test for phenylketonuria in newborn babies, a rare inherited disorder that if left untreated can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioural problems and mental disorder. In 1977 Yalow became the second woman in history to win the Nobel Prize for the physiology or medicine category. . It was awarded on the basis of her RIA work. 1921-07-19T00:00:00+000019 Jul 1921Rosalyn Yalow was born in New York, USAYalowVeterans Administration HospitalKoshland was an immunologist who was a major pioneer in the field of antibodies. Her work was instrumental in showing antibodies to be discrete entities and knowledge about the origins of antibody specificity. In the 1960s, she demonstrated that the efficiency and effectiveness with which antibodies can combat foreign invaders is determined by their different amino acid compositions. By the 1990s she had unravelled the process that accompanies and directs B cell activation and maturation. A major role-model for other women scientists, Koshland was nearly not awarded her PhD because her professor thought it would be a waste because she was pregnant. 1921-10-25T00:00:00+000025 Oct 1921Marian E Koshland was born in New Haven, Connecticut, USAKoshland Datta was a microbial geneticist who showed that multi-antibiotic resistance was transferred between bacteria by plasmids. She first made the connection in 1959 after investigating a severe outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium phage-type 27 at Hammersmith Hospital where she worked. This involved an examination of 309 cultures, of which she found 25 were drug resistant, eight of which were resistant to Streptomycin which had been used to treat the patients. She concluded that the antibiotic resistance developed over time because the earlier cultures of the salmonella typhimurium infection (from the start of the outbreak) were not drug resistant. 1922-09-17T00:00:00+000017 Sep 1922Naomi Datta was born in London, UKDattaHammersmith HospitalLederberg is best known for having discovered the lambda phage, an indispensable tool for studying gene regulation and genetic recombination. She also invented the replica plating technique which is pivotal to tracking antibiotic resistance. 1922-12-18T00:00:00+000018 Dec 1922Esther Lederberg was born in Bronx, New York, USAEsther LederbergWisconsin UniversityAskonas was a leading figure in immunology whose work helped to establish the basic mechanisms and components of immune system. Together with colleagues she developed one of the first systems for the cloning of antibody-forming B cells in vivo, some of the earliest monoclonal antibodies. She was also one of the first scientists to isolate and clone virus specific T lymphocytes, laying the foundation for defining different influenza sub-sets and improving vaccines.1923-04-01T00:00:00+00001 Apr 1923Brigitte Askonas was born in Vienna, Austria ViennaDayhoff is known as the founder of bioinformatics. This she did by pioneering the application of mathematics and computational techniques to the sequencing of proteins and nucleic acids and establishing the first publicly available database for research in the area. 1925-03-11T00:00:00+000011 Mar 1925Margaret Dayhoff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA PhiladelphiaMcLaren was a major pioneer in the development of IVF. She was also the key architect behind the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act (1990) which provided the world’s first legal guidelines for infertility treatment and all human embryo research. Following this Act, McLaren served for 10 years on the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, established in 1991, and became a critical player in debates about the governance of embryonic stem cells for therapy. She also made history in 1991 by becoming the Royal Society’s first woman officer. 1927-04-26T00:00:00+000026 Apr 1927Anne McLaren was born in London, UKMcLarenUniversity College London, Edinburgh University, Cambridge UniversityThe Cori's work helped identify the cyclical process that muscle cells use to make and store energy. Their insights into the process of sugar metabolism opened up new understandings of diabetes and the means to treat it. 1929-01-01T00:00:00+00001929Carl and Gerty Cori outlined the body's metabolic pathway to break down some carbohydrates, like glycogen, and synthesise othersCarl Cori, Gerty CoriRoswell Park Cancer InstituteStahl is a molecular biologist and geneticist who helped to elucidate how DNA is replicated. Together with Matthew Medelsohn, Stahl showed that the double-stranded helix molecule of DNA separates into two strands and that each of these strands serve as a template for the production of a new strand of DNA. They did this in 1958. Following this work, Stahl did extensive work on bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, and their genetic recombination. In 1964 he established that DNA in T4 bacteriophages is circular rather than linear. Eight years later he and his wife, Mary, found a DNA sequence in the lambda bacteriophage necessary to initiate genetic recombination. This laid the foundation for genetic engineering. 1929-10-08T00:00:00+00008 Oct 1929Franklin W Stahl was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USAStahl California Institute of Technology, University of Missouri, University of OregonGriffin was a leading expert on viruses that cause cancer. She was the first woman appointed to Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital. In 1980 she completed the sequence of the poliovirus, the longest piece of eukaryotic DNA to be sequenced at that time. She devoted her life to understanding the Epstein-Barr virus, the cause of Burkitt's Lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer. The virus is also now thought to cause multiple sclerosis. 1930-01-23T00:00:00+000023 Jan 1930Beverly Griffin was born in Delhi, Louisiana, USA Imperial CollegeJune Almeida was a major pioneer of electron microscopy which helped transform knowledge about virology. She is best known for taking the first electron micrograph of the rubella virus and a human coronavirus. Her work also helped uncover the structure of the hepatitis B virus which paved the way to developing a vaccine against hepatitis B. She also published some of the first high quality images of HIV. 1930-10-05T00:00:00+00005 Oct 1930June Almeida was born in Glasgow, Scotland Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical SchoolYouyou is a Chinese pharmaceutical chemist who discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria. She made the discovery while working as head of the research group at the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica for Project 523. This project was initiated by the Chinese government at the height of the Vietnam War to help find a treatment for malaria that was claiming the lives of numerous soldiers among the North Vietnam allied forces. Youyou and her team found the treatment after testing 380 extracts from about 200 plant species for their capability to eliminate malaria parasites in the blood of infected mice. In 2015 Youyou became the first female citizen of the People's Republic of China to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine which was awarded for her work on malaria. 1930-12-30T00:00:00+000030 Dec 1930Tu Youyou was born in Zhejiang, ChinaYouyouPeking University Medical SchoolThis was based on their experiments with the variegated colour pattern of maize kernels which showed that some genetic elements on the chromosome are capable of movement. They published their results in 'A Correlation of Cytological and Genetical Crossing-Over in Zea Mays',PNAS, 7/8 (1931), 492-97. 1931-08-01T00:00:00+0000August 1931Barbara McClintock and Harriet Creighton, her graduate student, provided first experimental proof that genes are positioned on chromosomesMcClintock, CreightonCornell University1934-01-01T00:00:00+00001934Irène Joliot-Curie and Frederic Joliot, her husband, created radioactive nitrogen out of boronJoliot-Curie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, in 1903, and the first person to win it twice, in 1911. She developed techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes and discovered the two elements, polonium and radium. Curie also pioneered the use of radioactive isotopes to treat cancer and developed mobile radiography mobile unites to provide X-ray services in field hospitals during World War I. Throughout her life Curie experienced major challenges because of her sex. Denied a regular university education in Poland, her home country, because she was a woman, she had to study in France to get her degree. In 1903 the French Academy of Sciences tried to keep her name off its list of Nobel Prize nominees and the Swedish Academy of Sciences asked her not to attend the Nobel ceremony in 1911 because of negative publicity surrounding her personal life.1934-07-04T00:00:00+00004 Jul 1934Marie Curie diedCurieUniversity of Paris, Radium InstituteThe observation was reported by Gregory Pincus and Barbara Saunders, 'The comparative behavior of mammalian eggs in vivo and in vitro: VI. The maturation of human ovarian ova', Anat. Rec., 75 (1939), 537–45.1939-01-01T00:00:00+00001939Human occytes shown to complete meiosis in vitroPincus, SaundersHarvard UniversityYonath is a biochemist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 for helping to map the structure of ribosomes, the molecule that helps translate RNA into protein. She started the research in the 1970s using x-ray crystallography. By 2001 she had worked out the complete high-resolution of structures of both ribosomal subunits and discovered a region important to the process of polypeptide polymerisation. In addition to this work Yonath had elucidated the modes of action of over 20 different antibiotics that target the ribosome, which has provided insights into the mechanisms of drug resistance and antibiotic sensitivity. 1939-06-22T00:00:00+000022 Jun 1939Ada E Yonath was born in Jerusalem, Palestine (now Israel)YonathWeizmann InstituteWollstein was a pioneering American paediatric pathologist at a time when women rarely worked in the field of pathology. One of her key contributions was the development of antiserum therapies to treat both paediatric and adult infectious diseases, including a potent polyvalent antiserum to treat meningitis. She was the first woman to ever be elected a member of the American Pediatric Society. In 1904 she joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research where she did important experimental work on polio, pneumonia and other diseases. Her work was important for showing that mumps could be viral in nature.1939-09-30T00:00:00+000030 Sep 1939Martha Wollstein diedWollsteinRockefeller Institute for Medical ResearchThe drug was produced from a rabbit anti-serum. It was the first effective treatment. Alexander continued to refine the treatment through the early 1940s. Her work led to a significant reduction in infant mortality from the disease, reducing the mortality rate to 20%. 'Response to antiserums in meningococcic infections of human beings and mice,' American Journal of Diseases of Children, 58/4 (1939), 746-52.1939-10-01T00:00:00+00001 Oct 1939Hattie Alexander reported the first successful cure of infant suffering from influenzal meningitis AlexanderColumbia UniversityThe team that undertook the work included Martin Dawson, the clinician and co-ordinator of the project, Glady Hobby who handled the microbiology work and Karl Meyer who did the chemical extraction work. The work was reported in GL Hobby, MH Dawson, et al, 'Effect of the rate of growth of bacteria on action of penicillin', Experimental Biology and Medicine, 56/2 (June 1 1944), 181-4.1940-09-01T00:00:00+0000September 1940First fermentation work on penicillin undertaken in the US to up-scale productionDawson, Hobby, MeyerColumbia UniversityWitkin discovered the radiation resistance after exposing E coli stain B bacteria to high doses of UV light. She subsequently worked out that the resistance was due to a particular genetic mutation in the bacteria strain which inhibited cell division. Witkin did the work under the guidance of Milislav Demerec at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She published her findings in EM Witkin, 'A case of inherited resistance to radiation in bacteria', Genetics, 31 (1946) 236; EM Witkin, 'Inherited Differences in Sensitivity to Radiation in Escherichia Coli', PNAS USA, 32/3 (1946), 59–68. Witkin's work laid the foundation for showing that cell division is inhibited when DNA is damaged and was the first demonstration of a cell checkpoint. 1944-01-01T00:00:00+00001944Evelyn Witkin discovered radiation resistance in bactieraWitkinCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryThe work was undertaken by Dorothy Hodgkin and CH (Harry) Carlise. It was published in CH Carlisle, D Crowfoot, 'The Crystal Structure of Cholesteryl Iodide'. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 184/996 (1945, 64. 1945-01-01T00:00:00+00001945First three-dimensional structure of a steroid (cholesteryl iodide) publishedD Hodgkin, CarlisleOxford UniversityThis was worked out by Dorothy Hodgkin and colleagues. Contrary to scientific opinion, the team showed that penicillin contained a beta-actam ring. Because wartime work on penicillin was secret, the structure of penicillin was only published in 1949. It appeared in D. Crowfoot, CW Bunn, BW Rogers-Low and A Turner Jones, The Chemistry of Penicillin (Princeton University Press, 1949) 310. 1945-05-01T00:00:00+0000May 1945Structure of penicillin determined using x-ray crystallographyD Hodgkin, Bunn, Rogers-Low, Turner JonesOxford UniversityKing is a human geneticist who studies the interplay between genetics and the environment on human disease. She is best known for having identified BRCA1, a single gene responsible for many breast and ovarian cancers. Her technique for identifying the BRCA1 gene is now used for studying many other diseases. She was also responsible for the development of a technique, using mitrochondial DNA and human leucocyte antigen, for genetically identifying the remains of missing people. 1946-02-27T00:00:00+000027 Feb 1946Mary-Claire King was born in Illinois, USAKingIllinois1947-01-01T00:00:00+00001947Dorothy Hodgkin elected to Royal SocietyD Hodgkin H E Alexander, G Leidy, 'Mode of action of streptomycin on type B H. Influenzae', Journal of Experimental Medicine, 85/4 (1985), 329-38.1947-05-31T00:00:00+000031 May 1947Hattie Alexander and Grace Leidy report antimicrobial resistance in patients treated with streptomycin for H. InfluenzaeAlexander, LeidyColumbia UniversityBarré-Sinoussi is a virologist who shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008 for her contributions to identifying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS. She carried out this work in the 1980s at the Pasteur Institute as part of her research into retroviruses. Barré-Sinoussi has been at the forefront of efforts to develop a vaccine against HIV and a cure for the disease. Serving as the president of the International AIDS Society between 2012 and 2016 and working with WHO, Barré-Sinoussi has collaborated closely with scientists from many resource-limited countries in Africa and Asia. 1947-07-30T00:00:00+000030 Jul 1947Francoise Barré-Sinoussi born in Paris, FranceBarre-SinoussiPasteur InstituteThis was based on McClintock's finding that two genes that controlled for pigmentation in maize could move along the chromosome to a different site and that these changes affected the behaviour of neighbouring genes. She suggested that this explained new mutations in pigmentation and other characteristics. 1948-01-01T00:00:00+00001948 - 1950McClintock developed her theory of genetic transpositionMcClintockCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryLindquist was a molecular biologist whose work on yeast proteins opened up new avenues for understanding gene functioning and degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's as well for drug resistance, cancer and prion biology. Most of her career was devoted to looking at how proteins change shape during cell division to carry out genetic functions. She demonstrated that protein-folding errors can occur in all species and that the biological changes this can cause can be passed from one offspring to the next without the need for RNA or DNA. Linquist was the first female director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. 1949-06-05T00:00:00+00005 Jun 1949Susan Lindquist was born in Chicago, Illiniois, USALinquistMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyDavies is the first woman to take on the role of Chief Medical Officer of England in the 165 years of its the position's history.1949-11-24T00:00:00+000024 Nov 1949Sally Davies born  The lambda phage has become a key tool in molecular biology and is important for genetic engineering. It has the advantage that it can be easily grown in E Coli and is not pathogenic except in the case of bacteria. Lederberg's discovery paved the way to understanding the transfer of genetic material between bacteria, the mechanisms involved in gene regulation and how piece of DNA break apart and recombine to make new genes. EM Lederberg, 'Lysogenicity in Escherichia coli strain K-12', Microbial Genetics Bulletin, 1, (1950), 5-9. 1950-01-01T00:00:00+0000January 1950Esther Lederberg discovered the lambda phageEsther LederbergUniversity of WisconsinHE Alexander and G Leidy, 'Transformation of Type Specificity of H. influenzae,' American Pediatric Society, French Lick, May 10, 1950.1950-05-10T00:00:00+000010 May 1950Hattie E Alexander and Grace Leidy reported success using DNA to alter the hereditary characteristics of Hemophilus influenzaeAlexander, LeidyColumbia UniversityNoted by Salvador Luria and his graduate student Mary Human while conducting experiments into the break-up of DNA in phage-infected bateria.1952-01-01T00:00:00+00001952First observation of the modification of viruses by bacteriaLuria, HumanUniversity of IllinoisBy transferring tumours to chick embryos, Levi-Montalcini noticed that certain cancerous tissue caused extremely rapid growth of nerve cells. She described it as 'like rivulets of water flowing steadily over a bed of stones.' R Levi-Montalcini, 'Effects of mouse tumor transplantation on the nervous system', Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences, 55/2 (1952), 330-44.1952-08-08T00:00:00+00001952Rita Levi-Montalcini announced isolation of nerve-growth factor Washington University in St. LouisThe finding was made by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, American geneticists, while experimenting with the T2 bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. They demonstrated that when bacteriophages, which are composed of DNA and protein, infect bacteria, their DNA enters the host bacterial cell, but most of their protein does not. Their work confirmed that DNA is the genetic material which refuted the long-held assumption that proteins carried the information for inheritance.1952-09-28T00:00:00+000028 Sep 1952Experiments proved DNA, and not proteins, hold the genetic codeHershey, ChaseCarnegie Institution of WashingtonHochmair-Desoyer is an electrical engineer who helped create the world's first micro-electric multi-channel cochlear implant. Developed in 1977, the implant enables the user to not only hear sounds but also to understand speech. Since 2000 Hochmair-Desoyer has co-founded a number of medical device companies working to help with hearing loss. In 2013 she was awarded the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. 1953-01-01T00:00:00+00001 Jan 1953Ingeborg Hochmair-Desoyer was born in Vienna, AustriaHochmair-DesoyerVienna, AustriaThe drug emerged out of studies of organic compounds called purines conducted by Gertrude Elion with George Hitchings. Elion hypothesised that by preventing purines entering the metabolic pathway that leads to DNA synthesis it would be possible to stop the production of DNA and thereby stop cell growth. Elion synthesised a forerunner of 6-mercaptopurine in 1949, which was found to inhibit the growth of leukaemia in mice. 1953-01-01T00:00:00+00001953FDA approved 6-mercaptopurine as treatment for childhood leukaemiaElion, HitchingWellcome Research LaboratoriesOne paper, published by Rosalind Franklin with her PhD student Ray Gosling, included an image produced with x-ray crystallography, which showed DNA to have regularly repeating helical structure. Known as photograph 51, this image had been previously been shown by Maurice Wilkins, without Franklin's permission, to James Watson, who, together with Francis Crick, used it to develop their double-helix model of DNA which was also published in Nature. Calculations from the photograph provided crucial parameters for the size of the helix and its structure, all of which were critical for Watson and Crick's molecular modelling work. Crick and Watson depicted DNA as having a double helix in which A always pairs with T, and C always with G. Their final model represented a correction of an earlier model in the light of comments made by Franklin that the hydrophilic backbones should not go at the centre of the molecule, as Watson and Crick had originally assumed, but go on the outside of the molecule where they could interact with water. The three papers were published in Nature, 171 (25 April 1953), 737-41.1953-04-25T00:00:00+000025 Apr 1953Nature published three papers showing the molecular structure of DNA to be a double helix , Gosling, , , Wilkins. Stokes, WilsonBirkbeck College, , Cambridge UniversitySabin was a pioneering American medical scientist who was the first woman to be appointed a full professor at Johns Hopkins University. She was also the first woman to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences and to head up a department at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. For many years she was involved in the investigation of the lymphatic system. She demonstrated that lymphatic vessels develop from a special layer of cells in certain fetal veins. She also made many discoveries relating to the origin and development of blood vessels and blood cells.1953-10-03T00:00:00+00003 Oct 1953Florence Sabin diedFlorence Sabin Known as contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL), this process is essential for normal development and is needed for wound healing and responses to infection. Any disruption to the process can lead to or exacerbate human diseases like cancer, atherosclerosis and chronic inflammatory disorders. The CIL process was first observed by Michael Abercrombie and Joan Heaysman who published their work in 'Observations on the social behaviour of cells in tissue culture: II. ‘Monolayering’ of fibroblasts', Experimental Cell Research, 6 (1954), 293–306. 1954-01-01T00:00:00+00001954Cells observed to stop moving on contact with other cells Abercrombie, HeaysmanUniversity College LondonThe discovery was made by Paul C. Zamecnik with his colleagues Mahlon Hoagland and Mary Stephenson. tRNA is essential to protein synthesis. The molecule helps shuttle amino acids to the ribosome, the cell's protein factory. The work was subsequently published in MB Hoagland, ML Stephenson, JF Scott, ML Stephenson, LI Hecht, PC Zamecnik, 'A soluble ribonucleic acid intermediate in protein synthesis', Journal Biological Chemistry, 231 (1958), 241-57. 1956-01-01T00:00:00+00001956Transfer RNA (tRNA) discoveredZamecnik, Hoagland, Stephenson,Harvard University1956-01-01T00:00:00+00001956Alice Stewart demonstrated the link between x-rays of pregnant women and childhood cancerStewart Building on the work of her parents, Marie and Pierre Curie, Irène Joliot-Curie managed to produce radioactive nitrogen from boron, radioactive isotopes of phosphorus from aluminium, and silicon from magnesium. This facilitated the application of radioactive materials for use in medicine. In 1935 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935 for her work on radioactive isotopes which today form the basis of much biomedical research and cancer treatment today. 1956-03-17T00:00:00+000017 Mar 1956Irène Joliot-Curie diedJoliot-Curie The structure was worked out by Dorothy Hodgkin and her team using x-ray crystallography. The project was a major challenge because of the large size of the molecule and the fact that its atoms were largely unaccounted for. Dorothy Hodgkin, Jennifer Kamper, Maureen Mackay, Jennuy Pickworth, Kenneth N Trueblood, John G White, 'Structure of Vitamin B12', Nature, 178 (1956), 64-66. The achievement was described by Lawrence Bragg as significant 'as breaking the sound barrier'. It paved the way to the synthesis of the vitamin which is now given to patients with pernicious anaemia., 1956-07-14T00:00:00+000014 Jul 1956Complete structure of vitamin B12 publishedHodgkin, Kamper, MacKay, Pickworth, Trueblood, WhiteOxford UniversityGerty Cori, nee Radnitz, was the third woman to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine and the first woman in America to do so. She shared the prize in 1947 with her husband Cari Cori, for discovering how the body metabolises glycogen, which is important to how the body stores energy. Born into a Jewish Czech family, Cori studied medicine at the Karl-Ferdinands-Universität in Prague, an unusual path for a woman at the time. Throughout her career Cori experienced difficulties because she was a woman. In 1921 she was threatened with dismissal by the director of Roswell Park Cancer Institute if she continued her collaborative research with her husband, Later she struggled to be appointed full-professor at Washington University St Louuis, a position she gained only months before she won the Nobel Prize.1957-10-26T00:00:00+000026 Oct 1957Gerty Theresa Cori diedG CoriWashington University in St LouisFranklin was a British biophysicist who provided the first evidence of the double helix structure of DNA. She captured the structure in photo 51, an image she made of DNA using x-ray crystallography in 1952. Data from the photo was pivotal to Crick and Watson's building of their DNA double helical structure of DNA which they won the Nobel Prize in 1962. Sadly Franklin died too young, age 37, to receive the Nobel Prize for her work. 1958-04-16T00:00:00+000016 Apr 1958Rosalind E Franklin died A trained botanist and geologist, Stopes was the first female academic to get a position at the University of Manchester where she conducted research on plant palaeontology and coal classification. She is best known for her campaigning work to make birth control available to women. In 1921 she helped to open the first clinic in London that offered birth control advice and dispensed contraception to poor mothers.1958-10-02T00:00:00+00002 Oct 1958Marie Stopes diedStopesUniversity of Manchester, University College LondonOriginally developed to measure insulin levels, the radioimmunoassay (RIA) provides a highly sensitive means of measuring incredibly low concentrations of many different substances in solutions. It does this by taking advantage of the antigen-antibody reaction and radioactive materials. The technique is now used for a variety of purposes, including screening for the hepatitis virus in blood, determining effective dosage levels of drugs and antibiotics, detecting foreign substances in the blood and correcting hormone levels in infertile couples. RS Yalolw, SA Berson, 'Assay of plasma in human subjects by immunological methods', Nature, 184 (1959), 1648-49. 1959-11-21T00:00:00+000021 Nov 1959Rosalyn Yalow and Soloman Berson published the radioimmunoassay method opening up a new era in immunology and diagnosticsYalow, BersonVeterans Administration HospitalMcClintock noticed the phenomenon during her experiments with maize. She reported her findings to the annual symposium at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. 1961-01-01T00:00:00+00001961'Jumping genes', transposable elements, discovered by Barbara McClintockMcLintockCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryGreider is best known for her discovery of telomerase, an enzyme made up of protein and RNA subunits that help elongate and protect chromosomes. The enzyme is found in fetal tissues, adult germ cells and also tumour cells. Greider made the discovery in 1984 when she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Blackburn. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2009 on the back of this work. 1961-04-15T00:00:00+000015 Apr 1961Carol W Greider was born in San Diego CA, USAGreiderJohns Hopkins University Lorraine Kraus incubated bone marrow cells from a patient with sickle-cell anaemia with DNA from healthy donor. L.M. Kraus, ‘Formation of different haemoglobins in tissue culture of human bone marrow treated with human deoxyribonucleic acid’, Nature, 4807 (1961) 1055-57. 1961-12-16T00:00:00+000016 Dec 1961First successful direct incorporation of functional DNA into a human cellKrausUniversity of TennesseeWerner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, and his doctoral student Daisy Dussoix proposed that bacteria produce restriction and modification enzymes to counter invading viruses. They published their findings in 'Host specificity of DNA produced by Escherichia coli I and II', Journal Molecular Biology, 5 (1962), 18–36 and 37-49.1962-01-23T00:00:00+000023 Jan 1962Idea of restriction and modification enzymes born , DussoixUniversity of GenevaH Alexander and K Sprunt, 'Invasion of mammalian cells by ribonucleic acid (RNA) isolated from poliovirus', 10th International Congress of Pediatrics, Lisbon, Portugal, September 9-15, 1962.1962-09-01T00:00:00+0000September 1962Hattie Alexander and Katherine Sprunt demonstrated that the RNA of the poliovirus can independently infect human cells Alexander, SpruntColumbia UniversityThe finding was based on 10 years of research conducted by Elizabeth Stern with 10,5000 women who used a family planning clinic in Los Angeles. E Stern, PM Neely, 'Carcinoma and Dysplasia of the Cervix: A comparison of rates for new and returning populations', Acta Cytol, 7 (1963), 357-61.1963-01-01T00:00:00+00001963First report linking a specific virus (herpes simplex virus) to a specific cancer (cervical cancer)SternUniversity of California Los AngelesMay-Britt Moser is best known the pioneering research she did with her husband, Edvard, on the brain's mechanism for representing space. In 2005 they discovered a type of nerve cell near the hippocampus that helps with navigation. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2014 on the back of this work. 1963-01-04T00:00:00+00004 Jan 1963May-Britt Moser born in Fosnavag, NorwayMay-Britt MoserNorwegian University of Science and Technology Dick originally trained as a zoologist and then completed a medical degree. She made her name studying scarlet fever after she herself caught the disease. In 1923 she and her husband George Dick, worked out that the disease was caused by a toxin released by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. This enabled them to create an antitoxin for treatment and vaccine for prevention. She also devised a technique to prevent cross infection of scarlet fever among infants. Known as the Dick Aseptic Nursery Technique this promoted strict sterilisation and aseptic procedures.1963-08-21T00:00:00+000021 Aug 1963Gladys Rowena H Dick diedGladys DickUniversity of Chicago, John R. McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases, St Luke's Hospital1964-02-19T00:00:00+000019 Feb 1964Jennifer Doudna born Washington, DC, USA  Willis was a British haematologist who discovered a nutritional factor in yeast, now known as folic acid, which prevents and cures macrocytic anaemia, a life-threatening condition that can develop in pregnancy. The disease is particularly prevalent in poor women in the tropics who have inadequate diets. Willis made her discovery while working in India. Noticing that wealthy women seemed to suffer less from the symptoms of anaemia than poor women, Willis hypothesised that the disease was linked to nutrition. She found that liver supplements and Marmite, a spread high in vitamin B made from brewer's yeast could combat anaemia in rats. This led her to successfully treating anaemia in pregnant Indian women by using liver supplements and Marmite. Her results were published in 1931.1964-04-16T00:00:00+000016 Apr 1964Lucy Willis diedWillisRoyal Free Hospital, Haffkine Institute Witkin proposed that UV-induced block of cell-division was due to the inhibition of a DNA replication enzyme. EM Witkin, 'Photoreversal and dark repair of mutations to prototrophy induced by ultraviolet light in photoreactivable and non-photoreactivable strains of Escherichia coli', Mutat Res, 106 (1964), 22–36.1964-05-01T00:00:00+0000May 1964Evelyn Witkin discovered that UV mutagenesis in E. coli could be reversed through dark exposureWitkinCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryHodgkin was awarded the Prize in recognition of the work she did to determine the three-dimensional structure of penicillin (1945) and Vitamin B12 (1948). She achieved this feat by advancing the technique of X-ray crystallography for use on proteins. Hodgkin was the third woman to win the Nobel Prize. She subsequently worked out the three-dimensional structure of insulin in 1969, a project that took her 35 years to complete. 1964-12-10T00:00:00+000010 Dec 1964Dorothy Hodgkin became the first British woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry HodgkinOxford UniversityThe book contained all protein sequences known to-date. It was the result of a collective effort led by Margaret Dayhoff to co-ordinate the ever-growing amount of information about protein sequences and their biochemical function. It provided the model for GenBank and many other molecular databases. 1965-01-01T00:00:00+00001965First comprehensive protein sequence and structure computer data published as 'Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure' , Ledley, EckNational Biomedical Research Foundation, Georgetown UniversityDrug resistant bacteria were first identified in Japan and then in Britain. Some of the earliest observations of this phenomenon were made by Naomi Datta who in 1962-63 showed that structures with some similarity to phages could transfer drug-resistance genes. Ephraim Anderson, director of the Enteric Reference Laboratory in Colindale, London, subsequently showed that genetic factors endowing resistance to major drugs used against human disease could be transferred by plasmids from minor pathogens. A summary of the work was published in ES Anderson, 'Origin of transferable drug-resistance in the enterobacteriaceae', British Medical Journal, 27 Nov 1965, 1289-91. 1965-11-27T00:00:00+000027 Nov 1965Plasmids noted to carry genes conveying antibiotic resistance in bacteriaAnderson, Datta Allopurinol was originally developed by Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings. The drug works by inhibiting uric acid synthesis. 1966-08-01T00:00:00+0000August 1966FDA approved allopurinol for goutElion, HitchingWellcome Research LaboratoriesTu did this as part of the Chinese national project against malaria. In the first stage of the project her team investigated more than 2,000 Chinese herbal preparations and identified 640 with possible anti-malarial activities. More than 380 were evaluated in a mouse model of malaria. 1967-01-01T00:00:00+00001967Youyou Tu started working on extraction and isolation of Chinese herbal materials with antimalarial propertiesTuChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesMcCormick was one of the first American women to earn a biology degree from MIT. She went on to become a prominent suffragist and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the first oral contraceptive pill. She provided $2 million of her own money for the development of the pill, first approved for gynaecological disorders in 1957. McCormick continued to provide funding to improve birth control once the pill was approved.1967-12-28T00:00:00+000028 Dec 1967Katherine McCormick diedMcCormickMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe drug was developed by Gertrude Elion in 1957 as part of her development of purine analogues. 1968-03-01T00:00:00+0000March 1968FDA approved azathioprine, an immunosuppressant to prevent rejection of kidney transplantsElionWellcome Research LaboratoriesAlexander was an American paediatrician and microbiologist. In the 1940s she developed the first effective treatment against Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), a major killer of infants. Her treatment helped reduce mortality from the disease from nearly 100 per cent to less than 25 per cent. It involved the combination of antiserum therapy with sulfa drugs. Alexander was also one of the first scientists to identify and study antibiotics resistance, which emerged out of her search for antibiotics to treat Hib. She worked out that the resistance was due to random genetic mutations in DNA that were positively selected through evolution.1968-06-24T00:00:00+000024 Jun 1968Hattie Elizabeth Alexander diedAlexanderColumbia UniversitySharma is a leading figure in the field of cancer immunology. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms and pathways within the immune system that are responsible for tumour rejection so as to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. She was the first to show the importance of the inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) protein in the destruction of cancer cells. 1970-06-26T00:00:00+000026 Jun 1970Padmanee Sharma born in Georgetown, Guyana MD Anderson Cancer CenterBrigette Askonas, a Canadian biochemist, Alan Williamson, a British immunologist, and Brian Wright cloned B cells in vivo using spleen cells from mice immunised with haptenated carrier antigen. BA Askonas, AR Williamson, BEG Wright, 'Selection of a single antibody-forming cell clone and its propagation in syngeneic mice', PNAS, 67/3 (1970), 1398-14031970-11-01T00:00:00+0000November 1970Means developed for cloning B cells that produce single antibodies with known specificity , Williamson, WrightNational Institute for Medical ResearchThis was done in Dale Kaiser's laboratory by Douglas Berg together with Janet Mertz and David Jackson1971-01-01T00:00:00+00001971First plasmid bacterial cloning vector constructed , , JacksonStanford UniversityRobert Pollack contacted Paul Berg to raise concerns about the potential biohazards of experiments Mertz, his doctoral research student, planned to do involving the introduction of genes from the oncovirus SV40 in the human gut bacteria, E. Coli. Following this Berg self-imposed a moratorium on experiments in his laboratory involving the cloning of SV40 in E-Coli.1971-06-01T00:00:00+0000June 1971Janet Mertz forced to halt experiment to clone recombinant DNA in bacteria after safety concerns raised , , PollackStanford UniversityThe technique uses antibodies to detect antibodies. It was first conceived by two Swedish scientists, Peter Perlman and Eva Engvall at Stockholm University. They published their method in 1971 as 'Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Quantitative assay of immunoglobulin G', Immunochemistry, 8/9, 871-4. 1971-09-01T00:00:00+0000September 1971Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique first publishedPerlmann, EngvallStockholm UniversityThe power of restriction enzymes to cut DNA was demonstrated by Kathleen Danna, a graduate student, with Daniel Nathans, her doctoral supervisor, at Johns Hopkins University. They published the technique in 'Specific cleavage of simian virus 40 DNA by restriction endonuclease of Hemophilus influenzae', PNAS USA, 68/12 (1971), 2913-17.1971-12-01T00:00:00+0000December 1971First experiments published demonstrating the use of restriction enzymes to cut DNADanna, NathansJohns Hopkins University1972-01-01T00:00:00+00001972Beverly Griffin appointed head of nuclear acids research at Imperial Cancer Research Fund Imperial Cancer Research Fund LaboratoriesThis followed positive results from clinical trials showing it could be effective for treating malaria. 1972-01-01T00:00:00+00001972Youyou Tu and her team isolated and purified artemisinin (qinghaosu)TuChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesIt was based on their finding that when DNA is cleaved with EcoRI, a restriction enzyme, it has sticky ends. JE Mertz, RW Davis, 'Cleavage of DNA by RI restriction endonuclease generates cohesive ends', PNAS, 69, 3370–3374 (1972). 1972-11-01T00:00:00+0000November 1972Janet Mertz and Ronald Davis published first easy-to-use technique for constructing recombinant DNA showed that when DNA is cleaved with EcoRI, a restriction enzyme, it has sticky ends , DavisStanford University1973-01-01T00:00:00+00001973Brigette Askonas elected Fellow of the Royal Society  The phenomenon was worked out by Evelyn Witkin with Miroslav Radman. They showed that the repair is induced DNA damage which activates a co-ordinated cellular response. Their key papers on the matter were EM Witkin, DL George, 'Ultraviolet mutagenesis in polA and UvrA polA derivatives of Escherichia coli B-R: evidence for an inducible error-prone repair system', Genetics, 73/Suppl 73 (1973), 91–10; M Radman, 'SOS repair hypothesis: Phenomenology of an inducible DNA repair which is accompanied by mutagenesis', Basic Life Science, 5A (1975), 355–67; EM Witkin, 'Ultraviolet mutagenesis and inducible DNA repair in Escherichia coli', Bacteriol Review, 40/4 (1976), 869–907. 1973-01-01T00:00:00+00001973 - 1976Discovery of DNA repair mechanism in bacteria - the SOS responseWitkin, RadmanCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Free University of BrusselsThe work was carried out by Stanley Cohen and Annie Chang at Stanford University in collaboration with Herbert Boyer and Robert Helling at the University of California San Francisco. They managed to splice sections of viral DNA and bacterial DNA with the same restriction enzyme to create a plasmid with dual antibiotic resistance. They then managed to insert this recombinant DNA molecule into the DNA of bacteria to express the new recombinant DNA. The technique showed it was possible to reproduce recombinant DNA in bacteria. It was published in SN Cohen, ACY Chang, HW Boyer, RB Belling, 'Construction of Biologically Functional Bacterial Plasmids In Vitro', PNAS USA, 10/11 (1973), 3240-3244. 1973-11-01T00:00:00+00001 Nov 1973First time DNA was successfully transferred from one life form to another , Chang, Stanford University, Apgar was an American obstetrical anaesthesiologist who introduced the first test for assessing the health of newborn babies in 1953. Known as the Apgar Score. this test assesses the baby's heart rate, respiration, colour, muscle tone and reflect irritability. During the rubella pandemic of 1964-65, Apgar became a strong advocate for universal vaccination to prevent mother to child transmission of the disease. She also promoted the effective use of Rh testing to identify women at risk of transmitting maternal antibodies against they placenta which can cause life-threatening anaemia in the baby. Apgar was the first woman to head a specialty division at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.1974-08-07T00:00:00+00007 Aug 1974Virginia Apgar diedApgarColumbia UniversityHer thesis focused on methods to isolate and characterise mutant variants of SV40 1975-01-01T00:00:00+0000January 1975Mertz completed her doctorate Stanford UniversityThe work was conducted by a team led by Brigette Askonas. It was published in AJ McMichael, A Ting, HJ Zweerink, BA Askonas, 'HLA restriction of cell-mediated lysis of influenza virus-infected human cells', Nature, 270/5637 (1977), 524-6; AJ McMichael, BA Askonas, 'Influenza virus-specific cytotoxic T cells in man; induction and properties of the cytotoxic cell', European Journal Immunolology, 8 (1978), 705-11.1977-01-01T00:00:00+00001977 - 1978Cytolytic T cells shown to recognise multiple subtypes of viruses, including influenza virusesMcMichael, Ting, Zweerink, National Institute for Medical ResearchThe method, known as the oocyte stem, was developed by Janet Mertz together with John Gurdon and Edward M DeRobertis. It was published in EM. De Robertis, JB. Gurdon, GA. Partington, JE Mertz, RA, 'Injected amphibian oocytes: a living test tube for the study of eukaryotic gene transcription?', Biochemistry Society Symposium, 42 (1977),181-91.1977-01-01T00:00:00+00001977First method developed for studying gene regulation in a higher organism , Gurdon, De Robertis The cloning, achieved by Beverly Griffin with Tomas Lindahl, was announced to a meeting at Cold Spring Harbor1979-01-01T00:00:00+00001979First DNA fragments of Epstein Barr Virus cloned , LindahlImperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, University of GothenbergThe identity of the blood stem cell, especially that in the human, and even its existence remains the subject of debate because the cell is difficult to isolate. Those involved in the debate include the Manchester group (Dexter, Lord) and American groups (Weissmann and Morrison). Part of the problem is that techniques for studying the human blood stem cell lagged behind that of animal models. 1980-01-01T00:00:00+00001980 - 1990Existence of the blood stem cell contestedDexter, Lord, Weissmann, MorrisonConducted by a team led by Beverly Griffin, the project's completion was a major achievement. It was one of the largest tracts of eukaryotic DNA sequenced up to this time. The work was published in E Soeda, JR Arrand, N Smolar, JE Walsh, BE Griffin, ‘Coding potential and regulatory signals of the polyoma virus genome’, Nature, 283 (1980) 445-53.1980-01-01T00:00:00+00001980Polyoma virus DNA sequenced , Soeda, Arrand, WalshImperial Cancer Research Fund LaboratoriesStern was the first to describe how a healthy cell changes into a cancerous cell. She showed that a normal cell goes through 250 distinct stages before it become cancerous. Stern's work helped transform cervical cancer into an easily diagnosed and treatable condition. She also demonstrated the links between the herpes simplex virus and cervical cancer and between cervical cancer and the oral contraceptive pill. 1980-08-18T00:00:00+000018 Aug 1980Elizabeth Stern diedSternUniversity of California Los AngelesThe database was started by Margaret Dayhoff at the NBRF in the mid 1960s and comprised over 200,000 residues. Within a month of its operation more than 100 scientists had requested access to the database. The database was funded with contributions from m Genex, Merck, Eli Lilly, DuPont, Hoffman–La Roche, and Upjohn, and computer time donated by Pfizer Medical Systems.1980-09-15T00:00:00+000015 Sep 1980Largest nucleic acid sequence database in the world made available free over telephone network National Biomedical Research Foundation, Georgetown UniversityThe device was developed by the husband and wife team Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair with the goal of enabling the user not only to hear sounds but also to understand speech. The implant has a long, flexible electrode which allows for the delivery of electric signals to the auditory nerve along a large part of the cochlear. 1980-12-15T00:00:00+0000December 1980First patient received cochlear implant providing some understanding of speechIngeborg Hochmair, Erwin HochmairMED-ELYouyou Tu and her team presented their paper 'Studies on the Chemistry of Qinghaosu', which outlined the efficacy of artemisinin and its derivatives in treating several thousand patients infected with malaria in China. The work attracted worldwide attention. 1981-01-01T00:00:00+00001981Anti-malarial properties of artemisinin presented to WHO and World Bank meeting in BeijingTuChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesThe work, led by Beverly Griffin, opened up the possibility of sequencing the virus. It was published in J R Arrand, L. Rymo, J E Walsh, E Bjorck, T Lindahl and B E Griffin, ‘Molecular cloning of the complete Epstein-Barr virus genome as a set of overlapping restriction endonuclease fragments’, Nucleic Acids Research, 9/13 (1981), 2999-2014.1981-07-10T00:00:00+000010 Jul 1981Complete library of overlapping DNA fragments of Epstein Barr Virus cloned , Arrand, Walsh, Bjorck, RymoImperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, University of GothenbergThe drug was originally synthesised by Howard Schaeffer and then worked on by Gertrude Elion and her team at the Wellcome Research Laboratories. Elion's group worked out the metabolism of the drug and how it coluld attack the herpes virus. Their work opened up further research on enzyme differences in normal and virus-infected cells that paved the way to the development of other antiviral drugs. 1982-03-29T00:00:00+000029 Mar 1982FDA approved acyclovir, the first successful antiviral drug, for treating the herpes virusElion, HowardWellcome Research LaboratoriesDayhoff is known as the founder of bioinformatics. This she did by pioneering the application of mathematics and computational techniques to the sequencing of proteins and nucleic acids and establishing the first publicly available database for research in the area. 1983-02-05T00:00:00+00005 Feb 1983Margaret Dayhoff died in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Silver Spring, MarylandTwo teams of scientists publish methods for the generation of chimeric monoclonal antibodies, that is antibodies possessing genes that are half-human and half mouse. Each team had developed their techniques separate from each other. The first team was lead by Michael Neuberger together with Terence Rabbitts and other colleagues at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. The second team consisted of Sherie Morrison and colleagues at Stanford University together with Gabrielle Boulianne and others at the University of Toronto. 1984-12-01T00:00:00+00001984First chimeric monoclonal antibodies developed, laying foundation for safer and more effective monoclonal antibody therapeuticsNeuberger, Rabbitts, Morrison, Oi, Herzenberg, Boulianne, Schulman, Hozumi , Stanford Univerity Medical SchoolThe scientists found the enzyme in the model organism Tetrahymena thermophila, a fresh-water protozoan with a large number of telomeres. CW Greider, EH Blackburn, 'Identification of a specific telomere terminal transferase activity in Tetrahymena extracts', Cell. 43 (2 Pt 1) (1985), 405–13.1984-12-01T00:00:00+0000December 1984Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn announced the discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that adds extra DNA bases to the ends of chromosomesBlackburn, GreiderUniversity of California BerkeleyThe experiments, carried out in mice by Brigette Askobas and her colleagues, showed that T cells transferred into RSV infected mice showed that the T cells could protect against viral replication, eliminating residual virus from immunosuppressed mice. It also showed that T cells could at the same time cause enhanced lung disease that could be leathal. MJ Cannon, EJ Stott, G Taylor, BA Askonas, 'Clearance of persistent respiratory syncytial virus infections in immunodeficient mice following transfer of primed T cells', Immunology, 62 (1987), 133-38; MJ Cannon, PJ Openshaw, BA Askonas, 'Cytotoxic T cells clear virus but augment lung pathology in mice infected with respiratory syncytial virus', Journal Experimental Medicine, 168/3 (1988), 1163-8.1987-04-30T00:00:00+00001987 - 1988Mice experiments showed T cells to be double-edged sword in clearing persistent infections with respiratory syncytial virusCannon, Stott, Taylor, , OpenshawNational Institute for Medical Research1988-01-01T00:00:00+00001988Beverly Griffin appointed first woman professor at Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital Imperial CollegeJA Doudna, BP Cormack, JW Szostak, 'RNA Structure, Not Sequence, Determines the 5? Splice-Site Specificity of a Group I Intron', PNAS, 86/19 (1989), 7402-06.1989-10-01T00:00:00+0000October 1989RNA demonstrated to help catalyse the process for synthesising protein , Cormack, SzostakHarvard UniversityThe was determined by a team led by Marie-Claire King who conducted a genetic analysis of 23 extended families, a total of 329 relatives. J Hall, M Lee, B Newman, J Morrow, L Anderson, B Huey, M King, 'Linkage of early-onset familial breast cancer to chromosome 17q21', Science, 250/4988 (1990): 1684–89. 1990-12-01T00:00:00+0000December 1990BRCA1, a single gene on chromosome 17, shown to be responsible for many breast and ovarian cancersKing, Lee, Newman, Morrow, Anderson, HueyUniversity of California BerkeleySeibert was an American biochemist whose isolation of a pure form of tuberculin (a protein substance from the tuberculosis-causing bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis) in the 1930s paved the way to her development of the first reliable TB test. Devised at the University of Uppsala, Seibert's test, which is carried out on the skin, was adopted as the standard TB test in the United States in 1941 and by the World Health Organisation in 1952. Her test is still in use today. Prior to her work on TB, Seibert invented a new distillation process for intravenous injections that eliminated all bacteria. She developed the technique during her doctorate after finding that intravenous injections contaminated with distilled water could cause fevers in patients.1991-08-23T00:00:00+000023 Aug 1991Florence B Seibert diedSeibertYale University, University of Uppsala, University of Chicago, University of PennsylvaniaGwei-djen was a Chinese biochemist who undertook pioneering work on metabolic pathways. In 1933, Gwei-djen took the bold decision to leave China, then isolated from the West, to study for a doctorate at Cambridge University where she remained for the rest of her career. By 1939 she had developed the first sensitive assay for detecting low levels of pyruvic acid, an intermediate involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates. Her work demonstrated that the levels of pyruvic acid could be raised by vitamin B1 deficiency and exercise. Gwei-djen worked closely with both Dorothy and Joseph Needham. Together with Joseph she compiled a series of books detailing Chinese achievements in science and technology. 1991-11-28T00:00:00+000028 Nov 1991Lu Gwei-djen diedGwei-djenUniversity of CambridgeMcClintock was a pioneer in the field of cytogenetics, a branch of genetics concerned with how chromosomes affect cell behaviour. Based on her investigation of how chromosomes change in reproduction in maize she demonstrated in the late 1920s that genes can shift to different locations by themselves. In the 1940s and 1950s she showed that genes are responsible for turning physical characteristics on and off, a process called transposition. Initially scientists were sceptical of her findings so she stopped publishing her data in 1953. By the 1960s and 1970s attitudes towards her work changed as more scientists made similar findings. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1983 for her work.1992-09-02T00:00:00+00002 Sep 1992Barbara McClintock diedMcClintockUniversity of MissouriHobby was an American microbiologist whose work was pivotal to scaling up the production of penicillin in World War II and the development of other antibiotics. She first became involved in work on nonpathogenic organisms when doing her doctorate at Columbia University in 1935. From 1934 to 1943 Hobby worked for Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia Medical School. Thereafter she went to work for Pfizer Pharamceuticals in New York where she conducted research on streptomycin and other antibiotics. She founded the monthly publication 'Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy' in 1972 and published 'Penicillin: Meeting the Challenge' in 1985. 1993-07-04T00:00:00+00004 Jul 1993Gladys Lounsbury Hobby diedHobbyColumbia University, PfizerDorothy Hodgkin, was a British chemist who pioneered protein crystallography, a technique the uses x-ray crystallography to determine the three dimensional structure of protein crystals. She used the technique to confirm the structure of penicillin, in 1945, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. Hodgkin was the third woman to win the Nobel Prize. In addition to penicillin, Hodgkin published the first structure of a steroid and deciphered the structure of vitamin B12 and insulin. Her protein crystallography technique is now an essential tool for research into structural biology.1994-07-29T00:00:00+000029 Jul 1994Dorothy M Crowfoot Hodgkin diedD HodgkinOxford UniversityThe belief that adult stem cells, especially the blood stem cell, can give rise to cells such as brain, liver and cardiac gives rise to notion that adult stem cells could be used like embryonic counterparts for regenerative therapies, helping in degenerative diseases of the brain and heart. This marks a paradigm shift as it goes against dogma from decades of research and clinical success with the blood stem cell. 1996-01-01T00:00:00+00001996First reports that blood stem cell might be able to give rise to cells other than those of the blood systemBlau, Lagasse, Lemischka, Morrison, Thiese, Krause, Gussoni, Bjornson The work was led by Padmanee Sharma. The team's finding appeared in P. Sharma et al, ‘Thymus-leukaemia antigen interacts with T cells and self-peptides’, Journal Immunology, 156 (1996), 987-96.1996-02-01T00:00:00+00001 Feb 1996Paper published indicating thymus-leukaemia antigen, a cell-surface marker, stimulates T cells to destroy specific target cells Pennsylvania State UniversityKoshland was an American immunologist who was a major pioneer in the field of antibodies. Her work was instrumental in showing antibodies to be discrete entities and knowledge about the origins of antibody specificity. In the 1960s, she demonstrated that the efficiency and effectiveness with which antibodies can combat foreign invaders is determined by their different amino acid compositions. By the 1990s she had unravelled the process that accompanies and directs B cell activation and maturation. A major role-model for other women scientists, Koshland was nearly not awarded her PhD because her professor thought it would be a waste because she was pregnant. 1997-10-28T00:00:00+000028 Oct 1997Marian E Koshland diedKoshlandBrookhaven National LaboratoryElion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist renowned for developing new methods to design drugs that made took advantage of the biochemical differences between normal human cells and pathogens (disease-causing agents). The aim was to create a drug capable of killing or inhibiting the reproduction of pathogens without harming healthy cells. Elion helped develop a number of drugs for a variety of diseases, including leukaemia and malaria. One of her most notable achievements was the creation of the first immunosuppressive drug for organ transplant patients. In 1988 she was joined awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 'discoveries of important principles for drug treatment.'1999-02-21T00:00:00+000021 Feb 1999Gertrude B Elion diedElionWellcome Research LaboratoriesN Krauzewicz, K Stokrova, C Jenkins, M Elliott, CF Higgns, BE Griffin, ‘Virus-like gene transfer to cell nuclei mediated by polyoma virus pseudocapsids’, Gene Therapy, 7 (2000), 2122-31.2000-01-02T00:00:00+00002 Jan 2000Polyoma virus shown to be potential tool for delivering gene therapyKrauzewicz, Stokrova, Jenkins, Elliott, Higgns, Imperial College, Czech Academy of Sciences, University of WalesThe work was led by Ada Yonath using x-ray crystallography. This was a major achievement given the hundreds of thousands of atoms that ribosomes contain. Ribosomes help build proteins in the body. The work has led to many applications, including for the production of antibiotics. F Schlunzen, R Zarivach, J Harms, A Bashan, A Ticilj, R Albrecht, A Yonath, F Franceschi, 'Structural basis for the interaction of antibiotics with the peptidyl transferase centre in eubacteria', Nature, 413 (2001), 814-21. 2001-10-25T00:00:00+000025 Oct 2001Structure and function of ribosomes deciphered opening up new era for improving antibiotic drugs and designing new onesYonath, Schlunzen, Zarivach, Harms, Basham, Ticilj, Albrecht, FrancheschiWeizmann InstituteJ Harms, F Schluenzen, R Zarivach et al, 'High resolution structure of the large ribosomal subunit from a mesophilic eubacterium,' Cell, 107 (2001), 679-88; PMID:11733066.2001-11-30T00:00:00+000030 Nov 2001Ada Yonath and colleagues published the complete high-resolution of structures of both ribosomal subunits and discovered a region important to the process of polypeptide polymerisationYonathWeizmann InstituteVogt was a German pharmacologist who left Nazi Germany for Britain where she became one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. Her most important contribution was advancing knowledge about the role of neurotransmitters in the brain. She demonstrated that the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine enable brain cells to communicate. In 1954 she published a paper on sympathin which helped to establish the important role of amines in the brain and paved the way to the development of modern anti-depressant therapy. 2003-09-09T00:00:00+00009 Sep 2003Marthe L Vogt diedVogtNational Institute for Medical ResearchDaly trained as a biochemist and was the first Black American woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry (from Columbia University, 1947). Her early research looked at the effects of cholesterol on the mechanisms of the heart, the effects sugars and other nutrients on the health of the arteries and the impact of advanced aged and hypertension on the circulatory system. This she did at Rockefeller Institute in New York. She subsequently joined Columbia University where she investigated how proteins are produced and organised in the cell. In addition to her scientific work, Daly was an ardent campaigner for getting minority students into medical school and graduate science programmes.2003-10-28T00:00:00+000028 Oct 2003Marie M Daly diedMary DalyRockefeller Institute, Columbia UniversityPadmanee Sharma et al, ‘Frequency of NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1 expression in bladder cancer and evidence of a new NY-ESO-1 T-cell epitope in a patient with bladder cancer’, Cancer Immunology, 3 (Dec 13 2003), 19.2003-12-13T00:00:00+000013 Dec 2003Sharma discovered some bladder cancer cells expressed the marker NY-ESO-1 providing means for cancer vaccine Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CenterThe finding was made by the husband and wife team May-Britt Moser and Edvard I Moser together with John O'Keefe after conducting experiments with rats. They found that when a rat developed nerve cells that form a co-ordinate system for navigation when they passed certain points on a hexagonal grid. The teams work laid the foundation for new understandings about the cognitive processes and spacial deficits associated with neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. 2005-01-01T00:00:00+00001 Jan 2005Discovery of nerve cell that allows the brain to determine spatial position May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser, O'KeefeNorwegian University of Science and Technology A team at Harvard Stem Cell Institute reported fusing adult skin cells with embryonic stem cells to reset the culture so that the cells behave like embryonic stem cells. The researchers did the work using pelvic bone cells as the somatic cells and a different human embryonic cell line. Chad A Cowan, Jocelyn Alenza, Douglas A Melton, Kevin Eggan, 'Nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells after fusion with human embryonic stem cells', Science, 309/5739 (2005), 1369-73. 2005-08-25T00:00:00+000025 Aug 2005Harvard scientists reported reprogramming adult skin cells into embryonic stem cells Cowan, Eggan, Melton, AlienzaHarvard Stem Cell InstituteThis was first observed by Padmanee Sharma. Her findings provided an important pathway for improving the clinical efficacy of anti-CTLA-4 therapy. They were first published Chrysoula I Liakou, Ashish Kamat, Derek Ng Tang, Hong Chen, Jingjing Sun, Patricia Troncoso, Christopher Logothetis, and Padmanee Sharma, ‘CTLA-4 blockade increases IFNgamma-producing CD4+ICOShi T cells to shift the ratio of effector to regulatory T cells in cancer patients’, PNAS USA, 105/39 (Sept 2008), 14987-92.2006-01-01T00:00:00+00002006Inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) protein found to enhance anti-CTLA-4 treatment in destruction of cancer cells , Liakou, Kamat, Ng Tang, Chen, Sun, Troncoso, LogothetisMD Anderson Cancer CenterLederberg is best known for having discovered the lambda phage, an indispensable tool for studying gene regulation and genetic recombination. She also invented the replica plating technique which is pivotal to tracking antibiotic resistance. 2006-11-11T00:00:00+000011 Nov 2006Esther Lederberg diedEsther LederbergWisconsin UniversityChatterjee was an Indian organic chemist who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in science from an Indian university - Calcutta University. Most of her work concentrated on researching various alkaloid compounds. She is best known for her discovery of the anti-epileptic activity of Marsilea minuta, an aquatic fern, which led to the development of the an epilepsy drug called Ayush-56. Chatterjee also found the anti-malarial properties of the plants Alstonia scholaris, Swertia chirata, Picrorhiza kurroa and Caesalpinia crista which led to antimalarial drugs.2006-11-22T00:00:00+000022 Nov 2006Asima Chatterjee diedChatterjeeUniversity of CalcuttaMcLaren was a major pioneer in the development of IVF. She was also the key architect behind the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act (1990) which provided the world’s first legal guidelines for infertility treatment and all human embryo research. Following this Act, McLaren served for 10 years on the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, established in 1991, and became a critical player in debates about the governance of embryonic stem cells for therapy. She also made history in 1991 by becoming the Royal Society’s first woman officer. 2007-07-07T00:00:00+00007 Jul 2007Anne McLaren died McLarenUniversity College London, Edinburgh University, Cambridge UniversitySaruhashi is renowned for being the first scientist to demonstrate the dangers of radioactive fallout in seawater that resulted from nuclear bomb testing in 1954. Her evidence was later used to prevent further nuclear testing by governments. Despite her achievement, she suffered discrimination as a woman scientist. She was the first woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1957. Convinced that technical expertise was the key to women's independence she established the Society of Japanese Scientists in 1958 to promote women in science.2007-09-29T00:00:00+000029 Sep 2007Katsuko Saruhashi diedSaruhashi June Almeida was a major pioneer of electron microscopy which helped transform knowledge about virology. She is best known for taking the first electron micrograph of the rubella virus and a human coronavirus. Her work also helped uncover the structure of the hepatitis B virus which paved the way to developing a vaccine against hepatitis B. She also published some of the first high quality images of HIV. 2007-12-01T00:00:00+00001 Dec 2007June Almeida died Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical SchoolDatta was a British microbial geneticist who showed that multi-antibiotic resistance was transferred between bacteria by plasmids. She first made the connection in 1959 after investigating a severe outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium phage-type 27 at Hammersmith Hospital where she worked. This involved an examination of 309 cultures, of which she found 25 were drug resistant, eight of which were resistant to Streptomycin which had been used to treat the patients. She concluded that the antibiotic resistance developed over time because the earlier cultures of the salmonella typhimurium infection (from the start of the outbreak) were not drug resistant. 2008-11-30T00:00:00+000030 Nov 2008Naomi Datta diedDattaHammersmith HospitalThe idea of using gene therapy to treat vision loss in patients with multiple sclerosis emerged out of an investigation of the molecular change in synapses in the visual system by Dorothy Schafer and her colleagues. They found that in the case of demyelinating disease like MS, there was an abundance of the protein CD3 in the synapses, which is responsible for sending signals microglia to eliminate otherwise healthy-seeming synapses. The aim of gene therapy would be to deliver an inhibitor of C3 to synapses in the visual system to help protect the cells or tissue from unwanted attack by the immune system. S.Werneberg et al, 'Targeted complement inhibition at synapses prevents microglial synaptic engulfment and synapse loss in demyelinating disease', Immunity, 52/1 (2020), 167-82, e7.2010-01-14T00:00:00+000014 Jan 2010Research published suggesting gene therapy could help preserve neural circuits and protect against vision loss in patients with multiple sclerosisDorothy Schafer, Werneburg, Jung, Kunjama University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Chicago, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, University of Connecticut School of MedicineYalow was an American medical physicist who made her name by helping to develop the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. RIA uses two reagents. One is a radioisotope atom bound to a molecule of the target substance and the other is an antibody that will bind to the target substance when the two are in contact. Measurements are taken of the initial radioactivity of the mixture which is then added to a measured quantity of fluid, such as blood, that contains low concentrations of an unknown target substance. The test takes advantage of the fact that antibodies prefer to attach to non-radioactive molecules. Measurements are taken of the reduction in radioactivity of the antibody reagent to calculate the concentration of the target substance. The RIA method is now an important component in diagnostic tests, being used to measure the concentration of hormones, vitamins, viruses, enzymes, drugs and other substances. The technique transformed the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and other hormonal problems related to growth, thyroid function and fertility. It is used to test for phenylketonuria in newborn babies, a rare inherited disorder that if left untreated can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioural problems and mental disorder. In 1977 Yalow became the second woman in history to win the Nobel Prize for the physiology or medicine category. It was awarded on the basis of her RIA work. 2011-05-30T00:00:00+000030 May 2011Rosalyn Yalow diedYalowVeterans Administration HospitalThe patent was submitted by Jennifer Doudna, at the University of California Berkeley, and Emmanuell Charpentier, at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany. The application was for a patent to cover the use of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing in vitro.2012-05-25T00:00:00+0000May 2012First patent application submitted for CRISPR-Cas 9 technology , CharpentierUniversity of California Berkeley, University of ViennaM Jinek, K Chylinski, I Fonfara, M Hauer, J A Doudna, E Charpentier, 'A programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity', Science, 337/6096 (2012): 816-21.2012-08-17T00:00:00+000017 Aug 2012Publication of radically new gene editing method that harnesses the CRISPR-Cas9 system Jinek, Chylinski, Fonfara, Hauer, , CharpentierUniversity of California BerkeleyLevi-Montalcini is best known for sharing the Nobel Prize in 1986 for helping to discover and isolate the nerve growth factor which helps regulate the growth, maintenance, proliferation and survival of certain neurons. Banned by Mussolini from working in academia because she was Jewish, Levi-Montalcini conducted much of her early work in a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom. She later became the director of the Research Center of Neurobiology and the Laboratory of Cellular Biology in Washington University and founded the European Brain Research Institute. 2012-12-30T00:00:00+000030 Dec 2012Rita Levi-Montalcini died Institute of Cell Biology of the CNRAskonas was a leading figure in immunology whose work helped to establish the basic mechanisms and components of immune system. Together with colleagues she developed one of the first systems for the cloning of antibody-forming B cells in vivo, some of the earliest monoclonal antibodies. She was also one of the first scientists to isolate and clone virus specific T lymphocytes, laying the foundation for defining different influenza sub-sets and improving vaccines. 2013-01-09T00:00:00+00009 Jan 2013Brigitte Askonas died National Institute for Medical ResearchTeam of scientists led by Kathy Niakan based at Francis Crick Institute in London sought permission from UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to use gene editing techniques like CRISPR-Cas on embryos less than 2 weeks old. Research designed to understand why some women lose their babies before term. 2015-09-18T00:00:00+000018 Sep 2015UK scientists sought license to genetically modify human embryos to study the role played by genes in the first few days of human fertilisationNaikanCrick Institute2015-10-05T00:00:00+00005 Oct 2015Tu Youyou awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin, a treatment for malariaTuChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesGriffin was a leading expert on viruses that cause cancer. She was the first woman appointed to Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital. In 1980 she completed the sequence of the poliovirus, the longest piece of eukaryotic DNA to be sequenced at that time. She devoted her life to understanding the Epstein-Barr virus, the cause of Burkitt's Lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer. 2016-06-13T00:00:00+000013 Jun 2016Beverly Griffin died Imperial CollegeThe work was undertaken by a group of researchers at the University of Edinburgh led by Evelyn Telfer. It involved taking tiny pieces of ovarian tissue from 10 women undergoing elective caesarean surgery extracting priorial follicles, small structures that have the potential to release an egg, which were then placed in a nutrient-rich liquid to grow. The team then carefully removed the fragile, immature eggs and some surrounding cells from the follicles and placed them on a special membrane with the addition of growth-supporting proteins so that they could grow to become the size you would see of an egg during ovulation. Most of the eggs failed to grow, but 10% completed their journey to maturity - that is they were able to divide and halve their chromosomes so they were ready to be fertilised by sperm. The work was published in M McLaughlin, DF Albertini, WHB Wallace, RA Anderson, EE Telfer, Molecular Human Reproduction, 24/3 (March 2018) 135-42. DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gay002. 2018-01-30T00:00:00+000030 Jan 2018First human eggs grown in laboratoryTelfer, McLaughlin, Albertini, Wallace, AndersonUniversity of EdinburgDoudna and Charpentier's development of the CRISPR/Cas9 method together with other colleagues has radically transformed the process for gene editing. Enabling genetic engineering to be carried out on an unprecedented scale at very low cost, CRISPR/Cas9 is now exploited for a wide range of applications ranging from agriculture through to human health. 2020-10-07T00:00:00+00007 Oct 2020Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna 'for the development of a method for genome editing'. , CharpentierUniversity California Berkeley, University of Umea

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Insights in Plant Biotechnology: 2021

Loading... Editorial 30 January 2023 Editorial: Insights in plant biotechnology: 2021 James R. Lloyd , Ralf Wilhelm , Manoj K. Sharma , Jens Kossmann  and  Peng Zhang 974 views 0 citations

Original Research 25 July 2022 Pan-genome analysis of three main Chinese chestnut varieties Guanglong Hu ,  4 more  and  Yanping Lan 4,125 views 6 citations

Original Research 14 June 2022 Differential Gene Expression and Withanolides Biosynthesis During in vitro and ex vitro Growth of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal Sachin Ashok Thorat ,  8 more  and  Annamalai Muthusamy 2,633 views 3 citations

Original Research 06 June 2022 Identification of Reference Genes for Reverse Transcription-Quantitative PCR Analysis of Ginger Under Abiotic Stress and for Postharvest Biology Studies Gang Li ,  9 more  and  Yongxing Zhu 2,703 views 14 citations

Original Research 02 June 2022 Nested miRNA Secondary Structure Is a Unique Determinant of miR159 Efficacy in Arabidopsis Muhammad Imran ,  8 more  and  Min Zhang 1,520 views 2 citations

Original Research 31 May 2022 Production of Recombinant Active Human TGFβ1 in Nicotiana benthamiana Aditya Prakash Soni ,  3 more  and  Inhwan Hwang 3,486 views 3 citations

Perspective 27 May 2022 Gene Editing to Accelerate Crop Breeding Kanwarpal S. Dhugga 3,662 views 10 citations

Mini Review 26 May 2022 Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-Associated Protein System for Resistance Against Plant Viruses: Applications and Perspectives Fredy D. A. Silva  and  Elizabeth P. B. Fontes 2,290 views 4 citations

Original Research 20 May 2022 Genomics-Assisted Improvement of Super High-Yield Hybrid Rice Variety “Super 1000” for Resistance to Bacterial Blight and Blast Diseases Zhizhou He ,  15 more  and  Junhua Peng 1,859 views 5 citations

Loading... Original Research 19 May 2022 Eradication of Potato Virus S, Potato Virus A, and Potato Virus M From Infected in vitro-Grown Potato Shoots Using in vitro Therapies Jean Carlos Bettoni ,  7 more  and  Jayanthi Nadarajan 6,369 views 22 citations

Original Research 13 May 2022 Successful Production and Ligninolytic Activity of a Bacterial Laccase, Lac51, Made in Nicotiana benthamiana via Transient Expression André van Eerde ,  8 more  and  Jihong Liu Clarke 1,993 views 3 citations

Loading... Review 09 May 2022 Molecular Determinants of in vitro Plant Regeneration: Prospects for Enhanced Manipulation of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Tawni Bull  and  Richard Michelmore 8,725 views 8 citations

Review 29 April 2022 A Walk Through the Maze of Secondary Metabolism in Orchids: A Transcriptomic Approach Devina Ghai ,  3 more  and  Jaspreet K. Sembi 2,529 views 4 citations

Review 29 April 2022 Glyco-Engineering Plants to Produce Helminth Glycoproteins as Prospective Biopharmaceuticals: Recent Advances, Challenges and Future Prospects Alex van der Kaaij ,  3 more  and  Arjen Schots 3,704 views 3 citations

Loading... Review 29 April 2022 Heat Stress-Mediated Constraints in Maize (Zea mays) Production: Challenges and Solutions Ahmed H. El-Sappah ,  13 more  and  Manzar Abbas 9,953 views 38 citations

Review 25 April 2022 Biotechnological Road Map for Innovative Weed Management Albert Chern Sun Wong ,  3 more  and  Bhagirath Singh Chauhan 5,235 views 5 citations

Original Research 13 April 2022 A Multi-Omics Approach for Rapid Identification of Large Genomic Lesions at the Wheat Dense Spike (wds) Locus Zhenyu Wang ,  14 more  and  Aili Li 2,120 views 3 citations

Loading... Review 08 April 2022 CRISPR/Cas9 and Nanotechnology Pertinence in Agricultural Crop Refinement Banavath Jayanna Naik ,  7 more  and  Soo-Hong Lee 7,776 views 17 citations

Original Research 22 March 2022 Physiological and Molecular Changes in Cherry Red Tobacco in Response to Iron Deficiency Stress Fei Liu ,  6 more  and  Zhongbang Song 1,506 views 3 citations

Original Research 10 March 2022 Salt Stress Alleviation in Triticum aestivum Through Primary and Secondary Metabolites Modulation by Aspergillus terreus BTK-1 Muhammad Ikram Khan ,  6 more  and  In-Jung Lee 1,968 views 14 citations

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Plant biotechnology articles within Nature Communications

Article 18 June 2024 | Open Access

Enhanced stress resilience in potato by deletion of Parakletos

Crop production is threatening by multiple stressors. Here, the authors report the identification of a thylakoid protein encoding gene and show that knocking out this gene results in enhanced resistance to oomycete, fungi and bacteria, as well as increased tolerance to salt and drought mimics in potato.

• Muhammad Awais Zahid
• , Nam Phuong Kieu
•  &  Erik Andreasson

Article 14 June 2024 | Open Access

High performance TadA-8e derived cytosine and dual base editors with undetectable off-target effects in plants

Base editors are a powerful but underexplored tool for genetic engineering and directed evolution of plants. Here, the authors investigate the editing efficiency and specificity of TadA-8e-derived cytosine base editors and dual base editor TadDE in rice and tomato.

• Tingting Fan
• , Yanhao Cheng
•  &  Yong Zhang

Article 06 June 2024 | Open Access

Central transcriptional regulator controls photosynthetic growth and carbon storage in response to high light

Researchers identify unique transcriptional regulation that controls photosynthetic response, growth and biochemical carbon storage in high light for two variants of the same algae species, offering a glimpse into diel control of plant and crop yields.

• Seth Steichen
• , Arnav Deshpande
•  &  Lieve M. L. Laurens

Article 30 May 2024 | Open Access

An NLR paralog Pit2 generated from tandem duplication of Pit1 fine-tunes Pit1 localization and function

The paralogous NLR proteins, Pit1 and Pit2, exhibit distinct functions in rice immunity, where Pit1 induces cell death on the plasma membrane and Pit2 inhibits this function by sequestering Pit1 to the cytosol.

• , Qiong Wang
•  &  Yoji Kawano

Article 27 May 2024 | Open Access

ABA-mediated regulation of rice grain quality and seed dormancy via the NF-YB1-SLRL2-bHLH144 Module

This study revealed an NF-YB1-SLRL2-bHLH144 regulatory module, centered on a key transcription factor SLRL2, that mediates the ABA-regulated amylose content in rice. Furthermore, SLRL2 is also involved in the regulation of rice dormancy

• Jin-Dong Wang
• , Jing Wang
•  &  Qian-Feng Li

Article 08 May 2024 | Open Access

A quantitative gibberellin signaling biosensor reveals a role for gibberellins in internode specification at the shoot apical meristem

Engineering of a biosensor allows the authors to map the signaling activity of the phytohormones gibberellins (GAs) and to show that GAs orient cell division at the shoot apex to establish the organization in parallel cell files of plant stems.

• , Amelia Felipo-Benavent
•  &  Teva Vernoux

Article 26 April 2024 | Open Access

Identification of triacylglycerol remodeling mechanism to synthesize unusual fatty acid containing oils

Triacylglycerol remodeling in Physaria fendleri changes the seed oil fatty acid composition after initial synthesis to overcome metabolic bottlenecks in the accumulation of valuable unusual fatty acids. This process enhances designer oil engineering.

• Prasad Parchuri
• , Sajina Bhandari
•  &  Philip D. Bates

Article 01 March 2024 | Open Access

A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus

Winged bean is a tropical legume that can produce similar level of seed protein to soybean. Here, the authors report the genome assembly, population genetics, QTL mapping of the plant architecture, protein content and phytonutrients for this species.

• Wai Kuan Ho
• , Alberto Stefano Tanzi
•  &  Sean Mayes

Article 28 February 2024 | Open Access

Synthetic microbe-to-plant communication channels

The soil microbiome communicates with plant roots using a chemical language. Here, using p -coumaroyl-homoserine lactone as the synthetic communication signal, the authors demonstrate programmable microbe-to-plant communication from the sender in the soil bacteria to a receiver in the plant.

• , Tyler Toth
•  &  Christopher A. Voigt

Review Article 14 February 2024 | Open Access

Choreographing root architecture and rhizosphere interactions through synthetic biology

Engineering the form and function of root systems and their associated microbiota could provide a means to mitigate adverse climate-driven effects. Here, the authors review the recent developments in plant and rhizobacterial synthetic biology and highlight engineering targets for applications in root systems and rhizosphere.

• Carin J. Ragland
• , Kevin Y. Shih
•  &  José R. Dinneny

Article 06 February 2024 | Open Access

The synthetic NLR RGA5 HMA5 requires multiple interfaces within and outside the integrated domain for effector recognition

An engineered sensor NLR RGA5 HMA5 carrying multiple resurfaced interfaces was generated to confer complete resistance to the rice blast fungus strains expressing the non-corresponding effector AVR-PikD, paving a way to broaden the resistance spectra of NLRs.

•  &  You-Liang Peng

Editorial 03 January 2024 | Open Access

Feeding the future global population

Climate change is exacerbating challenges both for global food production and from its environmental impacts. Sustainable and socially responsible solutions for future world-wide food security are urgently needed.

Article 15 November 2023 | Open Access

Polyethyleneimine-coated MXene quantum dots improve cotton tolerance to Verticillium dahliae by maintaining ROS homeostasis

Verticillum wilt is an important cotton disease caused by fungal pathogen Verticillium dahiae . Here, the authors assemble the genomes of defoliating and non-defoliating isolates of the pathogen, identify virulence gene SP3 , and develop a disease control strategy using polyethyleneimine-coated MXene quantum dots.

• , Jiayue Li
•  &  Longfu Zhu

Pan-genome analysis of 13 Malus accessions reveals structural and sequence variations associated with fruit traits

A pan-genome can reduce bias in genetic diversity analysis inherent in using a single reference genome. Here, the authors assemble genomes of 10 diverse apple accessions, conduct pan-genome analysis together with three existing genomes, and reveal the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog MMK2 in fruit coloration.

• , Shiyao Duan
•  &  Ting Wu

Article 14 November 2023 | Open Access

Single amino acid change alters specificity of the multi-allelic wheat stem rust resistance locus SR9

Among all wheat rust resistance genes, SR9 has the largest number of alleles. Here, the authors use gene cloning, complementation and comparative genetics to resolve the relationship among Sr9 alleles, confirm their allelic identities, and show that a single amino acid change leads to resistance to Ug99.

• Jianping Zhang
• , Jayaveeramuthu Nirmala
•  &  Evans Lagudah

Article 09 November 2023 | Open Access

Coordinated regulation of the entry and exit steps of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis supports the dual lignin pathway in grasses

The study by El-Azaz et al. uncovers how grasses fine-tune tyrosine and phenylalanine production to support their unique dual entry pathway to lignin and phenylpropanoids. The findings help improve sustainable production of aromatic chemicals in crops.

• Jorge El-Azaz
• , Bethany Moore
•  &  Hiroshi A. Maeda

Article 04 November 2023 | Open Access

Deciphering triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis by leveraging transcriptome response to methyl jasmonate elicitation in Saponaria vaccaria

Methyl jasmonate triggers saponin production in Saponaria vaccaria . Using transcriptome data and heterologous expression, the authors identify P450s and glycosyltransferases that modify triterpenoids. They also discover the pathway for UDP-D-fucose biosynthesis.

• Xiaoyue Chen
• , Graham A. Hudson
•  &  Henrik V. Scheller

Article 01 November 2023 | Open Access

Discovery of isoflavone phytoalexins in wheat reveals an alternative route to isoflavonoid biosynthesis

Isoflavones are mostly found in the legumes, and little is known about their formation outside of this family. Here, the authors discover an isoflavone synthase gene in wheat, found in a pathogen-induced gene cluster encoding isoflavone biosynthesis.

• Guy Polturak
• , Rajesh Chandra Misra
•  &  Anne Osbourn

Article 25 October 2023 | Open Access

Hidden prevalence of deletion-inversion bi-alleles in CRISPR-mediated deletions of tandemly arrayed genes in plants

The multiplex CRISPR system is the tool of choice for creating targeted tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) deletions in plants. Here, the authors show that up to 80% of CRISPR-mediated TAG knockout alleles in Arabidopsis and rice are deletion-inversion bi-alleles, an unwanted products of targeted TAG deletions.

• , Feng-Zhu Wang
•  &  Jian-Feng Li

Article 05 October 2023 | Open Access

A natural mutation in the promoter of Ms-cd1 causes dominant male sterility in Brassica oleracea

A dominant genic male sterility (DGMS) mutant of Brassica oleracea was identified in 1970s and has been widely used for hybrid cabbage breeding, but its genetic basis is unclear. Here, the authors reveal that a 1-bp deletion in the promoter of the gene encoding a PHD-finger motif transcription factor is responsible for DGMS.

• Fengqing Han
• , Kaiwen Yuan
•  &  Honghao Lv

Article 29 September 2023 | Open Access

Efficient plant genome engineering using a probiotic sourced CRISPR-Cas9 system

In the field of plant genome engineering, new nucleases with improved editing efficiency and alterative PAM requirements are needed. Here, the authors report a probiotic sourced CRISPR-LrCas9 system with similar PAM requirement to Cas12a and show its high efficiencies in various genome editing applications.

• Zhaohui Zhong
• , Guanqing Liu

Article 08 September 2023 | Open Access

Understanding the mechanism of red light-induced melatonin biosynthesis facilitates the engineering of melatonin-enriched tomatoes

Melatonin is a physiological regulator in many organisms including plants. Here, the authors demonstrate a molecular mechanism of red light-induced melatonin biosynthesis in tomato fruit which could guide the engineering of melatonin-enriched tomatoes.

• Zixin Zhang
• , Xin Zhang
•  &  Yang Zhang

Article 24 August 2023 | Open Access

Adoption of climate-resilient groundnut varieties increases agricultural production, consumption, and smallholder commercialization in West Africa

The adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties has the potential to build farmers’ climate resilience. Here, the authors show that adoption of climate-resilient groundnut varieties in West Africa benefits all households, with the biggest gains accruing to small-scale farmers.

• Martin Paul Jr Tabe-Ojong
• , Jourdain C. Lokossou
•  &  Hippolyte D. Affognon

Article 21 August 2023 | Open Access

Characterization of two O -methyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of O -methylated catechins in tea plant

Tea contains catechins such as (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which have antioxidant activity and potential health benefits. Here the authors characterise two enzymes that produce O -methylated EGCG, a modified form found in some tea cultivars that has improved bioavailability.

• Ji-Qiang Jin
• , Fu-Rong Qu
•  &  Liang Chen

Article 27 July 2023 | Open Access

A BAHD-type acyltransferase concludes the biosynthetic pathway of non-bitter glycoalkaloids in ripe tomato fruit

During tomato fruit ripening, bitter and toxic steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are converted to nonbitter and less toxic forms, but proposed acylating enzyme in pathway remain unknown. Here, authors report BAHD-type acyltransferase that catalyze acylation step in biosynthesis of non-bitter SGAs in tomato.

• Prashant D. Sonawane
• , Sachin A. Gharat
•  &  Asaph Aharoni

Article 18 July 2023 | Open Access

Manipulating microRNA miR408 enhances both biomass yield and saccharification efficiency in poplar

Modifying plant lignin pathway to enhance saccharification efficiency is often associated with growth penalty. Here, the authors show that overexpression of Pag-miR408 in poplar leads to enhanced saccharification efficiency and growth in both laboratory and field conditions, and laccase genes are the targets of Pag-miR408 .

• , Shufang Wang
•  &  Jinxing Lin

Article 13 July 2023 | Open Access

Structural journey of an insecticidal protein against western corn rootworm

The insecticidal protein Mpf2Ba1 shows potent control against corn rootworm. Here, the authors present detailed structural analyses revealing transitions between its three main stages of pore formation. These findings uncover molecular mechanisms of bacterial pore assembly and advance both crop biotechnology and food security.

• Guendalina Marini
• , Brad Poland
•  &  Helen R. Saibil

Article 08 July 2023 | Open Access

A cytochrome P450 CYP87A4 imparts sterol side-chain cleavage in digoxin biosynthesis

Digoxin is a heart medicine extracted from plants, but how plants synthesize it is largely unknown. Here Carroll et al . identify a novel enzyme for digoxin biosynthesis, paving the way to produce digoxin and other structurally similar drugs in microbes.

• Emily Carroll
• , Baradwaj Ravi Gopal
•  &  Zhen Q. Wang

Article 05 July 2023 | Open Access

Generation of the transgene-free canker-resistant Citrus sinensis using Cas12a/crRNA ribonucleoprotein in the T0 generation

Development of canker-resistant citrus cultivars via traditional approaches is a lengthy and laborious process. Here, the authors report the generation of regulatory approval, transgene-free, canker-resistant sweet orange lines using Cas12a/crRNA ribonucleoprotein-based susceptibility gene editing strategy.

• , Yuanchun Wang
•  &  Nian Wang

Article 12 June 2023 | Open Access

Regioselective stilbene O -methylations in Saccharinae grasses

O -methylated stilbenes are promising nutraceutical candidates. Here, the authors reveal that sorghum and wild sugarcane accumulate different types of O -methylated stilbenes due to major differences in catalytic regioselectivities of O -methyltransferases.

• Andy C. W. Lui
• , Kah Chee Pow
•  &  Clive Lo

Article 15 May 2023 | Open Access

Identification and improvement of isothiocyanate-based inhibitors on stomatal opening to act as drought tolerance-conferring agrochemicals

The authors describe a brassicales-specific metabolite BITC as a stomatal opening inhibitor that suppresses PM H + -ATPase phosphorylation. They develop BITC derivatives with higher inhibitory activity that act as drought tolerance–conferring agrochemicals.

• Yusuke Aihara
• , Bumpei Maeda
•  &  Toshinori Kinoshita

Article 04 May 2023 | Open Access

Chemical imaging reveals diverse functions of tricarboxylic acid metabolites in root growth and development

Chemical imaging of maize roots reveals differential patterns of TCA cycle metabolites along the axis of development. Root growth is affected in distinct ways by exogenous treatments and tissue-specific genetic manipulation of TCA metabolites.

• , Sarah E. Noll
•  &  Alexandra J. Dickinson

Article 25 April 2023 | Open Access

Engineering α-carboxysomes into plant chloroplasts to support autotrophic photosynthesis

Engineering carboxysomes into crop chloroplasts is a potential route to improve photosynthesis and crop yield. Here, the authors engineer functional CO 2 -fixing modules into tobacco chloroplasts to improve their photosynthesis and productivity.

• , Marta Hojka
•  &  Lu-Ning Liu

Article 03 April 2023 | Open Access

An integrase toolbox to record gene-expression during plant development

Synthetic circuits that can record in vivo signaling networks is critical in elucidating developmental process. Here, the authors describe the engineering and application of synthetic in vivo recorders with different promoters that can drive spatiotemporally-specific integrase switching during lateral root initiation.

• Sarah Guiziou
• , Cassandra J. Maranas
•  &  Jennifer L. Nemhauser

Article 16 March 2023 | Open Access

Efficient in planta production of amidated antimicrobial peptides that are active against drug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are next-generation antibiotics that can be used to combat drugresistant pathogens. Here, the authors report efficient production of bioactive amidated AMPs by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana line expressing the mammalian enzyme peptidylglycine α-amidating mono-oxygenase.

• Shahid Chaudhary
• , Zahir Ali
•  &  Magdy Mahfouz

Article 14 February 2023 | Open Access

Tiller Number1 encodes an ankyrin repeat protein that controls tillering in bread wheat

Tiller number is an important agronomic trait of wheat. Here, the authors clone a positive regulator of wheat tiller number and show that the encoded ankyrin repeat protein can promote tiller bud outgrowth through inhibiting ABA biosynthesis and signaling.

• Chunhao Dong
• , Lichao Zhang
•  &  Xu Liu

Article 17 January 2023 | Open Access

Complementary peptides represent a credible alternative to agrochemicals by activating translation of targeted proteins

Feeding an increasing world population in the context of climate change is one of the grand challenges faced by our generation. Here, the authors show that external application of synthetic complementary peptides can increase the abundance of target proteins to modulate plant growth or stress resistance.

• Mélanie Ormancey
• , Bruno Guillotin
•  &  Jean-Philippe Combier

Article 27 December 2022 | Open Access

High-frequency synthetic apomixis in hybrid rice

Previously, a proof-of-concept for low frequency synthetic apomixis was established in a laboratory strain of rice by combining MiMe mutations with the egg cell expression of the embryogenic trigger - BBM1 . Here, the authors achieve clonal seed formation in hybrid rice with almost full penetrance and higher fertility.

• Aurore Vernet
• , Donaldo Meynard
•  &  Emmanuel Guiderdoni

Article 02 November 2022 | Open Access

N6-methyladenosine RNA modification promotes viral genomic RNA stability and infection

Wheat production is threatened by wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV). Here, via genome-wide association study, the authors report that a putative methyltransferase B positively regulates WYMV infection through enhancing viral genomic RNA stability by N6-methyladenosine RNA modification.

• Tianye Zhang
• , Chaonan Shi
•  &  Jian Yang

Article 28 October 2022 | Open Access

Natural variation of Dt2 determines branching in soybean

Shoot branching is critical in determining soybean yield. Here, the authors report natural variation of Dt2 in controlling soybean branching number and the interaction of Dt2 with GmAgl22 and GmSoc1a to activate transcription of GmAp1a and GmAp1d .

• Qianjin Liang
• , Liyu Chen
•  &  Zhixi Tian

Article 26 October 2022 | Open Access

Polerovirus N-terminal readthrough domain structures reveal molecular strategies for mitigating virus transmission by aphids

The authors present structures of plant polerovirus N RTD proteins that protrude from the viral capsid and show that the purified N RTD can inhibit insect transmission and act as a bioinsecticide, providing a blueprint for control of related viruses.

• Carl J. Schiltz
• , Jennifer R. Wilson
•  &  Joshua S. Chappie

Article 04 October 2022 | Open Access

Expression strategies for the efficient synthesis of antimicrobial peptides in plastids

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising next-generation antibiotics, but are difficult to produce due to the toxicity to bacterial hosts. Here, the authors report the utilization of transplastomic tobacco plants for AMPs production without cytotoxic effects via inducible expression systems and fusions to cleavable carrier protein.

• Matthijs P. Hoelscher
• , Joachim Forner
•  &  Ralph Bock

Article 22 September 2022 | Open Access

A fungal tolerance trait and selective inhibitors proffer HMG-CoA reductase as a herbicide mode-of-action

Managing herbicide resistance problem needs the identification of new herbicidal modes of action. Here, the authors solve the crystal structures of Arabidopsis HMGR and show HMGR as a potential new herbicide target by identifying plant-specific HMGR inhibitors and engineering tolerant trait in Arabidopsis.

• Joel Haywood
• , Karen J. Breese
•  &  Joshua S. Mylne

Article 07 July 2022 | Open Access

Nucleotide mismatches prevent intrinsic self-silencing of hpRNA transgenes to enhance RNAi stability in plants

Long hairpin RNA (hpRNA) transgenes are the most widely used RNAi technology in plants, but are potentially subject to self-induced transcriptional silencing. Here, the authors show nucleotide mismatches prevent intrinsic self-silencing of hpRNA transgenes in Arabidopsis and tobacco.

• , Chengcheng Zhong
•  &  Ming-Bo Wang

Mutations in DNA polymerase δ subunit 1 co-segregate with CMD2-type resistance to Cassava Mosaic Geminiviruses

Cassava mosaic disease is caused by geminiviruses and suppresses cassava yields throughout the tropics. Here, the authors show that mutations in MePOLD1 , encoding DNA polymerase δ subunit 1, co-segregate with CMD2 , the major source of genetic resistance for this disease.

• , Ben N. Mansfeld
•  &  Rebecca S. Bart

Article 02 July 2022 | Open Access

Metabolomics-guided discovery of cytochrome P450s involved in pseudotropine-dependent biosynthesis of modified tropane alkaloids

Cytochrome P450s drive the structural diversity of plant alkaloids, many of which have biotechnological uses. Here the authors use reverse genetics and metabolomics to identify two Atropa belladonna cytochrome P450s that synthesize pseudotropine-derived alkaloids.

• Radin Sadre
• , Thilani M. Anthony
•  &  Cornelius S. Barry

Article 16 May 2022 | Open Access

Polymer-coated carbon nanotube hybrids with functional peptides for gene delivery into plant mitochondria

The delivery of genetic material into plants is challenging due to the cell wall barrier. Here, the authors hybridize polymer-coated carbon nanotubes with functional peptides to deliver plasmid DNA cargo into intact plant mitochondria for transient expression and homologous recombination at high efficiency.

• Simon Sau Yin Law
• , Geoffrey Liou
•  &  Keiji Numata

Article 11 May 2022 | Open Access

Agrobacterium expressing a type III secretion system delivers Pseudomonas effectors into plant cells to enhance transformation

Agrobacterium infection can cause defense responses in many plants, which leads to transformation recalcitrance. Here, the authors express type III secretion system in Agrobacterium to deliver effector proteins into plant cells to suppress host defense responses and thus enhance transformation in some plant species.

• Vidhyavathi Raman
• , Clemencia M. Rojas
•  &  Kirankumar S. Mysore

Article 25 March 2022 | Open Access

Aegilops sharonensis genome-assisted identification of stem rust resistance gene Sr62

Aegilops sharonensis is a wild diploid relative of wheat. Here, the authors assemble the genome of Ae. sharonensis and use the assembly as an aid to clone the Ae. sharonensis -derived stem rust resistance gene Sr62 in the allohexaploid genome of wheat.

• , Oadi Matny
•  &  Brande B. H. Wulff

Article 21 March 2022 | Open Access

New recognition specificity in a plant immune receptor by molecular engineering of its integrated domain

Plant NLR proteins trigger immune responses upon recognition of pathogen effectors. Here the authors show that the integrated decoy domain of the rice NLR RGA5 can be engineered to trigger immune responses upon binding a non-cognate effector.

• Stella Cesari
• , Yuxuan Xi
•  &  Thomas Kroj

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10 Scientists Behind Modern Biotech You Probably Don’t Know

The modern biotech industry is a multi-million euro business, but who are the Europeans behind the science that made the industry what it is today? Here are 10 scientists, engineers and healthcare professionals we think you should know about.

Over the last 25 years, biotech has become a burgeoning worldwide industry. It only became the success it is today on the back of excellent science. While some companies and leaders grab the limelight, as well as a few researchers, often names get lost in history and their remarkable achievements go largely unnoticed.

Throughout Europe, there have been many unsung men and women who have discovered new technologies, solved difficult medical problems, and created new materials over the last few hundred years. While it is hard to narrow down a long list, here is a selection of those we think made a significant contribution, in no particular order. 

Károly Ereky (1878–1952)

Károly Ereky deserves a place on this list, if nothing else because he was the first person to use the term ‘biotechnology’ to describe the transformation of raw materials into useful products using biology. A Hungarian agricultural engineer, he was an expert on the food industry and wanted to apply scientific principles to make food production more efficient and cost-effective. For example, one of his many publications was a book discussing how leaf proteins could be used as a possible food source. Known by some as the ‘father’ of biotechnology, he became the Hungarian Minister of Food in 1919. However, he was probably most well known for an enormous and highly profitable pig farm and slaughterhouse he set up (and wrote about) that had the capacity to raise 100,000 pigs per year.

Eva Ekeblad (1724–1786)

Swedish countess and scientist Eva Ekeblad was ahead of her time. In 1746, she discovered a technique to make both alcohol and flour from potatoes, a relatively rare vegetable in Sweden at the time. This discovery helped reduce famine by diverting grains used to make alcohol back into the food chain. An entrepreneurial spirit, she also realized the potato flour she created could be used as a cosmetic face and wig powder to replace the poisonous arsenic powder being used at the time. Ekeblad was notable for being the first woman elected to join the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, a feat that took 209 years to be repeated, although her membership was reduced to ‘honorary’ status after three years because she was a woman.

Wilhelm Roux (1850–1924)

Wilhelm Roux was a clinical doctor, but spent much of his career conducting experiments in the field of embryology in animals, birds and amphibians. The German scientist is most well known for establishing the principles of tissue culture, an extremely widely used technique in modern labs. In an experiment carried out in 1885, he managed to keep neuronal cells taken from a chicken embryo alive in a warm saline solution for 13 days, a technique that was later refined and expanded on by other scientists. He also made enlightened observations on cell distribution during embryo development in studies using frog embryos. 

Ludwig Haberlandt (1885–1932)

Austrian researcher Ludwig Haberlandt was the first to develop a hormone-based contraceptive in 1921. Both his father and grandfather were eminent plant scientists. Haberlandt demonstrated that transplanting sections of rabbit ovary from a pregnant rabbit into another female could stop fertilization, or a short period. By 1930, he was testing a hormone preparation for contraception in clinical trials in Hungary. He had visionary views about bringing hormonal contraception mainstream and wrote in his 1931 book on the topic: “Theoretically, one of the greatest triumphs of mankind would be the elevation of procreation into a voluntary and deliberate act.” Sadly, he was hounded for these ideas throughout his life and is believed to have committed suicide in 1932.

Maurice Lemoigne (1883–1967)

Given the current popularity of the topic, it may seem a bit unbelievable that the first biodegradable ‘bioplastic’ — polyhydroxybutyrate or PHB — was discovered in 1926 by French biologist and engineer Maurice Lemoigne. He was working with the microbe Bacillus megaterium and discovered that it produced PHB when nutrients were scarce and the conditions were ‘stressful’ for the bacteria. At the time, petroleum was cheap and readily available and so Lemoigne’s discovery was ignored for many years. Now PHB is one of several bio-based and biodegradable plastics on the market. Lemoigne’s other research mostly had a focus on fermentation, water treatment, and soil fertilization. 

Jean Purdy (1945–1985)

Jean Purdy was a British research nurse who developed in vitro fertilization along with two colleagues — biologist Robert Edwards and clinician Patrick Steptoe. Purdy came to work with Edwards at the Physiological Laboratory in Cambridge in 1968. They experimented with eggs given voluntarily by infertile women and eventually managed to fertilize one in the lab in 1978. This egg was implanted and became Louise Brown, the first ‘test-tube baby’. Purdy died young of melanoma, but in her career she helped 370 children to be conceived in vitro. Despite efforts from Edwards, her contribution to the discovery was often overlooked and ignored. For example, her name was left off commemorative plaques that named her male colleagues. She also missed out on the Nobel prize, which was awarded to Edwards for the discovery in 2010, 25 years after her death. 

Brigitte Askonas (1923–2013)

Brigitte Askonas was born in Austria to Czech parents, but spent much of her life in Canada, the US and the UK. She was head of the immunology division at the National Institute for Medical Research in London from 1976 until she retired. She was instrumental in designing one of the early methods for creating monoclonal antibodies, now widely used for treating cancer and autoimmune disease. She also discovered that immune cells called T-killer cells have the ability to recognize viral subtypes, a principle now being used to develop vaccines against a variety of infections including influenza and HIV . She was asked to join the Royal Society in the UK as a recognition of her achievements in 1973.

Daisy Roulland-Dussoix (1936–2014)

Rudolf Jaenisch (born 1942)

Rudolf Jaenisch is a German scientist currently working as Professor of Biology at MIT. He had a breakthrough in 1974 with the American scientist Beatrice Mintz when they created the first transgenic mouse. They showed that injecting retrovirus DNA into mouse embryos led to the virus being integrated into the animal’s genome, a change that was also passed to the offspring. This technology is now widely used to create mouse models for a wide variety of human diseases and has been instrumental in the development of many drugs. He is now working on how epigenetics can influence gene expression. Jaenisch and his group were one of the first in the world to report the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells from a mouse tail in 2007. They have since been working to create preclinical treatments for sickle-cell anemia and Parkinson’s disease using these cells. 

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (born 1947) 

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi is a French virologist, now retired, who was a professor at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. During the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, scientists were at a loss to know what was causing the disease. Her knowledge of retroviruses led her to discover the HIV virus in 1983. She was awarded the Nobel prize in 2008 for the discovery of HIV along with her former colleague Luc Montagnier. Barré-Sinoussi started her own lab at Institut Pasteur in 1988. She and her team have carried out enormous amounts of research relating to HIV and its transmission. Among other things, she discovered the role of the innate immune system of the host in control of HIV/AIDs and the factors that influence mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

Images via E. Resko, Wikimedia Commons & others: see individual images for credit.

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