Download History of Plant Science

Important Researches in Plant Sciences
384-322 BC Aristotle. Initiated study of organisms; called 'Father of Biology'.
370-285 BC Theophrastus. Wrote books—Historia Plantarum and The Causes of
Plants; called 'Father of Botany'.
1590 Z. Jansen and H. Jansen Constructed first operational microscope.
1665 Robert Hooke. Described cork and other cells; first to see cells; introduced
the term cell; published a book 'Micrographia', prepared first compound
microscope.
1674 A.Von Leeuwenhoek. Dutch (resident of Holland) lens maker, first to see
living things (bacteria), also observed polyembryony (1719).
1682 Nehemiah Grew. Studied anatomy of plants, called' Father of Plant
Anatomy'.
1664 R. J. Camerarius. Described sexual reproduction in plants.
1717 Thomas Fairchild. Produced first successful plant hybrid.
1727 Stephan Hales. Described importance of leaves and sun in photosynthesis,
called' Father of Plant Physiology.'
1753 Carolus Linnaeus. Sweedish botanist; first great taxonomist, gave sexual
system of classification in his book Species Plantarum, also introduced binomial
system of nomenclature in his another book Systema Naturae; Father of Modern
Botany or Taxonomy (Systematics).
1809 J. B. de Lamarck. Proposed the Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characters
(use and disuse) in his book Philosophie Zoologique.
1824 G.B.Amici. Discovered pollen tube.
1828 Robert Brown. Described Brownian movement, discovered nucleus (1831).
1838 M. J. Schleiden. Described nucleoli (first seen by Fontana 1781, named by
Bowman 1840).
1838-39 M.J.Schleiden (Botanist) and T. Schwann (Zoologist) formulated Cell
Theory.
1840 J. E. Purkinje. Introduced the term Protoplasm.
1840 Hugo de Vries. Proposed Mutation Theory, worked on Evening Primrose
(Oenothera lamarckiana).
1840 W. Hofmeister. Studied cell division (1849); gave the structure of embryo
sac; 1851; described alternation of generations.
1846 Hugo von Mohl. Described cell division and emphasized the importance of
protoplasm.
1858 Rudolph Virchow. Stated that all cells arise from pre- existing cells, 'Omnis
cellula e cellula'.
1862-1883 G. Bentham and J. D. Hooker. Wrote Genera Plantarum' in 3 volumes,
gave the most accepted natural system of classification of seed plants.
1864 Louis Pasteur. French Chemist; proposed 'Germ Theory of Disease';
discovered bacteria causing chicken cholera, worked on fermentation, disproved
spontaneous generation. 1864 Ernst Haeckel. Coined the term Plastid; included
unicellular plants and animals under 'Protista'.
1866 Gregor Johann Mendel. Worked on garden pea - Pisum sativum; gave laws of
inheritance; first great geneticist, called Father of Genetics.
1868 J.Huxley. Described protoplasm as a physical basis of life, proposed the term
New Systematics.
1869 Fredrick Miescher. Discovered nucleic acids (called nuclein) from human
pus cells.
1878 Joseph Lister. Obtained pure cultures of bacteria; used carbolic acid as
disinfectant for the first time.
1879 W. Fiemming. Introduced the term chromatin. Described splitting of
chromosomes. Coined the term mitosis. Named aster. Also mitochondria as fila.
1879 E. Strasburger. Described cell division in plants; recognized cytoplasm and
nucleoplasm; in 1875 observed chromosomes; in 1879 described Polygonum type
of embryo sac; in 1884 described fertilization in plants.
1881 Foecke. Coined the term Xenia.
1883 A.F.W. Schimper. Gave the term Chloroplast.
1887 A. Engler and Karl A.E. Prantl. Proposed phylogenetic system of
classification in their book 'Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien'.
1888 W. Waldeyer. Introduced the term chromosome.
1888 T. Boveri. Gave the term centrosome.
1894 R. Altrnann. Discovered mitochondria in the cell.
1897 C. Benda. Introduced the term mitochondria.
1898 S.G.Nawaschin. Discoverd doublet fertilization in angiosperms.
1898 C.Golgi.* Described Golgi complex, awarded Nobel prize in 1906.
1898 E. Buchner*. Named zymase enzyme of yeast; awarded Nobel prize in 1907.
1900 Erich Von Tschermak (Austria), Carl Correns (Germany) and Hugo de Vries
(Holland). Rediscovery of Mendel's work.
1901 E. Strasburger. Introduced the term plasmodesmata.
1902 W.S. Sutton and T. Boveri. Gave Chromosome Theory of Heredity.
1904 A.F. Blakeslee. Discovered heterothallisrn in Mucor. Produced trisomic in
Datura.
1905 J.B. Farmer and J.E. Moore. Coined the term meiosis.
1905 W. Bateson. Coined the term Genetics.
1905 Robert Koch. German surgeon, discovered bacteria causing anthrax and
T.B.; gave Koch's postulates, awarded Nobel Prize.
1909 W.L. Johannsen. Introduced the term 'Gene'.
1911 R Rous. Discovered Rons Sarcoma virus, RNA to DNA formation (reverse
transcription), awarded Nobel Prize in 1966.
1920 W.W. Garner and H.A. Allard. Discovery of photoperiodism.
1924 R. Feulgen and H. Rosenbeck. Described test for DNA by staining, now called
Feulgen reaction.
1926 John Hutchinson. Gave phylogenetic system of classification in his book
'Families of Flowering Plants.
1926 T. Svedberg.* Discoverer of ultracentrifuge; awarded Nobel Prize.
1929 Alexander Fleming.* Discovery of penicillin from Penicillium notation,
shared 1945 Nobel Prize with Florey and Chain.
1931 Otto H. Warburg*. Discovery of respiratory enzymes and their action,
awarded Nobel Prize.
1932 M.Knoll and E. Ruska.* Produced first electron microscope, Ruska awarded
Nobel Prize in 1986 in Physics.
1933 T. H. Morgan*. Discovered the role of chromosomes in hereditary
transmission, awarded Nobel Prize.
1934 F. Kogl, A. J. Haagen-Smit and H. Erxleben. Isolated IAA from human urine.
(IAA was discovered by E. and H. Salkowski, 1885).
1935 A.G.Tansley. Coined the term Ecosystem.
1935 K.V. Thimann. Presence of IAA in Rhizopus shown for the first time.
1936 M.C.Cajlachjan. Demonstrated presence of floral hormone, gave the name
florigen.
1936 F.Gustafson. Induction of parthenocarpic fruits by IAA application.
1937 Hans Kreb . Discovery of citric acid cycle or TCA cycle of respiration;
awarded Nobel Prize in 1953.
1944 O. T. Avery, C.H. Macleod and H. Me Carty. Demonstrated that DNA is the
hereditary material by bacterial transformation.
1944 Selman Waksman.* Discovered an antibiotic Streptomycin; awarded Nobel
Prize in 1952.
1946 J.B.Sumner.* Crystallised the first enzyme urease, suggested that enzymes
are structurally proteins; awarded Nobel Prize.
1952 A. D.Hershey and MJ.Chase. Demonstrated that DNA is the infective part of
virus (bacteriophage).
1953 F.A.Lipman.* Discovered co-enzyme A and its significance; awarded Nobel
Prize.
1953 J.D.Watson, F.H.C. Crick and M.H.F.Wilkins.* Proposed double helical
structure of DNA awarded Nobel Prize in 1962.
1954 D.I.Arnon. Discovery of photophosphoryiation in photosynthesis.
1955 C.O.Miller and F. S. Skoog. Discovery of cytokinin.
1957 H.Fraenkel-Conrat. Discovered RNA as genetic material of TMV.
1958 G.W. Beadle*, E.L. Tatum* and J. Lederberg*. Proposed one gene one
enzyme concept and awarded Nobel Prize.
1959 J.D.Robertson. Gave the concept of Unit Membrane.
1959 Servo Ochoa . In vitro synthesis of polyribonucleotides (RNA), awarded
Nobel Prize.
1959 Arthur Kornberg*, In vitro synthesis of polydeoxyribonucleotides (DNA),
awarded Nobel Prize.
1961 Meivin Calvin*. Discovered path of carbon (carbon fixation) in
photosynthesis, awarded Nobel Prize. Experimental organism- Chlorella (green
alga).
1964 R.B.Park and J.Biggins. Discovery and isolation of quantasomes in
chloroplasts.
1965 F. Jacob*, J, Monod* and A.L. Lwoff.* Discovery of class of genes which
regulate the activities of other genes; described 'Operon model' of gene control,
awarded Nobel Prize.
1967 M.D. Hatch and C.R. Slack. Proposed C4 cycle in photosynthesis of tropical
grasses.
1968 M.W. Nirenberg,* H.G. Khorana* and R.H. Holley*. Contributed to the
understanding of genetic code, its function in protein synthesis, Holley described
structure of t-RNA, Nobel Prize awarded to all the three.
1970 H. Harris. DNA-RNA hybridization technique.
1974 A. Claude*. Discovered cancer virus particles in tumour cells, awarded
Nobel Prize.
1974 G.E. Palade*. Discovery of ribosomes; awarded Nobel Prize.
1974 C. de Duve* Discovery of lysosome; awarded Nobel Prize.
1975 D.Baltimore.* R.Dulbecco* and H.M. Temin.* Discovery of occurrence of
specific enzyme in RNA tumor virus particle which could make a DNA copy from
RNA (reverse transcription) now called teminism, awarded Nobel Prize.
1978 WArber*, D.Natbans and H.O. Smith. Discovery of restriction enzymes
which hydrolyse DNA caursing limited number of cuts per molecule, awarded
Nobel Prize.
1982 A. Klug*. Nucleic acid and protein complexes, crystallographic microsocopy,
awarded Nobel Prize.
1983 Barbara McClintock.* Discovery of Jumping genes' especially in maize, also
called transposons or transposable genes, awarded Nobel Prize.
1984 Luc Montagnier Isolation of HTLV III (now called HIV) or AIDS virus.
1988 J.Deisenhoffer,* Robert Huber* and Hartmut Michel . Awarded Nobel Prize
for work connected with photosysntesis for determination of 3D-structure of a
photosynthetic reaction centre.
1989 J.M. Bishop* and H.E. Varmus*. Discovery of cellular origin of retroviral
oncogene (cancer producing gene).
1989 T.R. Cech* and Sidney Altman*. Discovery of catalytic role of RNA.
1992 Edmond Fischer and Edwin Krebs.* Awarded Nobel Prize for discovery that
phosphorylase is switched on and off.
1993 Kary B. Mullis.* Developed technique called polymerase chain reaction
(PCR). This allows to make milloins of copies of DNA within hours.
1993, Michael Smith.* Developed site directed mutagenesis. This allows scientists
to choose sites for producing mutations.
1993 Richard J. Roberts and Philip Sharp.* Showed the structure of genes of
higher animals. Concept of split genes was given.
1995 Venter J. Craig. Decoding of genetic code (translation) of 1,830,121 DNA
bases of a bacterium Haemophilus influenzae and also complete genetic sequence
of 580,067 base pairs of Mycoplasma genitalium.
1997 lan Wilmut led a team of scientists at the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, U.K. to
produce first clone of adult animal named Dolly. They took a single cell from the
udder of an adult sheep and turned it into a viable embryo, by mating it with an
unfertilised and enucleated egg implanted in surrogate mother.
* Nobel prize winners.