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Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German
surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...
,
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
,
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
, and
mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
(fungal systematics and physiology). He is considered a founding father of
plant pathology Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...
(phytopathology) as well as the founder of modern mycology. His extensive and careful studies of the life history of
fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
and contribution to the understanding of
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
and higher plants established landmarks in biology.


Early life and education

Born in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
to physician August Theodor de Bary (1802–1873) and Emilie Meyer de Bary, Anton de Bary was one of ten children. He joined excursions of
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
s who collected local specimens. De Bary’s interest was further inspired by George Fresenius, a physician, who also taught botany at Senckenberg Institute. Fresenius was an expert on
thallophyte Thallophytes (Thallophyta or Thallobionta) are a polyphyletic group of non-motile organisms traditionally described as "thalloid plants", "relatively simple plants" or " lower plants". They form a division of kingdom Plantae that include lichens ...
s. In 1848, de Bary graduated from a gymnasium at Frankfurt, and began to study medicine at
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
, continuing at
Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...
. In 1850, he went to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to continue pursuing his study of medicine, and also continued to explore and develop his interest in plant science. Although he received his degree in medicine, his dissertation at Berlin in 1853 was titled "De plantarum generatione sexuali", a botanical subject. He also published a book on fungi and the causes of rusts and smuts.


Early career

After graduation, de Bary briefly practiced medicine in Frankfurt, but he was drawn back to botany and became
Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
in botany at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
, where he worked for a while as an assistant to Hugo von Mohl (1805–1872). In 1855, he succeeded the botanist Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli (1818–1891) at
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
, where he established the most advanced botanical laboratory at the time and directed many students.


Later career and research

In 1867, de Bary moved to the
University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
as successor to Professor
Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...
, who, with Hugo von Mohl, co-founded the pioneer botanical journal ''Botanische Zeitung''. De Bary became its coeditor and later sole editor. As an editor of and contributor to the journal, he exercised great influence upon the development of botany. Following the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
(1870–1871), de Bary took the position of professor of botany at the
University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...
, where he was the director of the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg, and founder of its New Garden. He was also elected as the inaugural rector of the reorganized university. He conducted much research in the university botanical institute, attracted many international students, and made a large contribution to the development of botany. His 1884 book ''Vergleichende Morphologie und Biologie der Pilze, Mycetozoen und Bakterien'' was translated into English as ''Comparative Morphology and Biology of the Fungi, Mycetozoa, and Bacteria'' (
Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1887).


Fungi and plant diseases

De Bary was devoted to the study of the life history of
fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
. At that time, various fungi were still considered to arise via spontaneous generation. He proved that pathogenic fungi were like other plants, and not the products of secretions from sick cells. In de Bary’s time, potato late blight had caused sweeping crop devastation and economic loss. The origin of such plant diseases was not known at that time. de Bary studied the pathogen ''
Phytophthora infestans ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or Oomycete, water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often c ...
'' (formerly ''Peronospora infestans'') and elucidated its life cycle.
Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at ...
(1803–1889) had insisted in 1841 that the
oomycete The Oomycetes (), or Oomycota, form a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms within the Stramenopiles. They are filamentous and heterotrophic, and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction o ...
found in
potato blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by '' Alternaria solani'', is also often called " ...
caused the disease. Similarly, de Bary asserted that rust and smut fungi caused the pathological changes that affected diseased plants. He concluded that Uredinales and Ustilaginales were
parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...
s. De Bary spent much time studying the morphology of fungi and noticed that certain forms that were classed as separate species were actually successive stages of development of the same organism. De Bary studied the developmental history of Myxomycetes (slime molds), and thought it was necessary to reclassify the lower animals. He first coined the term
Mycetozoa Mycetozoa is a polyphyletic grouping of slime molds. It was originally thought to be a monophyletic clade, but in 2010 it was discovered that protostelia are a polyphyletic group within Conosa. Classification It can be divided into dictyoste ...
to include lower animals and slime molds. In his work on Myxomycetes (1858), he pointed out that at one stage of their life cycle (the plasmodial stage), they were nearly-formless, motile masses of a substance that
Félix Dujardin Félix Dujardin (5 April 1801 – 8 April 1860) was a French biologist born in Tours. He is remembered for his research on protozoans and other invertebrates. Biography In 1840 Dujardin was appointed professor of geology and mineralogy at t ...
(1801–1860) had called sarcode (
protoplasm Protoplasm (; ) is the part of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, monosaccharides, amino acids, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. In some definitions ...
). This is the fundamental basis of the protoplasmic theory of life. De Bary was the first to demonstrate sexuality in fungi. In 1858, he had observed conjugation in the alga ''
Spirogyra ''Spirogyra'' (common names include water silk, mermaid's tresses, and blanket weed) is a genus of filamentous charophyte green algae of the order Zygnematales, named for the helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplasts that is charact ...
'', and in 1861, he described sexual reproduction in the fungus ''
Peronospora ''Peronospora'' is a genus of downy mildews that are obligate plant pathogens. They can cause severe damage to many different cultivated crops, as well as wild and ornamental plants. ''Peronospora'' is most closely related to ''Pseudoperonospora' ...
'' sp. He saw the importance of observing pathogens throughout their whole life cycle and attempted to follow that practice in his studies of living host plants.


Peronosporeae

De Bary published his first work on potato blight fungi in 1861, and then spent more than 15 years studying Peronosporeae, particularly ''Phytophthora infestans'' (formerly ''Peronospora infestans'') and '' Cystopus'' (''
Albugo ''Albugo'' is a genus of plant-parasitic oomycetes. Those are not true fungi (Eumycota), although many discussions of this organism still treat it as a fungus. The taxonomy of this genus is incomplete, but several species are plant pathogens. '' ...
''), parasites of
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
. In his published work in 1863 entitled "Recherches sur le developpement de quelques champignons parasites", he reported inoculating healthy potato leaves with spores of ''P. infestans''. He observed that mycelium penetrated the leaf and affected the tissue, forming
conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...
and the black spots characteristic of potato blight. He did similar experiments on
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...
s and potato stalks. He watched conidia in the soil and their infection of the tubers, observing that
mycelium Mycelium (: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are fo ...
could survive the cold winter in the tubers. Based on these studies, he concluded that organisms were not being generated spontaneously.


''Puccinia graminis''

He did a thorough investigation on '' Puccinia graminis'', the pathogen that produces rust in wheat, rye and other grains. He noticed that ''P. graminis'' produced reddish summer
spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...
s or " urediospores", and darker winter spores or " teleutospores". He inoculated the leaves of barberry (''
Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tar ...
'') with
sporidia ''Sporidia'' are result of homokaryotic smut fungi (which are not pathogenic), asexual reproduction through the process of budding. Thus far, this has only been observed ''in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') ...
from winter spores of wheat rust. The sporidia germinated, leading to the forming of aecia with yellow spores, the familiar symptoms of infection on the barberry. De Bary then inoculated aecidiospores on moisture-retaining slides and then transferred them to the leaves of seedling of
rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
plants. In time, he observed the reddish summer spores appearing in the leaves. Sporidia from winter spores germinated only on barberry. De Bary clearly demonstrated that ''P. graminis'' lived upon different hosts at different stages of its development. He called this phenomenon " heteroecism" in contrast to " autoecism", in which development takes place only in one host. De Bary’s discovery explained why the practice of eradicating barberry plants was important as a control for rust.


Lichen

De Bary also studied the formation of
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s which are the result of an association between a fungus and an alga. He traced their stages of growth and reproduction and showed how adaptations helped them to survive conditions of drought and winter. In 1879 he coined the word "
symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...
", meaning "the living together of unlike organisms", in the publication "Die Erscheinung der Symbiose" (Strasbourg, 1879). He carefully studied the morphology of
mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...
s,
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
s, and fungi and basically established mycology as an independent science.


Influence

De Bary's concept and methods had a great impact on the fields of
bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...
and botany, making him one of the most influential bioscientists of the 19th century. He published more than 100 research papers. Many of his students later became distinguished botanists and
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
s including
Sergei Winogradsky Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky (; ; , Kyiv – 24 February 1953, Brie-Comte-Robert), also published under the name Sergius Winogradsky, was a Ukrainian and Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil science, soil scientist who pioneered the Biog ...
(1856–1953), William Gilson Farlow (1844–1919), and Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet (1838–1902).


Personal life and death

De Bary came from a noble family of
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
from
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
, which was driven out from there by the Spanish Habsburgs under
Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
and can be found in Frankfurt since 1555. Anton's father and his brother Johann Jakob de Bary were respected doctors in Frankfurt. His mother was Caroline Emilie von Meyer (1805–1887), whose family produced two renowned scientists. De Bary married Antonie Einert (21 January 1831,
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
– 22 May 1892, Thann,
Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine (German language, German: ''Elsaß–Lothringen''), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (), was a territory of the German Empire, located in modern-day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire ...
) in 1861; they raised four children: Wilhelm, August, Marie and Hermann. Antonie was a talented artist and painter, particularly of plants, who contributed to her husband's scientific work. He died on 19 January 1888 in Strasbourg, of a
tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
of the jaw, after undergoing extensive surgery.


See also

* List of mycologists * Wm. Theodore de Bary, American sinologist, a great-nephew


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bary, Heinrich de 1831 births 1888 deaths German phycologists 19th-century German botanists German surgeons German mycologists German entomologists Physicians from Frankfurt Heidelberg University alumni University of Marburg alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society Symbiosis Scientists from Frankfurt Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities