Colin Booth (9 December 1924,
Scissett,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
, UK – 9 April 2003,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, preceded_by =
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
,
Southwest England) was an English mycologist, known a leading authority on the genus ''
Fusarium
''Fusarium'' is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil ...
''.
Biography
As the son of a
beamer in a textile mill, Colin Booth grew up in the village of Scissett and was educated at the village school. He left school at age 14, first working as a stone mason and then as a butcher. During WW II in 1941 he volunteered for the Royal Navy and served until 1943 when a spinal injury caused him to be
invalided out. After two years of study, he graduated from
Huddersfield Technical College. At the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...
, he graduated with a B.Sc. in botany, an M.Sc. in mycology and plant pathology in 1953, and a Ph.D. in 1959 with a Ph.D. thesis on ''Fusarium''.
From 1969 to 1983, Booth was assistant director of
Kew's
International Mycological Institute (IMI). There he produced comprehensive maps of the global distribution of plant diseases. His research on classification of
microfungi Microfungi or micromycetes are fungi—eukaryotic organisms such as molds, mildews and rusts—which have microscopic spore-producing structures. They exhibit tube tip-growth and have cell walls composed of chitin, a polymer of ''N''-acetylgluco ...
provided a conceptual framework for research by plant pathologists.
[ The work of William Laurence Gordon (1901–1963) had a major influence on Booth.
Booth's research is important not only for crop production but also in medicine.][ Cyclosporin A (CS-A), a hendeca]peptide
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. ...
isolated from the fungi ''Cylindrocarpon lucidum'' Booth and ''Trichoderma
''Trichoderma'' is a genus of fungi in the family Hypocreaceae that is present in all soils, where they are the most prevalent culturable fungi. Many species in this genus can be characterized as opportunistic avirulent plant symbionts. This ...
polysporum'', is a potent immunosuppressive drug that proved valuable for preventing rejection of kidney transplants.
Booth's highly-cited book ''The genus Fusarium'' (1971) is acknowledged as a comprehensive, valuable reference and the standard text on this important genus, in which many of the species are plant pathogens.[ In this 1971 book, he accepted only 50 specific taxonomic names out of more than 1000 proposed names in the genus ''Fusarium''. He lectured in North America, the Middle East and India. He was the president of the ]British Mycological Society
The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi.
Formation
The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Field ...
for a one-year term from 1977 to 1978.[ (presidential address)]
Booth married his wife Dorothy in 1950. In retirement they lived in Batcombe, Somerset. Upon his death in 2003, he was survived by his widow and their son and daughter.[
]
Selected publications
Articles
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Books and pamphlets
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* (Booth contributed 2 chapters.)
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Chapter I Introduction to General Methods (summary)Chapter II Fungal Culture Media (summary)
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Colin
1924 births
2003 deaths
English mycologists
Phytopathologists
Alumni of the University of London
People from Scissett