Marion Elizabeth Cave (11 February 1904 – 26 September 1995) was an American plant embryologist and cytogeneticist. She obtained her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

where she pioneered the approach to distinguish plant taxonomy using genetics. She continued this work at Berkeley as a

research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's degree such as a master's degree or a PhD. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical Scho ...

. While there, she would be the first person to count the chromosomes in algae, earn her a

Guggenheim fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1952. In addition to her research, she was success at obtaining

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

funding to create a service that would annually inform how many chromosomes each plant species had to help the field of plant

cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

flourish. For her contributions, Volume 33 of Madroño, a genus (''Marionella) of

Delesseriaceae The Delesseriaceae is a family of about 100 genera of marine red alga. Genera As accepted by AlgaeBase (with amount of species per genus); Subfamily Delesserioideae (124) * Tribe Botryocarpeae (12) **''Botryocarpa'' Greville - 1 sp. **''Hemin ...

,'' and a subgenus (''Mscavea'') of '' Echeandia'' were all dedicated to her.

Early life and education

Cave was born to Anna (née Thompson) and Joseph Stilwell in 1904 in Rochester New York. Shortly thereafter they moved to Colorado where her sister Dorothy Margaret was born in 1907. For undergraduate, she studied at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. While there, she joined the

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is an American women's collegiate fraternity. It was established in 1895 at the University of Arkansas. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapters. Since its founding in 18 ...

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

, was the head of sports on the athletic board, joined the honor society

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and reviewed multiple chapters of "Colorado Plant Life" for Francis Ramaley. In 1925 she graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

and received her A.B. in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

. Then in 1926 Cave received her A.M. also from

. She then moved to California to attend

and pursue her

. While there, she joined the biological science honor society

Phi sigma Phi Sigma () is an honor society for students of biological sciences, formed at Ohio State University. History The Phi Sigma honor society was founded on March 17, 1915, at Ohio State University to honor excellence in biological research. In 192 ...

and later would become an officer and vice president of the honor society. During her time there, she would be influenced by Priscilla Avery. Under the direction of Ernest Brown Babcock, Cave earned her PhD in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

in 1936 due to her efforts to apply genetics to distinguish plant taxonomy in ''

Crepis foetida ''Crepis foetida '' is a European species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae with the common name stinking hawksbeard. It is widespread across much of Europe and Siberia, as well as being sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in t ...

''.

Academic career and research

Cave continued to work at the University of California from 1936 to 1943 as a

in the

botany 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 ...

department. During this time she continued her

embryological Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos an ...

studies by examining the female

gametophyte A gametophyte () is one of the two alternating multicellular phases in the life cycles of plants and algae. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has one set of chromosomes. The gametophyte is the se ...

in '' Erythronium helenae'' and ''

Erythronium tuolumnense ''Erythronium tuolumnense'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae, known by the common name Tuolumne fawn lily or Tuolumne dog's tooth violet. However, it is neither a true lily nor a violet. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada ...

'' and she started her 20-year collaboration with

Lincoln Constance Lincoln Constance (February 16, 1909 – June 11, 2001) was an American botanist and administrator at the University of California, Berkeley. Constance worked with Marion S. Cave for over twenty years to identify how many chromosomes different me ...

studying the chromosome numbers of Hydrophyllaceae (waterleaf family). Besides her research endeavors, she served as an instructor of botany at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

College of Pharmacy in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. From 1944 to 1945 Cave moved to Washington D.C. to work for the

Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, later known as the Office for Inter-American Affairs, was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation (Pan-Americanism) during the 1940s, especially in commercial and econ ...

. While there she translated studies on forest legislation from multiple South American companies. Cave returned to working as a research associate in the botany department of the University of California, Berkeley in 1945. During this time she worked in collaboration with South African phycologist

Mary Pocock Mary Agard Pocock (31 December 1886 – 10 July 1977) was a South African phycologist. Biography Born in Rondebosch in 1886 to William Pocock and Elizabeth Dacomb, Mary Pocock attended Bedford High School and Cheltenham Ladies' College. Pocock ...

to pioneer techniques to count the number of chromosomes present in algae using

Volvocaceae The Volvocaceae are a family of unicellular or colonial biflagellates algae, including the typical genus ''Volvox'', and are collectively known as the volvocine algae. The family was named by Ehrenberg in 1834, and it is known in older classifi ...

. For this work she received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1952 to assist in traveling to South African. She collaborated with Spencer Wharton Brown to discover that

pollen tube A pollen tube is a tubular structure produced by the male gametophyte of seed plants when it germinates. Pollen tube elongation is an integral stage in the plant life cycle. The pollen tube acts as a conduit to transport the male gamete cells fr ...

s in ''

Lilium ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world ...

'' are attracted to a "preferred zone" of

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s rather than another portion of the ovule. Outside these collaborations she continued to champion the use of embryology in plant

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

using ''

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

'' as her model system. Besides her research she joined

Society of Woman Geographers The Society of Woman Geographers was established in 1925 at a time when women were excluded from membership in most professional organizations, such as the Explorers Club, who would not admit women until 1981. It is based in Washington, D.C., and ...

in 1957 and in 1959 she organized the Ninth International Botanical Congress in Montreal, Canada in 1959. In 1966 she took a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

to visit and collaborate at the

University of Concepción Universidad de Concepción (UdeC) is a traditional Chilean private university. The work of the Penquista community, it is one of the most prestigious in Chile, and considered complex due to its extensive research in the various areas of knowled ...

in Chile.

Controversies

Peony coenocyte: embryo or suspensor

In 1957 two

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

scientists M.S. Yakovlev and M.D. Joffe published in the Indian journal ''Phytomorphology'' that the

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...

'' Paeonies'' embryo formed large

coenocyte A coenocyte () is a multinucleate cell which can result from multiple nuclear divisions without their accompanying cytokinesis, in contrast to a syncytium, which results from cellular aggregation followed by dissolution of the cell membranes i ...

cells during early development. This was striking because closely related angiosperms were not known to form large coenocyte; however, its distantly related cousin the

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( ; ) are a group of woody, perennial Seed plant, seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include Pinophyta, conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetoph ...

s do. This finding questioned the placement of peonies within angiosperms. While leading embryologist and founder of ''Phytomorphology'' Panchanan Maheshwari allowed the article to be published, Maheshwari had qualms regarding the veracity of the finding and in turn instructed his student Prem Murgai to replicate the work. In 1959 Murgai concluded the Soviets were wrong. Murgai concluded the large coenocyte cell did not form the embryo but rather the

suspensor A suspensor is a temporary anatomical structure in fungi and plants that supports early development. In fungi, it holds the zygospore between hyphae. In plants, it connects the embryo to surrounding tissues and helps position it within the endosp ...

. Interested in this controversy, Cave recruited

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

s Howard Arnott and Stanton A. Cook to investigate this matter more thoroughly. Ultimately in 1961, this team's findings agreed with Yakovlev and Joffe's initial findings. The coenocyte was the embryo, and this represented an instance of

parallel evolution Parallel evolution is the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure.Zhang, J. and Kumar, S. 1997Detection of convergent and pa ...

between gymnosperms and peonies. In 1963 while Maheshwari was visiting Berkeley, he attempted to sway Cave's opinion on this matter with his lab's slides using his large presence and big personality. In response Cave called for a young graduate student to explain to Maheshwari his mistake in their interpretation.

Image tampering: fake or real

Upon completing her 1970 study of Californian ''

'' chromosomes, Cave submitted her manuscript for review. P. E. Brandham, a staff member from

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

in London, reviewed her manuscript and claimed the images Cave produce could not be real and that Cave must have drawn on them. The attack on the integrity of her data infuriated Cave and she swiftly informed the reviewer that they were mistaken.

Works

* A Fourth New Species of ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

'' from Peru (1935) * Cytological and Genetical Investigations Involving ''

'', ''C. Commutata'', ''C. Eritreënsis'', and ''C. Thomsonii'' (1936) * A study of Intra- and Interspecific Relations of ''

'' (1938) * Megasporogenesis and Embryo Sac Development in ''

Calochortus ''Calochortus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. The group includes herbaceous, perennial and bulbous species, all native to North America (primarily the Western United States). The genus ''Calochortus'' includes mariposas ( ...

'' (1941) * Development of the female gametophyte in '' Erythronium helenae'' and ''

'' (1942) * Development of the Macrogametophyte of '' Miersia'' Chilensis (1942) * Alteration of Chromosome Number in '' Miersia'' chilensis (1943) * Curare in the Amazon Basin (1944) * Forest legislation in Honduras (1945) * Forest legislation in Venezuela (1945) * Forest legislation in Paraguay (1945) * Sporogenesis and Embryo Sac Development of '' Hesperocallis'' and '' Leucocrinum'' in Relation to their Systematic Position (1948) * Karyological Studies in the ''

'' (1951) * Induced Dominant Lethality in ''

'' (1953) * Plant Genera, Their Nature and Definition (1953) * The Detection and Nature of Dominant Lethals in ''

''. I. Effects of X Rays on the Heritable Component and Functional Ability of the Pollen Grain (1954) * The Detection and Nature of Dominant Lethals in ''

''. II. Cytological Abnormalities in

Ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s after

Pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

Irradiation (1954) * The Variable Chromosome Number in ''

Astrephomene ''Astrephomene'' is a genus of green algae in the family Goniaceae, order Chlamydomonadales. The genus was first discovered in 1937 by Mary Pocock and later named by Pocock in 1953. The name comes from the Classical Greek roots ''a-'' (meaning "n ...

'' ''gubernaculifera'' (1956) * The Detection and Nature of Dominant Lethals in ''

''. III. Rates of Early Embryogeny in Normal and Lethal Ovules (1957) * Chromosome Numbers in the '' Hydrophyllaceae'' (1942, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1959) * Ontogeny of the Inflorescence and the Flower in ''

Drimys winteri ''Drimys winteri'', also known as Winter's bark, foye and canelo, is a slender species of tree in the family Winteraceae, growing up to tall. It is native to the Magellanic and Valdivian temperate forests of Chile and Argentina, where it is a ...

'' Var. Chilensis (1959) * Embryogeny in the California Peonies with Reference to Their Taxonomic Position (1961) * Chromosome numbers in ''

Crossosoma ''Crossosoma'' is a genus of the plant family Crossosomataceae. It consists of two species of shrubs. '' Crossosoma californicum'' Nutt. is found on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and San Clemente and Santa Catalina islands of California, as well ...

'' (1963) * Cytological observations on some genera of the ''

Agavoideae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agaves ...

'' (1964) * Embryology of ''

Blandfordia nobilis ''Blandfordia nobilis'', commonly known as Christmas bells or gadigalbudyari in Cadigal language, is a flowering plant endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and between three and twent ...

'' Smith (''Liliaceae''), with Special Reference to Its Taxonomic Position (1964) * The chromosomes of Scoliopus (''Liliaceae'') (1966) * Chromosomes of the California ''

'' (1970) * Chromosome Numbers and Relationships in Annoniflorae (1971) * Chromosome number in ''

Muilla maritima ''Muilla maritima'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names sea muilla and common muilla. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in many types of habitats from the coast to the Mojave Desert and Sierra N ...

'' (Torr.) S. Wats (1974) * Geography of pollen and chromosomal heteromorphism in '' Leucocrinum montanum'' (''Lilliaceae'') (1975)

Personal life

She married Roy Clinton Cave in 1928 in California. They lived together briefly in St. Louis, Missouri. They moved back to California in 1935. They moved to Washington D.C. from 1944 to 1945 so that both could work for

. Afterwards, they moved back to California. Outside of work she was interested in sewing, traveling, reading, and gardening. She was survived by her sister's daughter Joan Litten.

Legacy

Despite not having more space to work than a graduate student, as a research associate Cave was invested in teaching graduate students the plant

photomicrograph A micrograph is an image, captured photographically or digitally, taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken on a mi ...

y and embryology. Some of her students included Howard Arnott,

Sherwin Carlquist Sherwin John Carlquist FMLS (July 7, 1930 - December 1, 2021) was an American botanist and photographer. Education He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952 and a Ph.D. in botany in 1956, also at B ...

, Stanton A. Cook,

Florence Signaigo Wagner Florence Signaigo Wagner (February 18, 1919 – October 21, 2019) was an American botanist who served as president of the American Fern Society. Biography Florence Signaigo was born in Birmingham, Michigan, on February 18, 1919 and grew up in Hi ...

, and Warren H. Wagner. In addition, her opinion and experiences on cytological squash techniques were requested during the formation of a Plant Microtechnique Manual. Towards the end of her time at Berkeley she became the photographer for the botany department. From 1952 to 1981 she took 372 photographs. Outside of Berkeley she provided samples to help Rosalie Wunderlich of the University of Vienna resume her research program after World War II. To help the plant

cytologic Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

al community, she secured funding from the

to create an annual compilation of all the plant species within known chromosome numbers. She was the initial editor of "Index to Plant Chromosome Numbers" from 1956 to 1964 and then became associate editor from 1964 to 1974.

Awards and achievements

(1952) * Volume 33 of

Madroño (journal) The California Botanical Society was founded by Willis Linn Jepson in 1913, since when it has advanced the knowledge of botanical sciences in the Western United States Services The society services are: the journal ''Madroño'', published since ...

dedicated to her * A genus (''Marionella) of

'' was dedicated to her by

* A subgenus (Mscavea) of '' Echeandia'' was dedicated to her by Robert William Cruden

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Marion Elizabeth Stilwell 1904 births 1995 deaths American women biologists University of Colorado Boulder alumni 20th-century American botanists University of California, Berkeley alumni Academics from the San Francisco Bay Area Scientists from Rochester, New York