Rose Scott-Moncrieff (1903-1991), was an English biochemist, credited with founding the science of

biochemical genetics Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. Though cells and other microscopic ...

Life

She was born Rose Scott-Moncrieff in 1903. She studied an undergraduate degree at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

and received a PhD from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1930. However, because she was a woman she was given only a certificate and she was not allowed to join the university. She worked at the

John Innes Horticultural Institution The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

. In the 1930s she worked alongside some of the leading figures in chemistry and genetics. Her recollections of her career were recounted in her book 'The Classical Period in Chemical Genetics. Recollections of Muriel Wheldale Onslow, Sir Robert Robinson and

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary ...

'. Rose Scott-Moncrieff joined the

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

department at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1925 and studied under Muriel Onslow (née Wheldale). She continued Wheldale's research into the genetic control of

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

ation in ''

Antirrhinum majus ''Antirrhinum majus'', the common snapdragon (often – especially in horticulture – simply "snapdragon"), is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Antirrhinum''. The plant was placed in the family Plantaginaceae following a r ...

.'' In 1929 Scott-Moncrieff received a small grant from the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

which enabled her to begin work with

JBS Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary ...

on the

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

of flower colour. In the early period of their collaboration she was based in the laboratory of Professor

Gowland Hopkins Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (20 June 1861 – 16 May 1947) was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins. He also discovered the amino ...

at the

where Haldane was a Reader. Their experiments were mainly carried out at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

on the chemistry of

anthocyanins Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compound that gives flow ...

. Haldane persuaded her to widen her research to include the chemical and genetic study of flower pigmentation. He also introduced her to the geneticists at

where she started on a biochemical survey of related genotypes. Scott-Moncrieff's ability to bring together scientists of a more

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

background with those working on

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 ...

was credited as a large aspect of her success. In the 1930s Rose Scott-Moncrieff and her colleagues published a number of seminal papers in the

Biochemical Journal The ''Biochemical Journal'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers all aspects of biochemistry, as well as cell and molecular biology. It is published by Portland Press and was established in 1906. History The journal was established ...

which determined the metabolic sequence and genetic basis of pigment biosynthesis in flowers. Their research laid the foundation for biochemical genetics and molecular biology.Scott-Moncrieff, R. (Mrs O.M. Meares)
National Archives, Retrieved 5 July 2016 The first crystalline form of primulin was prepared by Scott-Moncrieff in about 1930. This was the first crystalline anthocyanin pigment ever identified.Rose Scott-Moncrieff and the dawn of (Bio) Chemical Genetics
Cathie Martin, April 2016, Biochemical classics, Biochemist.org, Retrieved 5 July 2016 Having isolated

anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...

from purple ''

'' she now started work on its red variety and on the different strains of ''

Primula sinensis ''Primula sinensis'', () or the Chinese primrose, is a plant species in the genus ''Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the family (biology), family Primulaceae. They include the primrose (''P ...

''. After her 1937 marriage to Oswald Mapletoft Meares, an electrical engineer, Scott-Moncrieff's anthocyanin research came to an end. The couple had two children, Jean Rosemary Meares and John Willoughby Meare

They moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and remained there until Independence in 1947. Besides raising her children she contributed to war-time investigations of camouflage, was Divisional Girl Guide Commissioner for Cawnpore, India and acquired a special insight into Indian education, becoming President of the Women's Section of the All-India Basic Education Conference in January 1945. On their return to England the family settled at 'Windyridge', One Tree Hill Road in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

. Her husband died on 28 April 1973.

Legacy

Scott-Moncrieff's book was a good source for historians, however Prof Martin believes that the credit for starting chemical genetics should not go to her mentor, Muriel Wheldale Onslow, but to Rose Scott-Moncrieff. In 2017, the

John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

, where Scott-Moncrieff worked in the 1930s, launched an annual Rose Scott-Moncrieff lecture, with the inaugural lecture given by

Hopi Hoekstra Danielle "Hopi" Elisabeth Hoekstra (born 1972) is an evolutionary biologist working at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Her lab uses natural populations of rodents to s ...

References

External links

Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co. London 1937Geoffrey Herbert BealeNatural anthocyanin pigments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Moncrieff, Rose English molecular biologists 1903 births 1991 deaths