Daphne Osborne
Daphne Osborne | |
---|---|
Agricultural Research Council, UK; California Institute of Technology, USA; The Open University, UK; Somerville College, Oxford | |
Thesis | Studies on Plant Growth Regulators (1950) |
Doctoral advisor | R Louis Wain |
Daphne J. Osborne (7 March 1930
Her research focused on plant hormones, seed biology and plant DNA repair. She is best known for her work on the gas ethylene, in particular for demonstrating that ethylene is a natural plant hormone, and that it is the major regulator of ageing and the shedding of leaves and fruits. She also originated the concept of the target cell as a model for understanding plant hormone action.
Education and career
Born in India, where her father was a colonial administrator, Osborne attended The Perse School in Cambridge. Her BSc in chemistry and MSc in botany were from King's College London.[1] Her PhD on the topic of plant growth regulators was from the University of London at Wye College, Kent, where her supervisor was Ralph Louis Wain. Her first postgraduate position was in the Department of Biology of the California Institute of Technology, USA, as a Fulbright Scholar, where she worked with botanist Frits Warmolt Went, among others.[1][3]
Much of Osborne's career was spent at the
In 1985, Osborne retired from the Civil Service, and became a visiting professor at the Department of Plant Sciences of
Osborne travelled widely during her career, holding short-term positions at Princeton and the California Institute of Technology in the USA, and visiting Argentina, Australia, India, Israel, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. She also formed many international collaborations, latterly with scientists in China and Ukraine.[1][3] In 1988, she organised a successful international NATO workshop in Turin, Italy.[3]
Research
The hormonal control of growth,
Another major focus of Osborne's research was seed biology. An expert on seed ageing and plant DNA repair,[1] Osborne researched the effects of DNA degradation, repair and telomere length on the viability of seeds.[3] In the 1970s, she was among the earliest to attempt to isolate nucleic acids from ancient seeds, finding that only very short fragments could be isolated from grains from Egyptian tombs.[8] Among her final research projects was a study of the effects on DNA repair in seeds and pollen of exposure to radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion.[3][7]
Osborne studied a huge diversity of plant species, from the aquatic
She also worked on the effects of plant hormones on insects, showing that sexual maturity in desert locusts is regulated by gibberellins, so that eating withered vegetation low in gibberellins might prevent the insects becoming sexually mature during the dry season.[3][9]
Awards and honours
Osborne was awarded an honorary professorship at
Key works
Books
- Osborne DJ, McManus MT. Hormones, Signals and Target Cells in Plant Development (Developmental and Cell Biology Series no. 41) (Cambridge University Press; 2005) (ISBN 0-521-33076-9)
Research papers
- Boubriak II, et al. (2008) Adaptation and impairment of DNA repair function in pollen of Betula verrucosa and seeds of Oenothera biennis from differently radionuclide-contaminated sites of Chernobyl. Annals of Botany 101: 267–276 (pdf)
- Osborne, D. J. (1984). "Concepts of target cells in plant differentiation". Cell Differentiation. 14 (3): 161–169. PMID 6488320.
- Cheah KSE, Osborne DJ. (1978) DNA lesions occur with loss of viability in embryos of aging rye seed. Nature 272: 593–599 (abstract)
- Osborne DJ, Wright M. (1978) Gravity induced cell elongation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 199: 551–564
- Knee M, Sargent JA, Osborne DJ. (1977) Cell wall metabolism in developing strawberry fruits. Journal of Experimental Botany 28: 377–396 (abstract)
- Osborne DJ, Jackson MB, Milborrow BV. (1972) Physiological properties of an abscission accelerator from senescent leaves. Nature New Biology 240: 98–101
- Jackson MB, Osborne DJ. (1970) Ethylene, the natural regulator of leaf abscission. Nature 225: 1019–1022 (abstract)
- Ridge I, Osborne DJ. (1970) Hydroxyproline and peroxidases in cell walls of Pisum sativum: regulation by ethylene. Journal of Experimental Botany 21: 843–856 (abstract)
- Horton RF, Osborne DJ. (1967) Senescence, abscission and cellulase activity in Phaseolus vulgaris. Nature 214: 1086–1088 (abstract)
- Ellis PE, Carlisle DB, Osborne DJ. (1965) Desert locusts: sexual maturation delayed by feeding on senescent vegetation. Science 149: 546–547 (abstract (with link to pdf))
- Fletcher RA, Osborne DJ. (1965) Regulation of protein and nucleic acid synthesis by gibberellin during leaf senescence. Nature 207: 1176–1177
- Osborne DJ, Hallaway HM. (1964) The auxin, 2-4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid as a regulator of protein synthesis and senescence in detached leaves of Prunus. New Phytologist 63: 334–347
- Osborne DJ. (1962) Effect of kinetin on protein & nucleic acid metabolism in Xanthium leaves during senescence. Plant Physiology37: 595–602
- Osborne DJ. (1955) Acceleration of abscission by factors in senescent leaves. Nature 176: 1161–1163
Personal life
From 1959 until 1961 she was married to the botanist and lichenologist David Cecil Smith. This ended in divorce.[12]
References and notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Anon. Daphne Osborne. The Times (27 July 2006) (accessed 7 January 2009)
- ^ Source: Times obituary; some sources state her year of birth as 1925
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Ridge I, Jackson M. (2008) Daphne J. Osborne (1925–2006). Ann Bot 101: 199–201 (text) (pdf) (accessed 7 January 2009)
- ^ Nature: Search on "Daphne J. Osborne" (accessed 10 January 2009
- ^ Leopold AC. (2006) Daphne J. Osborne, 1930–2006. Plant Science Bulletin 52: 92 Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 10 January 2009)
- ^ Churchill College, Cambridge: The College is sorry to announce the death of Professor Daphne Osborne (Past Fellow) (accessed 7 January 2009)
- ^ a b c d Society for Experimental Biology: Jackson M. Daphne J Osborne (1925–2006). SEB Bulletin (October 2006) Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 7 January 2009)
- ^ Herrmann B, Hummel S. Ancient DNA: Recovery and Analysis of Genetic Material from Paleontological, Archaeological, Museum, Medical, and Forensic Specimens, p. 219 (Springer; 1994)
- ^ Ellis PE, Carlisle DB, Osborne DJ. (1965) Desert locusts: sexual maturation delayed by feeding on senescent vegetation. Science 149: 546–547 (abstract (with link to pdf)) (accessed 9 January 2009)
- ^ Anon. (1996) New corresponding members of the society elected. Plant Science Bulletin 42: 74 (accessed 10 January 2009)
- ^ Cell Separation, Germination and DNA Repair (Marking Daphne J. Osborne’s career in science) Annals of Botany 101(2) (January 2008) (accessed 10 January 2009)
- ^ "David Smith". The Royal Society. Biography. 1975. Retrieved 11 November 2018.