Heinz Saedler

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Heinz Saedler (born June 3, 1941 in Bad Godesberg ) is a German geneticist and molecular biologist. He is a leading scientist in plant genetics.

Scientific career

Saedler studied chemistry and biochemistry at the universities of Bonn, Munich and Cologne and received his doctorate under Peter Starlinger at the University of Cologne (Institute for Genetics). He then worked as a research assistant at the University of Cologne and did research as a post-doctoral student at Caltech from 1969 to 1970 . After his return, he completed his habilitation at the University of Cologne and in 1975 was appointed associate professor at the Biological Institute III of the University of Freiburg . Saedler has been researching at the Max Planck Institute for Breeding Research since 1980 and has been honorary professor at the University of Cologne since 1981. Saedler is one of the pioneers of plant molecular biology and, together with Jozef Schell , Klaus Hahlbrock and Francesco Salamini , helped the MPI for Breeding Research to achieve a worldwide reputation. Heinz Saedler retired in 2009 and lives in Cologne.

Research and Public Relations

Saedler discovered along with his supervisor Starlinger (and Elke Jordan) in the 1960s transposon elements ( insertion sequences , IS) in the genes of bacteria (the study of mutations in the galactose - operon of E. coli ), as well as simultaneously Jim Shapiro London. They had already been discovered in maize by the geneticist Barbara McClintock in the 1940s , but molecular genetic research began with Saedler and Starlinger (around 1968). Like scientists at the laboratory of Waclaw Szybalski in Madison (Wisconsin) at the same time , they discovered in the early 1970s that these were not random insertions of DNA, but rather certain mobile elements, some of which came from bacterial plasmids . Like Starlinger, he turned to plant genetics in the 1980s. In 1984 transposons were isolated from plants for the first time at the MPI for Breeding Research. The exact investigation of the insertion and excision mechanisms also served the development of methods of green genetic engineering (genetic engineering applied to plants). Saedler also examined the molecular basis of flower formation (1990) and studied the evolution of new plant forms.

On a voluntary basis, Saedler has endeavored to open up his scientific field, and in particular biotechnology, to the interested population. Among other things, he co-founded the association KölnPUB - Audience and Biotechnology eV, which sees itself as an extracurricular learning location and maintains close contacts with researchers at the University of Cologne and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. He was also involved in the establishment of the WissenschaftsScheune (WiS) , a project of the MPI for Plant Breeding Research , the aim of which is to arouse curiosity about modern plant research and genetic engineering.

Trivia

In the affair about the blocking of the websites of his colleague Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig , which were critical of the theory of evolution , Saedler initially stood behind them and spoke out in favor of tolerance within the framework of the freedom of science. In 2003 the Max Planck Society blocked the websites and published their content on Lönnig's private website.

Memberships and honors

  • 1985: Otto Bayer Prize
  • 1988: Member of the Leopoldina
  • 1991: Member of the Academia Europaea
  • 1996: Founding member of the KölnPUB eV association
  • 2000: Wilhelm Exner Medal from the Wilhelm Exner Foundation of the Austrian Trade Association
  • 2006: Founding member of the WissenschaftsScheune (WiS) at the MPIPZ
  • 2009: Gregor Mendel Medal from the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
  • 2011: Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Fonts

  • Starlinger, Saedler: Insertion mutations in microorganisms , Biochimie, Volume 54, 1972, pp. 177-185
  • Saedler, Starlinger: Twenty-five years of transposable element research in Cologne , in Fedoroff, Botstein (Ed.): The Dynamic Genome - Barbara McClintock's ideas in the century of genetics , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 1992
  • Starlinger, Saedler in Science Citation Classics on their article IS elements in microorganisms , Current Topics Microbiology Immunology, Volume 75, 1976, p. 111, Online, pdf
  • with R. Kunze, W.-E. Lönnig Plant Transposable Elements , Advances in Botanical Research, Volume 27, 1997, pp. 331-470

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biographical information on the award of the Wilhelm Exner Medal
  2. ↑ Jordan, Saedler, Starlinger Mol. Gen. Genet., Vol. 102, 1968, p. 353
  3. ↑ The name comes from Starlinger, Saedler
  4. ↑ Changeable flower architecture , MPI Breeding Research, 2005, on the work of Saedler, Chaoying He . Genetic control of the development of the envelope structure in the nightshade family Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
  5. ↑ website of the Association KölnPUB
  6. ^ Website of the WiS project
  7. ↑ See Intelligent Design
  8. ↑ Press release of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia
personal data
SURNAME Saedler, Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geneticist and molecular biologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH bad Godesberg