Rolf Schlegel

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Rolf Schlegel

Rolf Herbert Jürgen Schlegel (born  November 8, 1947 in Stadtlengsfeld , Rhön ) is a German geneticist specializing in plant cytogenetics and plant breeding .

Life

The son of a butcher attended elementary school in Stadtlengsfeld from 1952 to 1962 and began studying agriculture at the University of Leipzig in 1966 after completing his high school diploma at EOS Bad Liebenstein . In 1968 he moved to the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg to take up a special degree in genetics and plant breeding . He graduated with a diploma in 1970 and then began research studies at the same university. After three years he earned his doctorate under Helmut lard and Dieter Mettin Dr. agr. in the field of plant breeding. The subject of the dissertation was: "Experimental investigations into chromosomal stability and its importance for the fertility of autotetraploid rye ( Secale cereale L.)". He then worked as an assistant or senior assistant at the chair for plant breeding Hohenthurm at the MLU Halle / Saale until 1984. In 1982 he completed his habilitation (Dr. sc.) There with a fundamental paper on "The differential staining of somatic and meiotic chromosomes - their use in breeding research and applied breeding ”.

In 1984 he followed a call from Dieter Mettin to the Central Institute for Genetics and Crop Plant Research of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR in Gatersleben . From 1984 to 1993 he was head of the “Chromosome Manipulation” working group in the Applied Genetics department under Friedrich Scholz, and from 1988 to 1991 he was also head of the “Cultivated Plant Taxonomy, Applied Genetics and Genebank” department. After 1993 he completed postgraduate studies in the field of environmental protection, which he completed in 1995.

He then followed a call from the Institute for Grain and Sunflower Research General Toschewo / Varna of the Bulgarian Academy of Agricultural Sciences as research consultant and head of the gene bank (1995–1998), from 1999 at the Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Kostinbrod / Sofia (Bulgaria). In 2000 he took over the position of head of research and development at Hydro-Tech, Aschersleben, most recently as managing director of Desicca GmbH. He worked here until his retirement in 2011.

Scientific work

In addition to his research on cereals , his research projects in Halle / Saale included questions about cytogenetic stability in the cultivation of wheat and triticale . In the case of rye , in addition to genetics, he was particularly interested in the breeding and establishment of artificial tetraploid varieties. In Gatersleben, the main focus of his scientific activity was genetic and cytological basic research for practical plant breeding. The analysis of chromosomes and the transfer of genes were the focus of his activities. He created a series of diploid Secale-Triticum chromosome additions for the first time . Schlegel recognized the importance of experimental chromosome substitutions and translocations not only for plant breeding, but also for genetic research at an early stage. Today, numerous international wheat varieties (in some cases> 50% of the material) carry such intergeneric chromosome recombinations. Schlegel has established an internet database for this purpose. The same applies to the database on gene mapping in rye and chromosome translocations in wheat. Later in Bulgaria, genetic issues related to the nutritional efficiency of cereals, especially micronutrients, and the in vitro regeneration of double haploids (DH) in wheat were added. Both complexes are part of modern agricultural science . He completed international research stays in Novosibirsk (Russia), Lublin and Poznań (Poland), Gödöllő and Szeged (Hungary), Manhattan, Kansas (USA), Cambridge and Norwich (England), Kyoto (Japan), Passo Fundo (Brazil) and Dobrich and Sofia (Bulgaria).

He introduced cytogenetic topics in lectures, practical exercises and study plans in the agricultural and natural science faculties at the University of Halle / Saale. Under his leadership, 8 scientists received their doctorates, 28 students graduated and 24 received an engineering degree.

Schlegel is the author of more than 160 scientific publications and a number of monographs. The third edition of the Dictionary of Plant Breeding , published in 2003, is in preparation. The book on the history of plant breeding, Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement , became an international bestseller.

From 1975 to 1990 Schlegel was an expert reviewer in committees in the GDR and since 1992 also for international organizations, universities, publishers and magazines.

Literature (selection)

• Effectiveness and stability of interspecific chromosome and gene transfer in hexaploid wheat, Triticum aestivum L. [Efficiency and stability of interspecific chromosome as well as gene transfer in hexaploid wheat, Triticum aestivum L.] Kulturpflanze 38, 1990, pp. 67-78.
• with R. Melz: Genetic linkage map of rye ( Secale cereale L.). In: SJ O'Brien (Ed.): Genetic maps - Locus maps of complex genomes. 6th edition. Harbor Lab. Press, Cold Spring 1993, ISBN 0-87969-414-9 , pp. 6235-6255.
• Triticale - today and tomorrow. In: H. Guedes-Pinto, N. Darvey, V. Carnide (Eds.): Triticale today and tomorrow, developments in plant breeding. Vol. 5, Kluwer Acad. Publ., 1996, pp. 21-32.
• A compendium of reciprocal translocations in wheat. In: Wheat Inf. Serv. 83, 1996, pp. 35-46.
• with V. Korzun: About the origin of 1RS.1BL wheat-rye chromosome translocations from Germany. In: Plant Breeding. 116, 1997, pp. 537-540.
• with I. Cakmak: Micronutritional efficiency in crop plants - a new challenge for cytogenetic research. In: T. Lelley (Ed.): Current Topics in Plant Cytogenetics Related to Plant Improvement. WUF Univ. Verlag, Vienna 1997, pp. 91-102.
• Hybrid breeding boosted molecular genetics in rye. In: Russ. J. Genet. Appl. Res. 6, 2016, pp. 569-583. doi: 10.1134 / S2079059716050105
• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Plant Breeding and Related Subjects. Food Products Press, New York 2003. ( Dictionary of Plant Breeding. 2nd Edition. CRC, Boca Raton 2010, ISBN 978-1-4398-0242-7 )
• Rye (Secale cereale L.) - a younger crop plant with bright future. In: RJ Sing. P. Jauhar (Ed.): Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement. Vol. II: Cereals. CRC Press, Boca Raton 2006, ISBN 0-8493-1430-5 , pp. 365-394.
• Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement: Institutions, Persons, Theories, Methods, and Histories. Haworth Press, New York 2007, ISBN 978-1-56022-146-3 .
• Sperm like lily of the valley: Curiosities from botany, breeding and genetics. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2010, ISBN 978-3-8391-5284-3 .
• Icarus or Winged Monkey: Could Man Fly? BoD, Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8423-5631-3 .
• Vincent van Gogh a geneticist? Curiosities from botany, breeding and genetics II. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2013, ISBN 978-3-7322-3342-7 .
• Rye: Genetics, Breeding & Cultivation. CRC Press, Boca Raton 2013, ISBN 978-1-4665-6143-4 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: Werewolves and Witches - Lengsfelder Stories I. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2013, ISBN 978-3-7322-8675-1 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: School is on fire - Lengsfelder Stories II. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7386-0388-0 .
• Fish Tomato - Curiosities from Botany, Breeding and Heredity III. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7347-3109-9 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: port city on the Felda - Lengsfeld stories III. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2015, ISBN 978-3-7386-3756-4 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: Tarri Tarra the post is here: Lengsfelder Stories IV. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2016, ISBN 978-3-8448-1035-6 .
• Phytotronic curiosities from botany, breeding and inheritance IV. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3-7460-1317-6 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: Glider pilots over Stadtlengsfeld: Lengsfelder Stories V. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3-7431-6635-6 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: Grandmothers and Midwives: Lengsfelder Stories VI. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3-7431-6635-6 .
• History of Plant Breeding. CRC Press, Boca Raton 2018, ISBN 978-1-138-10676-5 , p. 312.
• with Rolf Leimbach: Stadtlengsfeld's silver treasure: Lengsfeld stories VII . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2018, ISBN 978-3-7481-8063-0 .
• with Rolf Leimbach: Förstermord am Kohlgraben: Lengsfeld Histories VIII . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2019, ISBN 978-3-7494-9690-7 .

Web links

• Plant Breeding Updates , Rolf Schlegel's website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ rye-gene-map.de
2. ↑ cf. http://www.rye-gene-map.de/
3. ↑ cf. http://www.rye-gene-map.de/wheat-interchange/