Rudolf Boenicke

Ernst Rudolf Bönicke (born December 26, 1911 in Augustenburg ; † September 11, 1970 in the Borstel Research Center ) was a German microbiologist and university professor.

Live and act

Rudolf Bönicke was a son of Friedrich Carl Bönicke (* December 21, 1877 in Giebichenstein ; † December 10, 1948 in Norderbrarup ) and his wife Helene Martha, née Doutz (* April 23, 1880 in Merseburg ; † March 14, 1956 in Norderbrarup ). The parents had moved to Kiel shortly before the outbreak of World War I , where the father worked as a foreman at the Germania shipyard.

Bönicke grew up with five older siblings in Kiel. After attending primary school from 1918 to 1922, he switched to the Oberrealschule in Kiel-Ellerbek , which he left in 1931 with the Abitur. He then studied at the Pedagogical Academy in Kiel until March 1933. He then worked as a teacher training candidate in fishing . In 1934/35 he taught in Burg on Fehmarn , from 1936 to 1939 in Vitzdorf on Fehmarn and in 1939 in Rastorferpassau near Preetz .

In 1939 Bönicke began studying mathematics and natural sciences at the University of Kiel . From 1940 to 1945 he did military service and at the end of the war was a first lieutenant in a communications unit. He then studied until 1947 and received his doctorate in Dr. rer. nat on "The effect of low ultraviolet light intensities on microorganisms". Then worked at the Institute for Virus Research in Sielbeck . From October 13, 1947 he headed the microbiological department of the Research Institute for Experimental Biology and Medicine in Borstel .

After his habilitation at the Medical Faculty of Kiel University in Experimental Microbiology in 1964, Bönicke received an appointment as associate professor on July 1, 1969. From July 1, 1969 to March, he taught as visiting professor at Loyola University Chicago .

Bönicke had been married to Elfriede Treimer (born December 20, 1915 in Bannesdorf ) since July 30, 1937 , with whom he had two daughters and two sons. He was seen as a balanced, tolerant and kind personality with high skills in leadership and organization. He died suddenly during a celebratory meeting.

Scientific work

Bönicke initially dealt with the extensive topic of experimental inhibition of the reproduction of microorganisms. This included the presence of antibacterial substances in higher plants such as flowering plants, ferns and mosses. He worked on the importance of antibacterial substances in vegetables and plants in the context of therapy and infection prophylaxis for humans and animals and their importance through selective nutrition and feeding.

Bönicke developed in-vitro methods that made it possible to microbiologically determine the value of anti-microbial substances such as chemotherapeutic agents and antibiotics. He also researched how enzymes of the micro- and macro-organism limit the effectiveness of tuberculotic substances in vivo and in vitro. His particularly noteworthy work in this area includes findings on the instability of isoniazid in the human organism: by means of experiments with monozygotic and dizygotic twins, he was able to demonstrate the intra-individual constancy of isoniazid metabolism and its inheritance for the first time.

In the last ten to 15 years of life, Bönicke also researched the enzymology of bacteria. The department headed by him dealt with the enzymatic equipment of mycobacteria and nocardia, the formation of enzymes, effectors of myobacterial enzymes, their concentration and chemical preparation. The research results were included in numerous publications.

A focus of Bönicke's research activities was the systematics of the genus Mycobacterium and other types of bacteria, including Nocardia and Candida yeasts . This resulted in new cultural, enzymatic and biochemical processes. This included a nicotinamine test to differentiate between human and bovine tuberculosis bacterial strains and procedures to differentiate both species using pentacyclic carboxylic acid hydrazides. There were also some biochemical series, including the “Amide series”, the “Diamin series”, the “o-Diphenol series” or the “Carbohydrate-nitrite reduction series”. These were classification methods that were based on purely microbiological criteria and were taken up by laboratories around the world.

In the last few years before his death, Bönicke also dealt with the bacteriology of leprosy . In particular, this involved in-vitro cultivation of the pathogen, which was carried out in a newly created laboratory in the Bisidimo Relief Center in Ethiopia.

Bönicke published more than 130 scientific papers that could be read in many German-language and international journals. His results were incorporated into other works of enormous numbers.

In recognition of his research, Bönicke received the Aronson Prize of the City of Berlin on March 6, 1970 .

literature

• Ernst Friedrich de Cuveland: Bönicke, Rudolf . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 3. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1974, pp. 43-45