Adolf Mayer
Encyclopedia
Adolf Eduard Mayer was a German agricultural chemist whose work on tobacco mosaic disease played an important role in the discovery of tobacco mosaic virus
and viruses in general.
Adolf Mayer was born in 1843 in the family of a high school teacher in Oldenburg. His mother was a daughter of renowned German chemist Leopold Gmelin
. From 1860 to 1862 he studied mathematics and chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
. In 1862 he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg, where in 1864 he obtained Ph.D. in chemistry, physics and mathematics with summa cum laude.
In 1879, while Mayer held the position of the director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Wageningen
in the Netherlands
, he was asked by Dutch farmers to study a peculiar disease affecting the tobacco
plant. Mayer published a paper in 1886 on the disease which he named as "mosaic disease of tobacco" and described its symptoms in detail. He demonstrated that the disease can be transmitted by using the sap from the affected tobacco plants as the inoculum
to infect healthy plants. At the time, this disease was thought to be spread by very small bacteria
or toxin
s, yet some years later the tobacco mosaic virus
(TMV) was shown to be the culprit. Mayer employed optical microscopy to seek for signs of fungi or bacteria in the infected sap, yet he did not find any, since the TMV is too small to be detected in optical microscope
. Mayer still concluded that the infectious agent was some sort of bacteria and erroneously claimed that he was able to obtain "clear filtrate" from the infected sap using filter paper in several repetitions. Filtration experiments with paper and finest porcelain Chamberland filter
s were replicated by Dmitry Ivanovsky in 1892 and Martinus Beijerinck
in 1898 who showed that the infectious agent of the tobacco mosaic disease was in fact infilterable. It was Martinus Beijerinck
who first coined the term of "virus" to indicate a non-bacterial nature of the tobacco mosaic disease. In 1935, the tobacco mosaic virus was the first virus to be crystallized. Regardless of the erroneous conclusion, Mayer's pioneer work on the tobacco mosaic disease served as an important step in the discovery of virus
es and led to the foundation of the field of virology
.
Tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus is a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus that infects plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns on the leaves . TMV was the first virus to be discovered...
and viruses in general.
Adolf Mayer was born in 1843 in the family of a high school teacher in Oldenburg. His mother was a daughter of renowned German chemist Leopold Gmelin
Leopold Gmelin
Leopold Gmelin was a German chemist.Gmelin was the son of Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He studied medicine and chemistry at Göttingen, Tübingen and Vienna, and in 1813 began to lecture on chemistry at Heidelberg, where in 1814 he was appointed extraordinary-, and in 1817 ordinary-, professor of...
. From 1860 to 1862 he studied mathematics and chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is a German academic research and education institution with university status resulting from a merger of the university and the research center of the city of Karlsruhe. The university, also known as Fridericiana, was founded in 1825...
. In 1862 he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg, where in 1864 he obtained Ph.D. in chemistry, physics and mathematics with summa cum laude.
In 1879, while Mayer held the position of the director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Wageningen
Wageningen
' is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences. The city has 37,414 inhabitants , of which many thousands are students...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, he was asked by Dutch farmers to study a peculiar disease affecting the tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
plant. Mayer published a paper in 1886 on the disease which he named as "mosaic disease of tobacco" and described its symptoms in detail. He demonstrated that the disease can be transmitted by using the sap from the affected tobacco plants as the inoculum
Inoculation
Inoculation is the placement of something that will grow or reproduce, and is most commonly used in respect of the introduction of a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of a human or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease...
to infect healthy plants. At the time, this disease was thought to be spread by very small bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
or toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
s, yet some years later the tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus is a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus that infects plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns on the leaves . TMV was the first virus to be discovered...
(TMV) was shown to be the culprit. Mayer employed optical microscopy to seek for signs of fungi or bacteria in the infected sap, yet he did not find any, since the TMV is too small to be detected in optical microscope
Optical microscope
The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small samples. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly designed in their present compound form in the...
. Mayer still concluded that the infectious agent was some sort of bacteria and erroneously claimed that he was able to obtain "clear filtrate" from the infected sap using filter paper in several repetitions. Filtration experiments with paper and finest porcelain Chamberland filter
Chamberland filter
A Chamberland filter, also known as a Pasteur-Chamberland filter, is a porcelain water filter invented by Charles Chamberland in 1884. It is similar to the Berkefeld filter in principle.-Design:...
s were replicated by Dmitry Ivanovsky in 1892 and Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Willem Beijerinck was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist. Born in Amsterdam, Beijerinck studied at the Technical School of Delft, where he was awarded the degree of Chemical Engineer in 1872. He obtained his Doctor of Science degree from the University of Leiden in 1877...
in 1898 who showed that the infectious agent of the tobacco mosaic disease was in fact infilterable. It was Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Willem Beijerinck was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist. Born in Amsterdam, Beijerinck studied at the Technical School of Delft, where he was awarded the degree of Chemical Engineer in 1872. He obtained his Doctor of Science degree from the University of Leiden in 1877...
who first coined the term of "virus" to indicate a non-bacterial nature of the tobacco mosaic disease. In 1935, the tobacco mosaic virus was the first virus to be crystallized. Regardless of the erroneous conclusion, Mayer's pioneer work on the tobacco mosaic disease served as an important step in the discovery of virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es and led to the foundation of the field of virology
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
.