Marc Van Montagu
Encyclopedia
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
molecular biologist
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
. He was full Professor and director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the faculty of Sciences at Ghent University
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) and scientific director of the Genetics Department of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). Together with Jozef Schell
Jozef Schell
Jozef Stefaan Schell was a Belgian molecular biologist.Jozef Schell studied Zoology and microbiology at the University of Ghent, Belgium. From 1967 to 1995 he worked as a professor at the university...
he founded the biotech company Plant Genetic Systems
Plant Genetic Systems
Plant Genetic Systems , since 2002 part of Bayer CropScience, is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The focus of its activities is the genetic engineering of plants...
Inc. (Belgium) in 1982, of which he was Scientific Director and member of the board of Directors. Marc Van Montagu was also involved in founding the biotech company CropDesign
CropDesign
CropDesign is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The company develops a portfolio of agronomic traits for the global commercial seed markets. It has developed a technology platform to discover genetic traits for the improvement of corn, rice and other plants...
, of which he was a Board member from 1998 to 2004. He is president of the European Federation of Biotechnology
European Federation of Biotechnology
The European Federation of Biotechnology is a non-profit association of Learned Societies, Universities, Institutes, Companies and Individuals who are interested in the promotion of Biotechnology throughout Europe and also beyond. The EFB organization was established by European scientists in 1978...
(EFB) and of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI).
Together with his colleague Prof. Jeff Schell, Marc Van Montagu discovered the gene transfer mechanism between Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria established by H. J. Conn that uses horizontal gene transfer to cause tumors in plants. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the most commonly studied species in this genus...
and plants, which resulted in the development of methods to alter Agrobacterium into an efficient delivery system for gene engineering and to create transgenic plants. He developed plant molecular genetics
Molecular genetics
Molecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
, in particular molecular mechanisms for cell proliferation and differentiation and response to abiotic stresses (high light, ozone
Ozone
Ozone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...
, cold
Cold
Cold describes the condition of low temperature.Cold may also refer to:*Common cold, a contagious viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
)
and constructed transgenic crops (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...
, rape seed
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
) resistant to insect pest and tolerant to novel herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
s. His work with poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
trees resulted in engineering of trees with improved pulping qualities.
Honors
He has received numerous outstanding awards for his pioneering work, including the prestigious Japan PrizeJapan Prize
is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind."- Explanation :...
. He has been a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
since 1986, the agricultural Academy of Russia and France, the Academy of Engineering of Sweden
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or Kungl. Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien , founded in 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
and the Italian Academy of Sciences dei XL. He holds 6 Doctor Honoris Causa
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Degrees. In 1990 he was granted the title of Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
by Baudouin of Belgium.
- 1987: Rank Prize for Nutrition (UK)
- 1988: IBM Europe Science and Technology Prize (France)
- 1990: Gran Prix Charles-Leopold MayerGran Prix Charles-Leopold MayerThe Grand Prix Charles-Léopold Mayer is awarded annually by the Académie des Sciences de l'Institut de France to researchers who have performed outstanding work in the biological sciences; especially in the areas of cell or molecular biology...
of the Academies de Sciences (Academy of Sciences France) - 1990: Dr. A. de Leeuw-Damry-Bourlart Prize (five yearly Prize of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific ResearchNFWOThe National Fund for Scientific Research is a government institution in Belgium for supporting scientific research...
) - 1998: Japan Prize for Biotechnology in Agriculture Sciences (Japan)
- 1999 Theodor Bücher Medal (FEBS).
Publications
- Van Larebeke, N., Genetello, C., Schell, J., Schilperoort, R.A., Hermans, A.K., Hernalsteens, J.-P., and Van Montagu, M. Acquisition of tumour-inducing ability by non-oncogenic agrobacteria as a result of plasmid transfer. Nature (London) 255, 742-743 (1975).
- Vaeck, M., Reynaerts, A., Höfte, H., Jansens, S., De Beuckeleer, M., Dean, C., Zabeau, M., Van Montagu, M., and Leemans, J. Transgenic plants protected from insect attack. Nature (London), 328, 33-37 (1987)
- Van den Broeck G et al., Targeting of a foreign protein to chloroplasts by fusion to the transit peptide from the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, Nature, 313, 358-363, 1985
- Deblock M et al., Expression of foreign genes in regenerated plants and in their progeny, Embo J, 3, 1681-1689, 1984
- HerreraEstrella L et al., Expression of chimaeric genes transferred into plant-cells using a TI-plasmid-derived vector, Nature, 303, 209-213, 1983