Nathanael Pringsheim
Encyclopedia
Nathanael Pringsheim was a German
botanist.
, Prussian Silesia, and studied at the universities of Breslau, Leipzig
, and Berlin
successively. He graduated in 1848 as doctor of philosophy with the thesis De forma et incremento stratorum crassiorum in plantarum cellula, and rapidly became a leader in the great botanical renaissance of the 19th century.
His contributions to scientific phycology
were of striking interest. Pringsheim was among the very first to demonstrate the occurrence of a sexual process in this class of plants, and he drew from his observations weighty conclusions as to the nature of sexuality.
Together with the French investigators Gustave Adolphe Thuret (1817-1875) and Jean-Baptiste Édouard Bornet (1828-1911), Pringsheim ranks as the founder of our scientific knowledge of the algae
. Among his researches in this field may be mentioned those on Vaucheria (1855), the Oedogoniaceae (1855-1858), the Coleochaeteae (1860), Hydrodictyon (1861), and Pandorina
(1869); the last-mentioned memoir bore the title Beobachtungen über die Paarung de Zoosporen. This was a discovery of fundamental importance; the conjugation of zoospore
s was regarded by Pringsheim, with good reason, as the primitive form of sexual reproduction
.
A work on the course of morphological differentiation in the Sphacelariaceae (1873), a family of marine algae, is of great interest, inasmuch as it treats of evolutionary questions; the authors point of view is that of Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli
(1817-1891) rather than Darwin
. Closely connected with Pringsheim's algological work was his long-continued investigation of the Saprolegniaceae
, a family of algoid fungi, some of which have become notorious as the causes of disease in fish
.
Among his contributions to our knowledge of the higher plants, his exhaustive monograph on the curious genus of water-ferns, Savinia, deserves special mention. His career as a morphologist culminated in 1876 with the publication of a memoir on the alternation of generations in thallophyte
s and moss
es. From 1874 to the close of his life Pringsheim's activity was chiefly directed to physiological questions: he published, in a long series of memoirs, a theory of the carbon-assimilation of green plants, the central point of which is the conception of the chlorophyll
-pigment as a screen, with the main function of protecting the protoplasm
from light-rays which would neutralize its assimilative activity by stimulating too active respiration. This view has not been accepted as offering an adequate explanation of the phenomena. Pringsheim founded in 1858, and edited till his death, the classical Jahrbücher für wissenschaftliche Botanik, which still bears his name. He was also founder, in 1882, and first president, of the German Botanical Society.
His work was for the most part carried on in his private laboratory in Berlin; he only held a teaching post of importance for four years, 1864-1868, when he was professor at Jena
. In early life he was a keen politician on the Liberal side. He died in Berlin.
A fuller account of Pringsheim's career will be found in Nature
, (1895) vol. Ii., and in the Berichte der deutschen botanischen Gesellschaft, (1895) vol. xiii. The latter is by his friend and colleague, Ferdinand Cohn
.
The standard botanical author abbreviation Pringsh. is applied to species
he described.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
botanist.
Biography
Nathanael Pringsheim was born at LandsbergGorzów Slaski
Gorzów Śląski is a town in Olesno County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,606 inhabitants .- Famous people :* Nathanael Pringsheim , Jewish German botanist...
, Prussian Silesia, and studied at the universities of Breslau, Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, and Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
successively. He graduated in 1848 as doctor of philosophy with the thesis De forma et incremento stratorum crassiorum in plantarum cellula, and rapidly became a leader in the great botanical renaissance of the 19th century.
His contributions to scientific phycology
Phycology
Phycology is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of botany....
were of striking interest. Pringsheim was among the very first to demonstrate the occurrence of a sexual process in this class of plants, and he drew from his observations weighty conclusions as to the nature of sexuality.
Together with the French investigators Gustave Adolphe Thuret (1817-1875) and Jean-Baptiste Édouard Bornet (1828-1911), Pringsheim ranks as the founder of our scientific knowledge of the algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. Among his researches in this field may be mentioned those on Vaucheria (1855), the Oedogoniaceae (1855-1858), the Coleochaeteae (1860), Hydrodictyon (1861), and Pandorina
Pandorina
Pandorina is a genus of green algae composed of 8, 16, or sometimes 32 cells, held together at their bases to form a sack globular colony surrounded by mucilage. The cells are ovoid or slightly narrowed at one end to appear keystone- or pear-shaped...
(1869); the last-mentioned memoir bore the title Beobachtungen über die Paarung de Zoosporen. This was a discovery of fundamental importance; the conjugation of zoospore
Zoospore
A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some algae, bacteria and fungi to propagate themselves.-Flagella:...
s was regarded by Pringsheim, with good reason, as the primitive form of sexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction is the creation of a new organism by combining the genetic material of two organisms. There are two main processes during sexual reproduction; they are: meiosis, involving the halving of the number of chromosomes; and fertilization, involving the fusion of two gametes and the...
.
A work on the course of morphological differentiation in the Sphacelariaceae (1873), a family of marine algae, is of great interest, inasmuch as it treats of evolutionary questions; the authors point of view is that of Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli
Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli
Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli was a Swiss botanist. He studied cell division and pollination, but became known as the man who discouraged Gregor Mendel from further work on genetics.-Birth and education:...
(1817-1891) rather than Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. Closely connected with Pringsheim's algological work was his long-continued investigation of the Saprolegniaceae
Saprolegniaceae
Saprolegniaceae is a family of freshwater mould....
, a family of algoid fungi, some of which have become notorious as the causes of disease in fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
.
Among his contributions to our knowledge of the higher plants, his exhaustive monograph on the curious genus of water-ferns, Savinia, deserves special mention. His career as a morphologist culminated in 1876 with the publication of a memoir on the alternation of generations in thallophyte
Thallophyte
The thallophytes are a polyphyletic group of non-mobile organisms traditionally described as "relatively simple plants" or "lower plants" with undifferentiated bodies...
s and moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es. From 1874 to the close of his life Pringsheim's activity was chiefly directed to physiological questions: he published, in a long series of memoirs, a theory of the carbon-assimilation of green plants, the central point of which is the conception of the chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
-pigment as a screen, with the main function of protecting the protoplasm
Protoplasm
Protoplasm is the living contents of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a general term of the Cytoplasm . Protoplasm is composed of a mixture of small molecules such as ions, amino acids, monosaccharides and water, and macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and...
from light-rays which would neutralize its assimilative activity by stimulating too active respiration. This view has not been accepted as offering an adequate explanation of the phenomena. Pringsheim founded in 1858, and edited till his death, the classical Jahrbücher für wissenschaftliche Botanik, which still bears his name. He was also founder, in 1882, and first president, of the German Botanical Society.
His work was for the most part carried on in his private laboratory in Berlin; he only held a teaching post of importance for four years, 1864-1868, when he was professor at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
. In early life he was a keen politician on the Liberal side. He died in Berlin.
A fuller account of Pringsheim's career will be found in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, (1895) vol. Ii., and in the Berichte der deutschen botanischen Gesellschaft, (1895) vol. xiii. The latter is by his friend and colleague, Ferdinand Cohn
Ferdinand Cohn
Ferdinand Julius Cohn was a German biologist.Cohn was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia. At the age of 10 he suffered hearing impairment. He received a degree in botany in 1847 at the age of nineteen at the University of Berlin. He was a teacher and researcher at University of...
.
The standard botanical author abbreviation Pringsh. is applied to species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
he described.