Seymour Hutner
Encyclopedia
Seymour Herbert Hutner was a microbiologist specializing in the nutritional biochemistry of protist
s (protozoa and algae). Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1911, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York
(CCNY) in 1931 and a Ph.D. at Cornell University
in 1937, where he worked with the Nobel laureate James Sumner.
In 1936 he published a paper showing that the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena
had a nutritional requirement for a substance extracted from animal tissue. At that time this was considered to be improbable and the paper was rejected by several American journals before eventually being published in Europe. Years later it was discovered that the required factor was vitamin B12
, or cyanocobalamin. He developed a nutritional assay method for vitamin B12 using Euglena that was used for many years in hospitals to test for B12 levels in blood, eventually being replaced by other methods
After graduating from Cornell, he joined an independent research laboratory, the Haskins Laboratories
founded by the physicist Franklin Cooper and the entomologist and geneticist Caryl Haskins. Initially this was based in Massachusetts, near M.I.T., but then it moved to a building on East 43rd Street in New York City, where Hutner was joined by a newly arrived Italian scientist, Luigi Provasoli, who had spent time in the laboratory of Andre Lwoff in Paris. In New York, during the 1940s through the 1960s, Haskins Labs became known for studies of protistan nutrition and the development of culture media and culture assay methods. Hutner was one of the first to appreciate the importance of organic complexing agents in trace metal nutrition of cells . This had significant implications for the development of culture media and also in the understanding of microbial ecology. With his colleague Luigi Provasoli he showed that photosynthetic organisms could be ‘bleached’ by the antibiotic streptomycin
– an early clue of the endosymbiotic hypothesis
about the origin of chloroplast
s from a prokaryotic ancestor.
At 43rd St., Hutner became known for nurturing young students at a time when this was not a typical pattern, and the lab served as an incubator for many talented high school and undergraduate students. Some went on to become productive scientists, including the two Nobel laureates, Joshua Lederberg
and David Baltimore
. While full time at the lab, Hutner also spent several years on the faculties of Columbia University
and Fordham University
in this period. He also edited, with Lwoff (and later in a second edition with Michael Levandowsky), a multivolume compendium, the Biochemistry and Physiology of Protozoa, that was for many years a standard reference;;,.
In 1970 the lab was required to leave its quarters at 43rd St. Cooper and Provasoli went to Yale University
, but Hutner preferred to remain in New York and moved his part of the lab to Pace University
in Lower Manhattan, where he became a professor. At Yale, Cooper developed an institute for the study of speech and linguistics which remains today under the name of Haskins Laboratory. In New York, Hutner's component, focussed on microbiological research, has become a department of Pace University and is named Haskins Laboratories, but the two similarly named laboratories no longer have formal ties. At Pace the lab became a center for metabolic studies of protistan parasites, as well as studies of behavioral ecology and sensory physiology of free-living protists. Under the leadership of Hutner's student, Cyrus Bacchi, the former led to development of the antiparasitic drug eflornithine
(alpha-difluoromethylornithine), widely used today against African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis). Work on antiparasitic drugs continues today under the direction of Nigel Yarlett.
Hutner was a founding member of the Society of Protozoologists (now the International Society of Protistologists) serving as its president in 1961-2, and was for many years on the editorial board of the Journal of Protozoology (now the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology). In 1977 an issue of the journal was dedicated to him.Levandowsky, M. (Ed.) 1977. A collection of papers dedicated to Seymour H. Hutner. J. Protozool. 24 (4) He died in 2003 after a long illness; an obituary appeared in the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
Protist
Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...
s (protozoa and algae). Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1911, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
(CCNY) in 1931 and a Ph.D. at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1937, where he worked with the Nobel laureate James Sumner.
In 1936 he published a paper showing that the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena
Euglena
Euglena is a genus of unicellular flagellate protists. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the phylum Euglenozoa , a diverse group containing some 44 genera and at least 800 species. Species of Euglena are found in fresh and salt waters...
had a nutritional requirement for a substance extracted from animal tissue. At that time this was considered to be improbable and the paper was rejected by several American journals before eventually being published in Europe. Years later it was discovered that the required factor was vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12, vitamin B12 or vitamin B-12, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins...
, or cyanocobalamin. He developed a nutritional assay method for vitamin B12 using Euglena that was used for many years in hospitals to test for B12 levels in blood, eventually being replaced by other methods
After graduating from Cornell, he joined an independent research laboratory, the Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories is an independent, international, multidisciplinary community of researchers conducting basic research on spoken and written language. Founded in 1935 and located in New Haven, Connecticut since 1970, Haskins Laboratories is a private, non-profit research institute with a...
founded by the physicist Franklin Cooper and the entomologist and geneticist Caryl Haskins. Initially this was based in Massachusetts, near M.I.T., but then it moved to a building on East 43rd Street in New York City, where Hutner was joined by a newly arrived Italian scientist, Luigi Provasoli, who had spent time in the laboratory of Andre Lwoff in Paris. In New York, during the 1940s through the 1960s, Haskins Labs became known for studies of protistan nutrition and the development of culture media and culture assay methods. Hutner was one of the first to appreciate the importance of organic complexing agents in trace metal nutrition of cells . This had significant implications for the development of culture media and also in the understanding of microbial ecology. With his colleague Luigi Provasoli he showed that photosynthetic organisms could be ‘bleached’ by the antibiotic streptomycin
Streptomycin
Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. It is derived from the actinobacterium Streptomyces griseus. Streptomycin is a bactericidal antibiotic. Streptomycin cannot be given...
– an early clue of the endosymbiotic hypothesis
Endosymbiotic theory
The endosymbiotic theory concerns the mitochondria, plastids , and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells. According to this theory, certain organelles originated as free-living bacteria that were taken inside another cell as endosymbionts...
about the origin of chloroplast
Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...
s from a prokaryotic ancestor.
At 43rd St., Hutner became known for nurturing young students at a time when this was not a typical pattern, and the lab served as an incubator for many talented high school and undergraduate students. Some went on to become productive scientists, including the two Nobel laureates, Joshua Lederberg
Joshua Lederberg
Joshua Lederberg ForMemRS was an American molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was just 33 years old when he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and...
and David Baltimore
David Baltimore
David Baltimore is an American biologist, university administrator, and Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He served as president of the California Institute of Technology from 1997 to 2006, and is currently the Robert A. Millikan Professor of Biology at Caltech...
. While full time at the lab, Hutner also spent several years on the faculties of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in this period. He also edited, with Lwoff (and later in a second edition with Michael Levandowsky), a multivolume compendium, the Biochemistry and Physiology of Protozoa, that was for many years a standard reference;;,.
In 1970 the lab was required to leave its quarters at 43rd St. Cooper and Provasoli went to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, but Hutner preferred to remain in New York and moved his part of the lab to Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
in Lower Manhattan, where he became a professor. At Yale, Cooper developed an institute for the study of speech and linguistics which remains today under the name of Haskins Laboratory. In New York, Hutner's component, focussed on microbiological research, has become a department of Pace University and is named Haskins Laboratories, but the two similarly named laboratories no longer have formal ties. At Pace the lab became a center for metabolic studies of protistan parasites, as well as studies of behavioral ecology and sensory physiology of free-living protists. Under the leadership of Hutner's student, Cyrus Bacchi, the former led to development of the antiparasitic drug eflornithine
Eflornithine
Eflornithine is a drug found to be effective in the treatment of facial hirsutism as well as in African trypanosomiasis...
(alpha-difluoromethylornithine), widely used today against African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis). Work on antiparasitic drugs continues today under the direction of Nigel Yarlett.
Hutner was a founding member of the Society of Protozoologists (now the International Society of Protistologists) serving as its president in 1961-2, and was for many years on the editorial board of the Journal of Protozoology (now the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology). In 1977 an issue of the journal was dedicated to him.Levandowsky, M. (Ed.) 1977. A collection of papers dedicated to Seymour H. Hutner. J. Protozool. 24 (4) He died in 2003 after a long illness; an obituary appeared in the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology