Birgit Nordbring-Hertz

Birgit Ann-Marie Margareta Nordbring-Hertz, (16 May 1923 – 16 March 2020 in Lund, Sweden) was a Swedish scientist at Lund University known for her work on the interactions between fungi and nematodes.

Birgit Nordbring-Hertz
Born
Birgit Ann-Marie Nordbring

1923[1]
DiedMarch 16, 2020(2020-03-16) (aged 96) [2]
Alma materLund University
Scientific career
ThesisNematode-trapping organs in the fungus arthrobotrys oligospora : formation, structure and function (1974)

Education edit

Nordbring-Hertz graduated with a medical licentiate degree with a thesis on the opportunistic human pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans, 1956 at Lund University,[3] and received a doctorate in microbiology in 1974 at the same university, working on nematode-trapping fungi.[4] After her doctorate she took over responsibility for the department of microbial ecology, a position she held from 1975 until 1989.[3] In 1987, she was promoted to professor at Lund University,[5][6] and in 1989 she transitioned to an emeritus position.[3] She was the first female professor at the natural science faculty at Lund University.[5]

Research edit

Nordbring-Hertz's research mainly dealt with a type of microfungi, so-called nematophagous fungi, that infect and digest nematodes. She concentrated on the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora.[7][8] Nordbring-Hertz used scanning electron microscopy to study the trapping organs of A. oligospora.[9] Her early research was concentrated on how trapping organs were induced,[10] apart from nematode touching the hyphae also chemically by small peptides will induce trap formation. Her work was later focussed on specific recognition mechanisms, e.g. by lectins (carbohydrate-binding glycoproteins) on the trap surface that recognise specific carbohydrates on the nematode surface and start the infection process.[11][12] Her research also examined volatile exudates from nematodes,[13] the fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae,[14] and quantifying the presence of the fungus in soil ecosystems.[15]

Selected publications edit

  • Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1972). "Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Nematode-trapping Organs in Arthrobotrys oligospora". Physiologia Plantarum. 26 (2): 279–284. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1972.tb03581.x. ISSN 1399-3054.
  • Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1977). "Nematode-Induced Morphogenesis in the Predacious Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora". Nematologica. 23 (4): 443–451. doi:10.1163/187529277X00372.
  • Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit; Mattiasson, Bo (October 1979). "Action of a nematode-trapping fungus shows lectin-mediated host–microorganism interaction". Nature. 281 (5731): 477–479. Bibcode:1979Natur.281..477N. doi:10.1038/281477a0. S2CID 4339747.
  • Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (August 2004). "Morphogenesis in the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora - an extensive plasticity of infection structures". Mycologist. 18 (3): 125–133. doi:10.1017/S0269915X04003052. ISSN 1474-0605.
  • Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit; Jansson, Hans-Börje; Tunlid, Anders (2011). "Nematophagous Fungi". eLS. John Wiley & Sons. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0000374.pub3. ISBN 9780470016176.

Personal life edit

Nordbring-Hertz married in 1953 to a professor in electrical measurement technology, Hellmuth Hertz,[16] and they had two sons, Thomas and Hans Hertz.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ Medical sciences international who's who. Harlow: Longman. 1987. ISBN 978-0-582-90116-2.
  2. ^ "Minnesord om Birgit Nordbring-Hertz". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). March 31, 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  3. ^ a b c Birgit Ann-Marie Margareta Nordbring-Hertz. OCLC 4779320164.
  4. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1974). Nematode-trapping organs in the fungus arthrobotrys oligospora: formation, structure and function (Thesis). Lund.
  5. ^ a b Linnéa Taylor; Marina Castro Zalis; Patrícia Veiga Crespo (eds.). "The XX Factor" (PDF). WINGS Lund University Sweden. p. 23.
  6. ^ Wirmark, Margreta (1996). Professorsboken: fyrtionio Lund kvinnor berattar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Carlssons. ISBN 978-91-7203-059-6. OCLC 476649102.
  7. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1977). "Nematode-Induced Morphogenesis in the Predacious Fungus Arthrobotrys Oligospora". Nematologica. 23 (4): 443–451. doi:10.1163/187529277X00372.
  8. ^ Lysek, Gernot; Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1981). "An endogenous rhythm of trap formation in the nematophagous fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora". Planta. 152 (1): 50–53. doi:10.1007/BF00384984. ISSN 0032-0935. JSTOR 23375198. PMID 24302318. S2CID 29138213.
  9. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1972). "Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Nematode-trapping Organs in Arthrobotrys oligospora". Physiologia Plantarum. 26 (2): 279–284. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1972.tb03581.x. ISSN 1399-3054.
  10. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (August 2004). "Morphogenesis in the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora - an extensive plasticity of infection structures". Mycologist. 18 (3): 125–133. doi:10.1017/S0269915X04003052. ISSN 1474-0605.
  11. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit; Mattiasson, Bo (October 1979). "Action of a nematode-trapping fungus shows lectin-mediated host–microorganism interaction". Nature. 281 (5731): 477–479. Bibcode:1979Natur.281..477N. doi:10.1038/281477a0. S2CID 4339747.
  12. ^ Britannica yearbook of science and the future. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica. 1969. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-85229-375-1.
  13. ^ Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit; Odham, Göran (1980). "Determination of Volatile Nematode Exudates and Their Effects on a Nematode-Trapping Fungus". Microbial Ecology. 6 (3): 241–251. doi:10.1007/BF02010389. ISSN 0095-3628. JSTOR 4250622. PMID 24227131. S2CID 9125842.
  14. ^ Olsson, Stefan; Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1985). "Microsclerotial germination of Verticillium dahliaea affected by rape rhizosphere". FEMS Microbiology Letters. 31 (5): 293–299. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.1985.tb01162.x. ISSN 0378-1097.
  15. ^ Dackman, Carin; Olsson, Stefan; Jansson, Hans-Börje; Lundgren, Björn; Nordbring-Hertz, Birgit (1987). "Quantification of Predatory and Endoparasitic Nematophagous Fungi in Soil". Microbial Ecology. 13 (1): 89–93. doi:10.1007/BF02014965. ISSN 0095-3628. JSTOR 4250908. PMID 24213105. S2CID 33279382.
  16. ^ Dictionary of Scandinavian biography. London: Melrose Press. 1972. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-900332-20-3.
  17. ^ International book of honor. Raleigh, N.C., U.S.A.: American Biographical Institute. 1985. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-934544-24-5.