Irma Andersson-Kottö

Irma Andersson-Kottö
Irma in her fern glasshouse at the John Innes Horticultural Institute
Born(1895-01-01)January 1, 1895
DiedJuly 7, 1985(1985-07-07) (aged 90)
NationalitySwedish
Alma materUniversity of Stockholm, University of London
Known forPioneering work in fern genetics
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, Genetics
InstitutionsJohn Innes Horticultural Institution, Wenner-Gren Institute

Irma Andersson-Kottö (1 January 1895[1] – 7 July 1985) was a Swedish botanist and a pioneer in fern genetics.[2]

Education

Andersson graduated from the University of Stockholm. In 1919 she wrote to William Bateson and joined the then John Innes Horticultural Institution (now the John Innes Centre)[3] as a volunteer worker, where later she was appointed as a student.[4] From 1934-38 she undertook her PhD at the University of London.[5]

Research

Andersson studied inheritance in ferns[6][7] and was the first to introduce the use of an agar-based growth medium for the experimental study of fern gametophytes.[2] Her study of apospory and polyploid series in Asplenium scolopendrium was important in understanding the origin and development of the alternation of generations, a key concept in plant development.[8][9] She was invited to join the British Pteridological Society as an honour member but elected to join as an honour subscribing member. After her time in the UK studying British ferns, she returned to Sweden to work at Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm.[10] More recently some of her hypothesis on the dominance of certain alleles[11] in ferns were confirmed experimentally.[12]

References

  1. ^ Fries, Robert Elias. A Short History of Botany in Sweden, p. 112 (1950) ("The work of docent IRMA ANDERSSON-KOTTO of the Stockholm University (born in 1895) includes a series of papers on investigations of the genetics of ferns ...")
  2. ^ a b "Biology and Evolution of Ferns and Lycophytes, Chapter 4". www.cambridge.org. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511541827.005. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. ^ Andersson-Kottö, Irma (2010). "A Genetical Investigation in Scolopendrium Vulgare". Hereditas. 12 (1–2): 109–177. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1929.tb02500.x.
  4. ^ "J.B.S Haldane: the John Innes years (2017)".
  5. ^ "Graduates lists 1932-1934" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  6. ^ Andersson, Irma (1927). "Note on some characters in ferns subject to Mendelian Inheritance". Hereditas. 9 (1–3): 157–168. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1927.tb03517.x.
  7. ^ Verdoorn, Frans; Alston, A. H. G. (2013-11-09). Manual of Pteridology. ISBN 9789401761116.
  8. ^ "Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift: Volym 26: Häfte 1-2, 1932".
  9. ^ Steil, W. N. (1951). "Apogamy, Apospory and Parthenogenesis in the Pteridophytes". Botanical Review. 17 (2): 90–104. doi:10.1007/BF02861787. JSTOR 4353447. S2CID 27673142.
  10. ^ "The British Fern Gazette".
  11. ^ Andersson-Kottö, Irma (1930). "Variegation in three species of ferns". Zeitschrift für Induktive Abstammungs- und Vererbungslehre. 56: 115–201. doi:10.1007/BF01739802. S2CID 6189436.
  12. ^ "Patterns of variation of a common fern (Athyrium filix-femina; Woodsiaceae): Population structure along and between altitudinal gradients". 2007.