Meet more inspiring women from the world of plant science in honour of Women's History Month 2024!
Mary-Dell Chilton
Modern plant biotechnology would not be possible without the groundbreaking discoveries of Mary-Dell Chilton ( February 2nd, 1939 – present). Much of plant genetic engineering relies on the microbe Agrobacterium tumefaciens to insert genes of interest into the host plants’ genetic code to produce transgenic plants in subsequent generations. This was not possible before Mary-Dell Chilton found the crucial link between Agrobacterium and modification of plant DNA in 1977 by modifying the bacterial plasmid responsible for gene transfer. She has authored over 100 scientific publications and won numerous awards over her long career.
Jeanne Baret
A swashbuckling French woman who lived part of her life disguised as a man, Jeanne Baret (27 July 1740 – 5 August 1807) was a botanist in the crew of explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville’s voyages which circumnavigated the globe between 1766 and 1769. A person from humble peasant origins in Burgundy who was orphaned by age 15, Jeanne became the housekeeper and later life partner of botanist Philibert Commerson. As part of the expedition's crew, the couple discovered and scientifically described many new plant species in South American, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. However, women were not permitted on French navy ships in the 18th century so Jeanne disguised herself as a man to accompany her partner.
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