Øjvind Winge (May 19, 1886 – April 5, 1964) was a Danish

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...

and a pioneer in yeast genetics.

Education

Winge was born in the city of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

in Jutland, the mainland of Denmark. After completing secondary school he travelled to the University of Copenhagen to study law but found himself more suited to the biological sciences into which he transferred. He graduated with a master's degree in the year 1910. From Copenhagen he travelled to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Paris and Chicago, studying mainly chromosomal cytology before finally returning to the University of Copenhagen to do a doctoral thesis entitled ''The Chromosomes: Their Numbers and General Importance''. In 1910 Winge was appointed chair of genetics at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, where amongst other works he wrote ''The Textbook in Genetics'', published in 1928.

Career

In 1933 Winge was offered and accepted the position of Director of the Physiology Department in the Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen. Here he dedicated his research to the 3 principal lifeforms of interest to his benefactors;

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

, barley and yeast, although his studies became increasingly dedicated to yeast. He developed and used techniques to achieve the micromanipulation of single yeast cells and

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s in order to investigate them on a genetic level. He found that yeast spores are

haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

, and

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

cells occur as a result of conjugation of two haploid cells or self-diploidisation. This was important as it revealed that the species exhibits alternation and that strains can be genetically manipulated by specific mating. Winge also demonstrated that the traits of the organisms were mainly governed by simple Mendelian rules. He continued his research and his lab produced a steady output of genetics papers until 1961. Winge's work was of critical importance to the basic formation of early

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

and biotechnology. He helped to establish a firm basis for what have now developed into important and lucrative scientific fields. For this reason he is often attributed the title of 'The Father of Yeast Genetics'.

Winge's 1917 hypothesis

In his 1917 doctoral thesis ''The Chromosomes: Their Numbers and General Importance'', Winge presented his hypothesis of plant hybridization, which has motivated much research.

Awards and honours

Winge was elected foreign member of the Royal Society in 1947.

Selected bibliography

* Ferdinandsen, C. & Winge, Ø. (1910) Fungi from Professor Warming's expedition to Venezuela and the West Indies. Botanisk Tidsskrift, 30, 211-. * Ferdinandsen, C. & Winge, Ø. (1914) Ostenfeldiella - a new genus of Plasmodiophoraceae. ''Annals of Botany'', 28, 643-649. Named for Carl Hansen Ostenfeld. * Winge Ø. (1914) Investigations on hops ( Humulus lupulus, L.). III. The pollination and fertilization process in Humulus lupulus L. and H. japonicus Sieb. et. Zucc. Comptes Rendus des Travaux du Laboratoire Carlsberg, 11, 1-46. * Winge, Ø. (1917) The chromosomes: their numbers and general importance. Comptes Rendus des Travaux du Laboratoire Carlsberg, 13, 131-275. Doctoral thesis. * Winge, Ø. (1928) Textbook in Genetics (Danish title: ). 2nd edn. 1937; 3rd end. 1945. København. * Winge Ø. (1931) X- and Y-linked inheritance in

Melandrium ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...

. Hereditas, 15, 127-165. * Winge, Ø. (1935) On haplophase and diplophase of some Saccharomycetes. Comptes Rendus des Travaux du Laboratoire Carlsberg. Série Physiologique, 21, 77-111. * Winge, Ø. (1950) Inheritance in dogs: with special reference to hunting breeds. Ithaca, New York. 153 p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winge, Ojvind 1886 births 1964 deaths Danish biologists Danish mycologists Danish geneticists University of Copenhagen alumni Carlsberg Laboratory staff Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences 20th-century biologists