Brian Charles Sutton (born 1938 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, UK) is a British botanist, phytopathologist, mycologist, known as one of the world's leading experts in

coelomycete Coelomycetes are a form-class of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as Fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. These are conidial fungi where the conidia form in a growing cavity in the host's tissue. The fruiting stru ...

classification. He was the president of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Field ...

for the academic year 1985–1986.

Biography

Sutton graduated in 1959 with a B.Sc. in botany from the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, which was part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(until July 2007). In August 1959 he was appointed Assistant Mycologist at Kew's Commonwealth Mycological Institute (renamed in 1986 the

International Mycological Institute The International Mycological Institute was a non-profit organisation, based in England, that undertook research and disseminated information on fungi, particularly plant pathogenic species causing crop diseases. It was established as the Imperial ...

and in 1998 merged into

CAB International CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and the c ...

). There his mentors were Edmund William Mason (1890–1975), Frederick Claude Deighton (1903–1992), and Martin Beazor Ellis (1911–1996). His superiors offered Sutton the choice of specialty as either

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...

s or coelomycetes. He chose the latter and was registered at Imperial College London for a Ph.D. on the genus ''

Colletotrichum ''Colletotrichum'' (sexual stage: ''Glomerella'') is a genus of fungi that are symbionts to plants as endophytes (living within the plant) or phytopathogens. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens, but some species may have a mutu ...

''. In 1964 he completed his doctorate in mycology and phytopathology. He was employed at the mycological institute for his entire career, with a long sabbatical leave from 1965 to 1969 working as a research scientist in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

for Canada's Department of Forestry and a sabbatical year in 1986 in Australia. At the International Institute of Mycology, Sutton was appointed in 1976 Principal Mycologist and in 1990 Deputy Director. In 1995, partly out of concern for his wife's failing eyesight, he took early retirement from the institute. His 696-page book ''The Coelomycetes'' (Commonwealth Mycological Institute, 1980) is an important reference, which was a major advance for coelomycete identification. He served as an editor for the ''Transactions of the British Mycological Society''. The

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

has some of the specimens collected by Sutton.

Selected publications

Articles

* See (''

Pyrenopeziza brassicae ''Pyrenopeziza brassicae'' is a plant pathogen infecting Brassicaceae (formerly known as Cruciferae). References External links Index FungorumUSDA ARS Fungal Database Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Dermateaceae Fungi described ...

'' and ''

Brassica napus Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

''.) * (See

phialide The phialide ( ; el, phialis, diminutive of phiale, a broad, flat vessel) is a flask-shaped projection from the vesicle (dilated part of the top of conidiophore) of certain fungi. It projects from the mycelium without increasing in length unless ...

.) * (''Hendersonula toruloidea'' is a synonym for ''

Neoscytalidium dimidiatum ''Neoscytalidium dimidiatum'' was first described in 1933 as ''Hendersonula toruloidea'' from diseased orchard trees in Egypt. Decades later, it was determined to be a causative agent of human dermatomycosis-like infections and foot infections pr ...

''.) * (See ''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...

''.) * (See ''

Dryas octopetala ''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithet ...

''.) * (See ''

Manilkara bidentata ''Manilkara bidentata'' is a species of ''Manilkara'' native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Common names include bulletwood, balatá, ausubo, massaranduba, quinilla, and (ambiguously) " cow-tree". D ...

''.) * * * (See

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

Books and monographs

* (See

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

. The genus ''Harknessia'' is named in honor of H. W. Harkness.) * *
abstract
* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Brian Charles 1938 births Living people Alumni of Imperial College London British botanists British mycologists British phytopathologists Presidents of the British Mycological Society

Biography

See also

Selected publications

Articles

Books and monographs

References