Clayton Oscar Person, (May 16, 1922 – September 1, 1990) was recognized internationally as an authority on the genetics of host-parasite relations. He was born and raised in Aylesbury,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada and died in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada. His writings have made a major contribution to the development of a rigorous theoretical basis for our understanding of how the genetic structure of parasitic populations interacts with that of their host populations. This was known as the

gene-for-gene relationship The gene-for-gene relationship was discovered by Harold Henry Flor who was working with rust (''Melampsora lini'') of flax (''Linum usitatissimum''). Flor showed that the inheritance of both resistance in the host and parasite ability to cause dis ...

. His theoretical methods have been applied widely in the practical management of parasitic diseases in agriculture and forestry.

Biography

Education

After service overseas in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

from 1941-1945, he returned to enroll at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

where he was awarded Honours in Biology in 1950 and the MA in 1951. He studied for the Ph.D. at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

, then spent two post-doctoral years abroad — one at the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion John Innes Institute The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

in England.University of Saskatchewan Archives
/ref>

Career

Dr. Person was employed for several years (1956-1961) as Research Officer with

Agriculture Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC; sometimes Ag-Canada; french: Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada)''Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Agriculture ...

in its

Dominion Rust Research Laboratory The Cereal Research Centre was a research institute established in 1925 based at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. It became part of a national network of research centres operated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Its research led to the ...

, Winnipeg. He was then appointed as the first Head of the Department of Genetics at the

. In 1966 he joined the Department of Botany of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Dr. Person has served the Canadian scientific community in various capacities, including participation in the establishment of the Genetics Society of Canada and later as its president; as Chairman of the NSERC Committee for Plant Biology, and as a member of the Canadian National Committee for the International Union of Biological Science. His scholarly achievements have received wide recognition. He has been an Invited participant in numerous international symposia. In 1971 he was a visiting professor at

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultur ...

. In 1975 he served as consultant to the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(United Nations) on coffee diseases in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. He was an invited scholar at the Rockefeller Study and Conference Centre in Italy in 1982. Dr. Person is an acknowledged authority on the genetics of plant parasites. His major research contribution has been to clarify the genetic basis of microevolutionary change in host-parasite systems. His work constitutes a major contribution to modern theory of host-parasite interaction in plant populations. It has found important applications in plant breeding throughout the world.

Awards and recognitions

He was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

in 1970, and was designated Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society in 1981. He was awarded the British Columbia Science Secretariat Medal in 1981, the Flavelle Medal by the

and the Medal of the Genetics Society of Canada, both in 1982. He was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1986.

Publications

* ** Cited by Roane 1973 *

INIS INIS may refer to: *International Nuclear Information System *Iraqi National Intelligence Service *iNiS Corporation *Institut national de l'image et du son *Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service *INIS character set See also * * Innis (di ...

br>RN:2011909
** Also cited by Roane 1973 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Person, Clayton Oscar 1922 births 1990 deaths Canadian military personnel from Saskatchewan Scientists from Saskatchewan Canadian geneticists Canadian phytopathologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Order of Canada University of British Columbia faculty 20th-century Canadian botanists University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Alberta alumni Lund University alumni Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century agronomists