Deborah Pierson Delmer is an American plant pathologist, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

. She was one of the first scientists to discover the enzymes and biochemical mechanisms for

tryptophan Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromatic ...

synthesis. Delmer became president of the

American Society of Plant Biologists American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(ASPB) as of 1999. Delmer was awarded the 2011 ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award and the 2003 Anselme Payen Award.

Career

Delmer earned a degree in biochemistry with departmental honors at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. Next she attended the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

, where she identified the pathway of tryptophan biosynthesis in plants, an area that others had not studied. She used ''

Nicotiana tabacum ''Nicotiana tabacum'', or cultivated tobacco, is an Annual plant, annually grown herbaceous plant of the ''Nicotiana'' genus. The plant is tropical in origin, is commonly grown throughout the world, and is often found in Cultivation of tobacco, ...

'' as a model. She received her

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. in cellular biology in 1968. Delmer then did postdoctoral work with Peter Albersheim at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

. She successfully purified the enzyme sucrose synthase and studied its role in synthesizing and degrading sucrose. She also did postdoctoral work at UCSD with biologist Stanley Eli Mills. In 1974 Delmer became a professor at the Plant Research Laboratory of Michigan State University in

East Lansing, MI East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. She began to study the mechanisms by which plants polymerize

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...

molecules and synthesize

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell w ...

for their cell walls, using cotton fiber as a model system. An important discovery was demonstrating that both plants and animals use lipids as an intermediate step in protein glycosylation. As of 1987 Delmer accepted a faculty position at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Using a combination of approaches from molecular biology and genetics, Delmer and her collaborators developed a cDNA library and were the first to identify a plant gene involved in the synthesis of cellulose. As of 1997, Delmer returned to the United States, where she became chair of the Section of

Plant Biology Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

at the

. One of her research experiments there determined that sterylglucoside is a primer for the initiation of cellulose synthesis and the creation of a new cellulose chain. In 2002, Delmer became a Director of the Rockefeller Foundation. Her work there has focused primarily on agricultural development in Africa. She has emphasized the need for plant biology to become a

translational science Translational research (also called translation research, translational science, or, when the context is clear, simply translation) is research aimed at translating (converting) results in basic research into results that directly benefit humans. ...

. She encourages scientists to address in-the-field problems faced by farmers, such as falling rates of crop production under conditions of stress and low inputs. Delmer sits on the board of

The American Chestnut Foundation The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a nonprofit United States, American organization dedicated to breeding a chestnut blight, blight-resistant American chestnut, American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') tree and the reintroduction of thi ...

. She served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the ''

Annual Review of Plant Biology ''Annual Review of Plant Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. It was first published in 1950 as the ''Annual Review of Plant Physiology''. Sabeeha Merchant has been the editor since 2005, making her the lo ...

'' from 2002-2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delmer, Deborah Living people Indiana University alumni University of California, San Diego alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American women botanists American phytopathologists Women phytopathologists 20th-century American botanists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American botanists 21st-century American women scientists University of Colorado alumni Michigan State University faculty Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem University of California, Davis faculty American women academics Annual Reviews (publisher) editors