Dorothea De Winton (1891–1982) was a

plant scientist Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), 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 ...

and one of the first female geneticists. She worked at the John Innes Horticultural Institution (now the John Innes Centre) for over 20 years.

Life

De Winton worked as a professional gardener from 1916 until 1919, before approaching

William Bateson William Bateson (8 August 1861 – 8 February 1926) was an English biologist who was the first person to use the term genetics to describe the study of heredity, and the chief populariser of the ideas of Gregor Mendel following their rediscover ...

with an interest in studying plants in a more scientific manner. She thus became one of the 'Bateson Ladies' at the John Innes Horticultural Institution in 1920, joining Caroline Pellew,

Dorothy Cayley Dorothy Mary Cayley (1874–1955) was a mycologist who discovered in 1927 that " Tulip breaking" is due to a virus. Early life and education Cayley was born in Sri Lanka in 1874, where her father, Sir Richard Cayley, was the 14th Chief Justic ...

, Alice Gairdner, Aslaug Sverdrup and Irma Andersson in the so-called 'Ladies Lab'. From 1920 until 1926, De Winton worked with Bateson on Chinese primrose (''Primula sinensis''), continuing the work of Reginald Gregory. During this time period, in 1923, she co-authored 'Genetics of ''Primula sinensis''', describing

linkage Linkage may refer to: * ''Linkage'' (album), by J-pop singer Mami Kawada, released in 2010 *Linkage (graph theory), the maximum min-degree of any of its subgraphs *Linkage (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * Linkage (hierarchical cluster ...

studies for numerous traits in ''Primula sinensis''. While in the 'Ladies Lab', De Winton also worked on

genetic linkage Genetic linkage is the tendency of DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction. Two genetic markers that are physically near to each other are unlikely to be separ ...

in Pisum with Caroline Pellew, and the two women presented their studies at the

International Congress of Genetics The International Congress of Genetics (ICG) is a five yearly conference for geneticists. The first ICG was held in 1898. Since 1973 It has been organized by the International Genetics Federation (IGF). The aim of the congress is to reflect on prog ...

in Berlin in 1927. Heredity in Primula Sinensis Wellcome L0067073

From 1927, De Winton worked closely with the geneticist

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-Indian scientist who worked in physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With innovative use of statistics in biolog ...

. She continued her work on ''Primula'', resulting in the discovery of 20 new mutants and further publications on primrose genetics. In 1929, De Winton was officially named a geneticist at the John Innes Horticultural Institution. In 1932 De Winton published a book on her work titled 'Leaf and Bract Forms of Primula Sinensis and their Inheritance', following that with 'The Genetics of Primula sinensis: IV. Indications as to the Ontogenetic Relationship of Leaf and Inflorescence' with Edgar Anderson in 1935. She also published a study on self-sterility and self-fertility in

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

with Anderson in 1931. De Winton left the John Innes Horticultural Institution in 1941, following the appointment of

Cyril Darlington Cyril Dean Darlington (19 December 1903 – 26 March 1981) was an English biologist, cytologist, geneticist and eugenicist, who discovered the mechanics of chromosomal crossover, its role in inheritance, and therefore its importance to evolutio ...

as the director of the institute in 1939. Changes made by Darlington resulted in a reduction in her pay which she found unacceptable, resulting in her resignation (together with Caroline Pellew). Following this, De Winton worked at Messrs Ballard in Worcestershire as a plant breeder. Dorothea De Winton died in 1982. In 2019, the Dorothea De Winton Field Station was opened at the John Innes Centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Winton, Dorothea 1891 births 1982 deaths British women biologists British geneticists British horticulturists