Friedrich (or Friederich) Wilhelm Zopf (12 December 1846 – 24 June 1909) was a well-known German
botanist
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 ...
and
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...
. He dedicated to his whole life with fungal biology, particularly in classification of fungi and dye production in fungi and lichens. Besides, his textbook on fungi called “Die pilze in morphologischer, physiologischer, biologischer und systematischer beziehung (Translation: The mushrooms in morphological, physiological, biological and systematic relationship)” in 1890 was also an outstanding work on the subject for many decades. The unicellular achlorophic
microalgae
Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...
''
Prototheca zopfii
''Prototheca zopfii'' is aerobic, unicellular, yeast-like, achlorophyllic (without chlorophyll) microalga.
Distribution
''Prototheca zopfii'' is opportunistic, environmental pathogen and ubiquitous in nature. This alga is mainly associated wi ...
'' is named after him because of his profound suggestions and contributions to Krüger's pioneering work in ''
Prototheca
''Prototheca'' is a genus of algae in the family Chlorellaceae. All the species within this genus, even though classified as green algae, have forfeited their photosynthetic ability and have switched to parasitism. Some species can cause the dise ...
''. Thus, his numerous contributions gave him a special status in mycological history.
Early life
Wilhelm Zopf was born in
Roßleben
Roßleben is a town and a former municipality in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, with a population of 4,885 (2017). It is located in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Roßleben-Wiehe. It is situated on the river Unstr ...
in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
in 1846. Before going into biological science area, he has been an elementary school teacher in Thondorf at
Mansfeld
Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...
when he was 21-year-old.
Education and research career
In 1874, Wilhelm Zopf decided to leave his teaching position and turned into studying natural sciences at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
.
Also in 1874,
Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst
Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst (22 March 1806 – 24 April 24) was a German botanist and mycologist.
Biography
Rabenhorst was born in Treuenbrietzen. He studied in Berlin and Belzig from 1822 to 1830, worked as a pharmacist in Luckau until 1840, and r ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
in the family Zopfiaceae and was named after Wilhelm Zopf.
He then received his PhD with a dissertation entitled “Die von Conidienfrüchte von Fumago (Translation: Conidia of ''
Fumago
''Fumago'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Capnodiaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Europe and Northern America.
Species:
* '' Fumago crustacea''
* '' Fumago donatiae''
* '' Fumago fungicola''
* '' Fumago graminis'' ...
'')” at the University of Halle in 1878.
As Wilhelm Zopf obtained his degree, simultaneously, he also went back to Berlin as an adjunct professor teaching at the Agricultural College for a few years. In 1883, he was invited to be a head of the cryptogamic laboratory at the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
. In the period of 1883 to 1899, he made extensive studies on
Chytridiales
Fungi of the order Chytridiales, like other members of its division, may either have a monocentric thallus or a polycentric rhizomycelium. When the ribosomal genes of members classified in this order were first examined using molecular techniqu ...
and other small aquatic fungi parasitic in algae and small animals. Likewise, he also published an authoritative fungal textbook in which he followed a classification similar in part to that of
Julius Oscar Brefeld
Julius Oscar Brefeld (19 August 1839 – 12 January 1925), usually just Oscar Brefeld, was a German botanist and mycologist.
Biography
Brefeld was a native of Telgte. He studied pharmacy in Heidelberg and Berlin, and afterwards served as an a ...
but placed
Ascomycetes
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defi ...
last in 1890. In this group, he made them went from the simple forms, like ''
Saccharomyces
''Saccharomyces'' is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. ''Saccharomyces'' is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means ''sugar fungus''. Many members of this genus are considered very important in f ...
'', ''
Endomyces
''Endomyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Dipodascaceae
The Dipodascaceae are a family (biology), family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains four Genus, genera; howeve ...
'', ''
Gymnoascaceae
The Gymnoascaceae are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota, class Eurotiomycetes
Eurotiomycetes is a large class of ascomycetes with cleistothecial ascocarps within the subphylum Pezizomycotina, currently containing around 3810 species accordi ...
'', to
Pezizales
The Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white tr ...
. In addition, he recognized the formation of ascogonia in many ascomycetes and even the union of these in
Pyronema
''Pyronema'' is a genus of fungi in the family Pyronemataceae. It was circumscribed by German naturalist Carl Gustav Carus
Carl Gustav Carus (3 January 1789 – 28 July 1869) was a German physiologist and painter, born in Leipzig, who played ...
, with club-shaped “ pollinodia”, but expressed doubt as to their real sexual function.
In 1884,
Heinrich Georg Winter
Heinrich Georg Winter (1 October 1848, Leipzig – 16 August 1887) was a German mycologist.
Beginning in 1870, he studied natural sciences at the Universities of Leipzig, Munich and Halle, obtaining his habilitation in 1875 from the Polytec ...
published ''
Zopfiella
''Zopfiella'' is a genus of fungi within the Lasiosphaeriaceae family.
The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by Heinrich Georg Winter in Rabenh. Krypt.-Fl. ed.2, vol.1 (2) on page 56 in 1884.
The genus name of ''Zopfiella'' is ...
'' which is a genus of fungi within the
Lasiosphaeriaceae
The Lasiosphaeriaceae are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes.
Genera
*'' Anopodium''
*'' Apiosordaria''
*'' Apodospora''
*''Apodus''
*'' Arecacicola''
*'' Arniella''
*'' Arnium''
*'' Bombardia''
*'' Bombardioidea''
*'' C ...
family and also named in Zopf's honour.
In 1899, Wilhelm Zopf became a professor and a director of the botanical garden at the
University of Münster
The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over ...
. He continued the research on fungal biology and systematics. During his work on fungal biology, he became more interested in secondary chemistry of these organisms, particularly the lichens. He published on more general problems related to lichen biology, particularly in the genus
Cladonia
''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...
. He died in Münster in 1909, and his name was further commemorated by
Edvard Vainio
Edvard August Vainio (born Edvard Lang; 5 August 185314 May 1929) was a Finnish lichenologist. His early works on the lichens of Lapland, his three-volume monograph on the lichen genus ''Cladonia'', and, in particular, his study of the cla ...
in the naming of '' Cladonia zopfii'' (a species of lichen) in 1919.
Lastly,
Wilhelm Kirschstein Wilhelm Kirschstein (2 October 1863 - 1946 in Groß Behnitz bei Nauen) was a German schoolteacher and mycologist.
During his career, he taught classes in Rathenow and Berlin-Pankow.nematode-trapping fungus have been known since 1839, its predatory habit was first observed by Wilhelm Zopf as well. This recorded observation of ''
Arthrobotrys oligospora
''Arthrobotrys oligospora'' was discovered in Europe in 1850 by Georg Fresenius. ''A. oligospora'' is the model organism for interactions between fungi and nematodes. It is the most common nematode-capturing fungus, and most widespread nematode ...
''’s behavior was attributed to him in 1888. This kind of fungi actively captures small worms, generally classified as
nematode
The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...
s or roundworms.
Selected publications
* Zopf, W. 1890: Die pilze in morphologischer, physiologischer, biologischer und systematischer Beziehung. Jena: E. Trewendt. 500 pp.
* Zopf, W. 1897: Zur Kenntniss der Flechtenstoffe (Vierte Mittheilung). Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 297: 271–312.
* Zopf, W. 1905: Biologische und morphologische Beobachtungen an Flechten. I. Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft 23: 497–504.
* Zopf, W. 1906: Biologische und morphologische Beobachtungen an Flechten. II. 1. Über ''Ramalina kullensis'' n. sp. Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft 24: 574 –580.
* Zopf, W. 1907: Die Flechtenstoffe in chemischer, botanischer, pharmakologischer und technischer Beziehung. Jena: G. Fischer. 450 pp.
* Zopf, W. 1908: Beiträge zu einer chemischen Monographie der Cladoniaceen. Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft 26: 51–113.