Isaac-Bénédict Prévost (7 August 1755 – 8 June 1819) was a Swiss

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian and naturalist who was one of the first to identify fungal infection of plants and to find treatments to avoid them. Prévost was born in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

to Jean-Jacques Prévost and Marie-Élisabeth Henri. A cousin was the

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

Pierre Prévost. Little is known of his early life but he chose science to a career in business after apprenticing in a grocery. He became interested in science after reading the work of the astronomer Duc-la-Chapelle. In 1777, he became a private tutor to the sons of Delmas in

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

. He founded a society for science in Montauban. In 1807 he identified bunt on wheat as being caused by fungi and suggested that it could be controlled by treating the seeds with

copper sulphate Copper sulfate may refer to: * Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common compound used as a fungicide and herbicide * Copper(I) sulfate Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Cu2 SO4. It ...

. He published his findings in ''Mémoire sur la cause immédiate de la carie oú charbon desblés, et de plusieurs autres maladies des plantes, et sur les préservatifs de la carie'' (Paris, 1807). He made microscope observations on the germination of the spores of the fungus which was later called ''

Tilletia caries ''Tilletia caries'' (synonymous with ''Tilletia tritici'') is a basidiomycete that causes common bunt of wheat. The common names of this disease are stinking bunt of wheat and stinking smut of wheat. This pathogen infects wheat, rye, and various ...

''. He determined that the spores needed humidity but dismissed the idea that the disease itself was caused by climatic factors as was then believed. His work was however dismissed by scientists in higher positions such as . Despite this the farmers around Switzerland followed the method of seed treatment and found it effective. In 1810 he became professor of philosophy at the Faculte de Theologie Protestante, a position he obtained with a recommendation of

Marc-Auguste Pictet Marc-Auguste Pictet (; 23 July 1752 – 19 April 1825) was a Swiss scientific journalist and experimental natural philosopher. Pictet's main contribution to learning was his editing of the scientific section of the ''Bibliothèque Britanni ...

who wrote to

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

. In 1812 he received a doctorate in theology from the Toulouse Academy. Prevost became ill between 1803 and 1804 and died in 1819 in Montauban following "ataxic fever".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prévost, Isaac-Bénédict Phytopathologists 18th-century scientists from the Republic of Geneva 1755 births 1819 deaths Theologians from the Republic of Geneva