Robert Bauer (1950 – 8 September 2014) was a German

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 ...

, specialising in rust ( Uredinales) and smut ( Ustilaginomycetes) fungi. Bauer studied Biology at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

during the 1970s, and a particular interest in plants and fungi led to completing his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

there in 1983, with a doctoral dissertation entitled ' (''Experimental-ontogenetic and karyological studies on Uredinales''). He went on to become chair of "Systematic Botany and Mycology" (now "Evolutionary Ecology of Plants") in the "Institute of Evolution and Ecology" at Tübingen. He became adept in the use of

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

s and the prerequisite specialised cutting and preparation techniques at a time when ultrastructural study of fungi was still in its infancy. He became known for detailed work on mycoparasitic fungi and the

smut fungi The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (phylum ...

in particular. He was able to use ultrastructural evidence to postulate

phylogenies A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

in this group before molecular techniques were developed. Subsequent molecular studies aligned with his hypotheses. Bauer produced over 100 publications during his career, during which time he was also strongly involved in teaching, the university's botanic garden and overseeing specialist internships in electron-microscopy. In 1999, he and Vánky, Begerow & Oberwinkler (fellow botanists),

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

in the journal Mycologia, ''

Melaniellaceae The Melaniellaceae are a family of fungi in the division Basidiomycota and order of Doassansiales. The family contains 1 genera and 2 species. They have a distribution in south and south-east Asia. History In 1999, mycologists using rRNA gene se ...

'' which is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of smut fungi in the division

Basidiomycota Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

. Also in 1999 and in the journal Mycotaxon, Vánky published ''

Bauerago ''Bauerago'' is a genus of fungi found in the family Microbotryaceae. It contained 9 species before being reduced to 5 species. The genus name of ''Bauerago'' is in honour of Robert Bauer (1950–2014), who was a German mycologist, specialising i ...

'' and named in his honour. Bauer died, aged 64, on 8 September 2014 in

Neckartailfingen Neckartailfingen is a municipality in Germany, located approximately south of Stuttgart. It is located on the river Neckar. History Neckartailfingen was first mentioned in 1090 in the Hirsau codex (Codex Hirsaugiensis) as ''Tagelvingen''. ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Robert 1950 births Date of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 2014 deaths German mycologists University of Tübingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Tübingen

See also

References