Roland Douce (18 May 1939, in

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a commune in Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southea ...

, Val de Marne – 4 November 2018, in La Tronche, Isère) was a plant biologist and professor who, along with his students, created a world-renowned plant biology centre in Grenoble, France, focusing on the biology of

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it in ...

s and

mitochondria A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and Fungus, fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosi ...

and their roles in plant metabolism under normal or stressed physiological conditions.

University degrees

Secondary education at the Marcelin Berthelot high school and the Arsonval college in Saint-Maur, baccalaureate in experimental sciences, 1958. Graduate studies at the University of Paris, natural sciences degree, 1961, PhD thesis, University of Paris, 1970 "Structure, localization and metabolism of

diphosphatidylglycerol Phosphatidylglycerol is a glycerophospholipid found in pulmonary surfactant and in the plasma membrane where it directly activates lipid-gated ion channels. The general structure of phosphatidylglycerol consists of a L-glycerol 3-phosphate back ...

, or

cardiolipin Cardiolipin (IUPAC name 1,3-bis(''sn''-3’-phosphatidyl)-''sn''-glycerol) is an important component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it constitutes about 20% of the total lipid composition. It can also be found in the membranes of most ...

, in plants"(1)

Positions occupied

* Assistant, University of Paris, 1961, * Master's assistant, University of Paris, 1965. * Post Doctoral Fellow, 1970 to 1972, at the Johnson Research Foundation in Philadelphia (USA) in the group of Professor Walter D. Bonner Jr. * Research Assistant, 1972 to 1973 at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...

, University of California San Diego (USA) in the group of Professor

Andrew A. Benson Andrew Alm Benson (September 24, 1917 – January 16, 2015) was an American biologist and a professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego, until his retirement in 1989. He is known for his work in understanding the carbon ...

. * Professor University of Grenoble, 1973–2004, Professor Emeritus after 2004.

Administrative responsibilities

* Creator and head of the Laboratory of Cell and Plant Physiology, University of Grenoble, associated with

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

, CEA and INRA until 1991. * Scientific adviser at the CEA, 1979. * Scientific adviser at Rhône-Poulenc-Agrochimie, 1982. * Creator and head of the CNRS-Rhône-Poulenc-Agrochimie joint research unit, 1985–1997. * Head of the Plant Physiology Department at INRA, 1985–1990. * Director of research at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 1995–1998. * Director of the Jean-Pierre Ebel Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble, 2002–2005. In addition to these responsibilities, he participated in numerous scientific committees, including the national committee of the CNRS

Teaching activities

Roland Douce taught at all university levels. He was an outstanding, and passionate teacher. He had a profound impact on many of his students. He was a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France, 1992–2002.

Publications

Author of nearly 250 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals and numerous journal articles and book chapters. Main journals: Biochemical Journal (35), Journal of Biological Chemistry (27), European Journal of Biochemistry (20), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (12), Plant Physiology (50), Biochemistry (8), Biochimica Biophysica Acta (13), FEBS Letters (14), Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (13).

Areas of expertise

Cell and whole plant physiology, specialising in chloroplasts and mitochondria, cell metabolism, especially energy metabolism, amino acid and vitamin biosynthesis. Biochemistry, molecular biology and structural biology. Botany and ornithology.

Main discoveries

The first contribution of Roland Douce was the characterization of cardiolipin, the major lipid of the mitochondrial membrane of plants and animals, as phosphatidyl ethanolamine. He then considerably improved the methods of purification of chloroplasts and mitochondria, and obtained the first envelope preparations. He was the first to show that the chloroplast shell is the site of biosynthesis of galactolipids and in particular MGDG, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol. With his team, he characterized the lipid and protein components of the envelope of the

plastid The plastid (Greek: πλαστός; plastós: formed, molded – plural plastids) is a membrane-bound organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosy ...

s. He succeeded in separating the inner and outer shells. This work paved the way for a detailed analysis of the chloroplast, its envelopes and functions. Several of the envelope protein genes were cloned, including the MGDG synthase gene. Similar work was carried out on the mitochondria with the development of a purification method. It was thus be possible to carry out functional analysis, in particular of the proteins involved in photorespiration and the subunits of the glycine-decarboxylase complex. Chloroplasts and mitochondria are involved in the biosynthesis of several amino acids and vitamins. Roland Douce, in collaboration with industry, elucidated the biosynthesis pathways of several amino acids, and thus defined several potential targets for

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

molecules. Similarly, he elucidated the biosynthesis pathways of

biotin Biotin (or vitamin B7) is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. The name ''biotin'', bor ...

and tetrahydrofolic acid (vitamin B12). The last part of Roland Douce's work deals with plant metabolism, under normal physiological conditions, or under conditions of stress (nutrient deficiency, light or heat stress). In this work, he greatly contributed to promoting the use of nuclear magnetic resonance in plant physiology. Roland Douce was passionate about the mountains and he made a major contribution to renovating and developing the botanical garden of the Col du Lautaret, and to setting up a research laboratory there, associated with the University of Grenoble. He was the author or coordinator of several books or reports on plant mitochondria, the plant world, transgenic plants, and hypotheses on the origin of life. He also coordinated two volumes of the Advances in Botanical Research series on vitamin biosynthesis. Awards * 1982: Silver medal from the National Centre for Scientific Research (

) * 1990: Correspondent of the Academie des Sciences, Paris * 1992-2002: Senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) * 1996: Member of the Academie des Sciences, Paris, Integrative Biology Section * 1995: Foreign Correspondent Award of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) * 1997: Member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(USA) * 2001: Elected Senior Scientist at Oxford University, United Kingdom. * 2003: Officier of the Ordre national du Mérite * 2009: Officier of the

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

, France * 2009: Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) * 2013: Lifetime Achievement Award for Photosynthesis of the Rebeiz Foundation, USA * 2015: Commandeur of the Ordre national du Mérite, France

Personal life

He was married with one daughter, Emmanuelle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douce, Roland 1939 births 2018 deaths 20th-century French botanists 21st-century French botanists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Scripps Institution of Oceanography faculty Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite