Zinaida Vissarionovna Yermolyeva (; – 2 December 1974) was a Soviet

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

of Don Cossack origin most notable for producing

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

for the Soviet military during World War II. She was a member of the

USSR Academy of Medical Sciences The USSR Academy of Medical Sciences () was the highest scientific and medical organization founded in the Soviet Union founded in 1944. Its successor is the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences founded in 1992, and is a part of the Russian Academy ...

at the time of her death.

Career

In 1921, Yermolyeva graduated from the medical faculty of Donskoy University. From 1925 on, she acted as the head of several

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

institutes in Moscow. In 1925, Yermolyeva was appointed head of the Department of Microbial Biochemistry at the USSR Academy of Sciences. There, she began her research on

bacteriophage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a phage (), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. The term is derived . Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that Capsid, encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structu ...

s and naturally-occurring antimicrobial agents—

lysozyme Lysozyme (, muramidase, ''N''-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase; systematic name peptidoglycan ''N''-acetylmuramoylhydrolase) is an antimicrobial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the innate immune system. It is a glycoside hydrolase ...

in particular. During the Second World War, she and Tamara Balezina isolated a penicillin-producing strain of ''

Penicillium crustosum ''Penicillium crustosum'' is a blue-green or blue-grey mold that can cause food spoilage, particularly of protein-rich foods such as meats and cheeses. It is identified by its complex biseriate conidiophores on which phialides produce asexual sp ...

''. It was first used in Soviet hospitals in 1943. In 1942, she published the results of an experiment performed on herself, where she infected herself by drinking a solution of ''

Vibrio cholerae ''Vibrio cholerae'' is a species of Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative, Facultative anaerobic organism, facultative anaerobe and Vibrio, comma-shaped bacteria. The bacteria naturally live in Brackish water, brackish or saltwater where they att ...

'' and recovered after treatment. The results of her research were seen as essential in preventative measures against

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in Russia's war efforts in the

Eastern Front of World War II The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Al ...

. In 1947, Yermolyeva became the director of the newly formed Institute of Antibiotics of the USSR Ministry of Public Health. From 1952 until her death, she headed the Department of Microbiology of the Central Post-Graduate Medical Institute in Moscow (now the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education). Yermolyeva was married to the microbiologist

Lev Zilber Lev Aleksandrovich Zilber (; March 27 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. March 15 1894 – November 10, 1966) was a Soviet Microbiologist, micro-biologist, Virology, virologist, and Immunology, immunologist; academician of the USSR Academy ...

, whose brother, the novelist

Veniamin Kaverin Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin (; Вениами́н А́белевич Зи́льбер (Veniamin Abelevich Zilber); – May 2, 1989) was a Soviet and Russian writer, dramatist and screenwriter associated with the early 1920s movement of th ...

used the career of Yermolyeva and her husband as a basis for a fictionalized account in his trilogy ''Open Book'' (1949–56). The "lively and realistic" depiction of Tatiana, the character based on Yermolyeva, popularized microbiology as a possible career among girls in the Soviet Union.

Awards and recognition

* Stalin Prize (1943) * Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Scientific interests

Antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

s *

Bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

s * Biologically active substances from animal tissues *

Interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten ...

Chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

of infection

Scientific writing

Ermolieva was the author of more than 500 papers, several books, such as "Penicillin", "Antibiotics, Bacterial Polysaccharides, Interferon" and others. She was the founder and chief editor of the Soviet journal "Antibiotiki" ("Antibiotics").

Tribute

On 24 October 2018, Yermolyeva was celebrated with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

for her achievements.

References

1898 births 1974 deaths People from Don Host Oblast Academicians of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Employees of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology Southern Federal University alumni Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian biologists Russian microbiologists Russian women scientists Soviet microbiologists Soviet virologists Soviet women biologists Soviet women physicians Soviet women scientists Women microbiologists Russian scientists {{Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology