Steven E. Lindow
{{short description|American plant pathologist}}
{{infobox scientist
| name = Steven E. Lindow
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1951}}
| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, United States
| death_date =
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| education = {{hlist|Oregon State University|University of Wisconsin}}
| workplaces = University of California, Berkeley
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Steven Earl Lindow (born 1951) is an American plant pathologist. He has researched the application of transgenic bacteria to prevent frost damage in crops as well as using bacteria to prevent russeting of fruit. He is a member of several scientific societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, and has been co-editor of the Annual Review of Phytopathology from 2015-2023.
Early life and education
Steven Earl Lindow was born in 1951 in Portland, Oregon.{{cite web|url=https://www.apsnet.org/publications/phytopathology/backissues/Documents/1988Articles/phyto78n01_48.pdf| website=American Phytopathological Society| title=Ruth Allen Award| access-date=7 December 2020}} His father had a farm where he grew wheat and clover seed. As a thirteen-year-old, he planted four acres of strawberries and boysenberries on the farm, but the crops died from frost damage. This would later influence his decision to research frost damage in crops, leading to the creation of ice-minus bacteria.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64806365/revolution-steven-lindow/| title=The green gene revolution| first=Stephen| last=Magagnini| work=The Sacramento Bee| location=Sacramento, California}} He attended Oregon State University for his bachelor's degree and the University of Wisconsin for his PhD, graduating in 1977.{{cite web|url=https://www.apsnet.org/members/give-awards/awards/AwardofDistinction/Pages/StevenLindow.aspx| title=Steven Lindow| website=American Phytopathological Society}} His PhD research was on the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, a species of bacteria that produces proteins that raise the temperature at which plants experience frost damage.
Career
In 1978 he began working at the University of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor; he was promoted to associate professor in 1983. At Berkeley, he continued his work on the bacteria P. syringae; he and his colleagues created a transgenic form of the bacteria that lacked the gene to produce the protein that initiated ice formation at higher temperatures. The commercial strain was called "Frostban"; its initial testing in 1987 marked the first authorized outdoor testing of genetically engineered bacteria.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/03787b4f9ea5da5508d09e067bbd01a7| title=Scientists Test Ice-Minus Bacteria in Potato Plot| date=29 April 1987| access-date=7 December 2020| work=Associated Press}} Along with Deane Arny, Lindow holds several patents related to biocontrol agents to reduce frost damage in plants.
Lindow's research also explored the mechanism by which bacteria becomes resistant to copper, which is used as an antimicrobial. He also researched russeting in fruit, discovering that it is caused by the secretion of indole acetic acid by bacteria, and could be mitigated by spraying flowering plants with bacteria that competitively excludes the bacteria that causes russeting. From 2015-2023, he has been a co-editor of the Annual Review of Phytopathology, for most of that time with Jan E. Leach.{{cite web|url=https://www.isppweb.org/Leach%20cv%202017.pdf| title=Jan E. Leach| website=International Society for Plant Pathology| year=2017| access-date=7 December 2020}}
Awards and honors
In 1985, he was awarded the William O. Baker Award for Initiatives in Research for his work on ice-minus bacteria.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/initiatives-in-research.html| title=William O. Baker Award for Initiatives in Research| access-date=7 December 2020| website=National Academy of Sciences}}
He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1999.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/3008597.html| title=Steven Lindow| website=National Academy of Sciences| access-date=4 December 2020}} He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, American Phytopathological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
References
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Category:Scientists from Portland, Oregon
Category:Oregon State University alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty
Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences