Frances Meehan Latterell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances Meehan Latterell
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Frances Meehan Latterell, from a 1967 publication of the United States Army
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| Born | December 21, 1920 Kansas City, Missouri
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| Died | November 5, 2008 |
| Occupation | Plant pathologist |
| Spouse(s) | Richard Latterell |
Frances Meehan Latterell (December 21, 1920 – November 5, 2008) was an American scientist who studied plant diseases. She was known as a plant pathologist. In the late 1940s, her research opened up a new way to understand how plants get sick.
In 1947, Frances Latterell and her professor published an important paper. They showed that a poison, called victorin, caused a disease in oats. This poison was made by a fungus named Helminthosporium victoriae. This discovery helped many scientists study plant diseases in new ways.
About Frances Latterell's Life
Frances Latterell was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a very good piano player when she was a child. She earned her college degrees from the University of Kansas City and Iowa State University.
During her career, she worked as a plant pathologist for the U.S. Army. She also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She did a lot of research on diseases that affect grains. This included diseases like gray leaf spot of corn and rice blast.
In 1987, she received an award for her long work. It was from the Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society. This award recognized her important contributions.
After she retired in 1996, she and her husband, Dr. Richard Latterell, worked to help animals. They also worked to protect the environment. They cared about issues like water pollution. They also worked to clean up old pollution in areas where they lived.
In 2005, the Latterells protected their farm forever. They put it under a special agreement called a conservation easement. This meant their land would stay farmland and natural space. Frances Latterell passed away from cancer on November 5, 2008.
How Toxins Cause Plant Disease
For a long time, scientists thought that poisons, or toxins, could make plants sick. But Frances Latterell's paper in 1947 gave the first real proof. Another scientist, H. H. Luke, also provided proof in 1955.
Latterell showed that the fungus made a toxin. This toxin caused the same sickness in oat plants that were usually affected by Victoria blight. But it did not harm oat plants that were resistant to the disease. Luke later showed that different types of the fungus made different amounts of toxin. These amounts matched how sick the oats became.
Frances Latterell was the only female scientist at a big meeting in 1963. This meeting was about "The Rice Blast Disease." It was organized by IRRI, a famous research center.
In 1973, Latterell and Luke both received the special Ruth Allen Award. This award is given for important work in plant pathology. The award recognized that their work helped guide much of the research on toxins in plant diseases. Their discovery of victorin alone led to over 100 research papers.
Their work also helped scientists find ways to test plants for disease resistance. It also helped identify different seeds. The Ruth Allen Award has been given since 1966. It honors scientists who make new discoveries that change plant pathology research. Frances Latterell also received the National Science Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
On August 17, 2010, Frances Latterell was honored again. She received a Lifetime Dedication to Rice Blast Research Award. This was given at the 5th International Rice Blast Conference.
The fungus that Latterell and Luke studied was first called Helminthosporium victoriae. Later, its name was changed to Bipolaris victoriae. Its sexual stage is called Cochliobolus victoriae.
Latterell's important paper was published in the journal Science in 1947. Its title was "Differential Phytotoxicity of Metabolic By-Products of Helminthosporium victoriae."
