Joseph Smartt

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Joseph ("Joe") Smartt (born in West Ham, London, on 9 September 1931; died in Hedge End, South Hampshire, on 7 June 2013), was a British geneticist with major contributions to the knowledge of crop evolution, especially of grain legumes. [1] [2]

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

South Hampshire is a term used mainly to refer to the metropolitan area formed by the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton and their suburbs and commuter towns, in southern Hampshire, England. The area had population of around 1 million based on the 2001 census, and estimated population of over 1.5 million in 2013. It is the most populated part of South East England, excluding London. The area is sometimes referred to as Solent City but the term is controversial.

Contents

Education and early professional life

He received his primary education at the Forest Gate primary school. Smartt then completed a degree in botany from Durham University, graduating in 1952. [3] He was a member of Hatfield College. [4] He subsequently studied at Cambridge University (Christ's College) for a diploma in agricultural science. [5] Afterwards, he went to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), where he worked on groundnuts. He completed his PhD in the Department of Genetics at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in 1965. His thesis was on "Cross-compatibility relationships between the cultivated peanut Arachis hypogaea L. and other species of the genus Arachis ".

Durham University collegiate public research university in Durham, England, United Kingdom

Durham University is a collegiate public research university in Durham, North East England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1837. It was one of the first universities to commence tuition in England for more than 600 years, after Oxford and Cambridge, and is one of the institutions to be described as the third-oldest university in England. As a collegiate university its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and its 16 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide teaching to students, while the colleges are responsible for their domestic arrangements and welfare.

Christs College, Cambridge college of the University of Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as God's House. In 1505, the college was granted a new royal charter, was given a substantial endowment by Lady Margaret Beaufort, and changed its name to Christ's College, becoming the twelfth of the Cambridge colleges to be founded in its current form. The college is renowned for educating some of Cambridge's most famous alumni, including Charles Darwin and John Milton.

Northern Rhodesia protectorate in south central Africa in 1924–1964

Northern Rhodesia was a protectorate in south central Africa, formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. It was initially administered, as were the two earlier protectorates, by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a chartered company on behalf of the British Government. From 1924 it was administered by the British Government as a protectorate under similar conditions to other British-administered protectorates, and the special provisions required when it was administered by BSAC were terminated.

Professional life

He worked in plant breeding programs in Africa. After returning to England, he was employed by the Department of Botany of Southampton University from 1967 to 1996. Initially, he was a Lecturer in Genetics, while achieving the status of Reader in Biology in 1990. [6] Southampton University honoured Smartt by awarding him a Doctor of Science (DSc) in 1989 for his work on the genetics and evolution of crop plants. [7]

Smartt authored two books on grain legumes, edited a major volume on groundnuts, and was invited to co-edit a second edition of the important Evolution of Crop Plants with the late Professor Norman Simmonds. [8]

Bibliography (Selection)

On fish

Smartt, J. (2008). Goldfish Varieties and Genetics: Handbook for Breeders. John Wiley & Sons.

Smartt, J. (2007). A possible genetic basis for species replacement: preliminary results of interspecific hybridisation between native crucian carp Carassius carassius (L.) and introduced goldfish Carassius auratus (L.). Aquatic Invasions 2(1):59-62.

Smartt, J. & Bundell, J. H. (1996). Goldfish breeding and genetics. TFH.

On the evolution of crop plants and grain legumes

Books

Nwokolo, E. & Smartt, J. (Eds.). (1996). Food and feed from legumes and oilseeds. Chapman & Hall, London.

Simmonds, N. W. & Smartt, J. (1999). Principles of crop improvement, 2nd edn. Blackwell Science, Oxford.

Smartt, J. & Simmonds, N. W. (1995). Evolution of crop plants, 2nd edn. Longman Scientific & Technical.

Smartt, J. (1994). The groundnut crop: a scientific basis for improvement. Chapman & Hall Ltd.

Smartt, J. (1990). Grain legumes: evolution and genetic resources. Cambridge University Press.

Smartt, J. (1976). Tropical pulses. Longman Group Limited.

Smartt, J. (1965), Cross-compatibility relationships between the cultivated peanut Arachis hypogaea L. and other species of the genus Arachis. PhD thesis, North Carolina State University.

Scientific articles

Erskine, W., Smartt, J. & Muehlbauer, F. J. (1994). Mimicry of lentil and the domestication of common vetch and grass pea. Economic Botany 48(3):326-332.

Harder, D. K. & Smartt, J. (1992). Further evidence on the origin of the cultivated winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.(Fabaceae): Chromosome numbers and the presence of a host-specific fungus. Economic Botany 46(2):187-191.

Smartt, J. (1986). Evolution of grain legumes. VI. The future—the exploitation of evolutionary knowledge. Experimental Agriculture 22:39–58.

Smartt, J. (1985d). Evolution of grain legumes. V. The oilseeds. Experimental Agriculture 21:305–319.

Smartt, J. (1985c). Evolution of grain legumes. IV. Pulses in the genus Phaseolus. Experimental Agriculture 21:193–207.

Smartt, J. (1985b). Evolution of grain legumes. III. Pulses in the genus Vigna. Experimental Agriculture 21:87–100.

Smartt, J. (1985a). Evolution of grain legumes. II. Old and New World pulses of lesser economic importance. Experimental Agriculture 21:1–18.

Smartt, J. (1984). Evolution of grain legumes I. Mediterranean pulses. Experimental Agriculture 20:275–296.

Smartt, J. (1980). Some observations on the origin and evolution of the winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus). Euphytica 29(1):121-123.

Related Research Articles

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A bean is a seed of one of several genera of the flowering plant family Fabaceae, which are used for human or animal food.

Peanut A legume cultivated for its seeds

The peanut, also known as the groundnut, goober, or monkey nut (UK), and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to both small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, due to its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 44 million tonnes in 2016, led by China with 38% of the world total. Atypically among legume crop plants, peanut pods develop underground (geocarpy) rather than aboveground. With this characteristic in mind, the botanist Linnaeus named the species hypogaea, which means "under the earth."

Fabaceae family of plants

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References

  1. Obituary: Dr Joe Smartt Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine . by Practical Fishkeeping
  2. Dr Joe Smartt by Dr. Michael T. Jackson
  3. "The International Year of Pulses 2016: Remembering Dr. Joe Smartt | Plant Science Today". Plant Science Today. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. "Hatfield Association Annual General Meeting 2013" (PDF). Hatfield Association. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  5. "Christ's College Magazine 2013". Issuu. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. "Obituary: Dr Joe Smartt". Practical Fishkeeping. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. "Obituary: Dr Joe Smartt" . Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  8. "Obituary: Dr Joe Smartt" . Retrieved 15 April 2018.