The Prize Committee for Agriculture has unanimously decided that the Prize for 2001 be jointly awarded to
Roger N. Beachy
Danforth Plant Science Center
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
James E. Womack
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
for the use of recombinant DNA technology, to revolutionize plant (Beachy) and animal (Womack) sciences, paving the way for applications to neighboring fields.
Dr. Roger N. Beachy is a recognized expert in plant virology and biotechnology of plants, having established principles for the genetic engineering of plants, that make them resistant to viral diseases. He was the first one to demonstrate pathogen-derived resistance in plants and to produce the first disease-resistant transgenic plant. Dr. Beachy is undoubtedly in the forefront of the plant biotechnology revolution. Without him, and his work, this field would not be as developed as it is now. He was the first to show that, by transferring and expressing the coat protein gene of a virus in plants (coat protein-mediated resistance - CPMıR), these transgenic plants become resistant to viral infection. His discovery of the CPMR led to the development of virus-resistant varieties of potato, tomato, pepper, cucumber, squash, sugar beets, papaya and plum. Benefits to other crops will surely ensue. A large number of scientists from developing countries were trained under Dr. Beachy´s supervision, at the International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB). Professor Beachy´s recent appointment as head of a new plant science center in Saint Louis, speaks for his high standing in the scientific community.
The development, by Professor James E. Womack, of a whole genome cattle-hamster radiation hybrid (RH) panel, has fueled a new thrust in cattle genomics and comparative gene mapping. RH mapping has become an effective tool for building ordered maps of conserved sequences, derived from genes, thus integrating linkage and physical maps of mammalian chromosomes. The recent construction of a cattle-human whole-genome comparative map, on the basis of parallel RH mapping, will play a vital role in the genetic dissection of multigenic traits and the characterization of important agricultural loci.
Professor Womack has taken special interest in assisting the careers of young scientists, particularly those in developing countries. Many of his students have gone on to positions of international leadership in animal genomics. A whole new generation of scientists will use the chromosomal coordinates, provided by Womack,to positionally clone the genes affecting economically important traits in mammals.