Sergei Winogradsky

Sergei Winogradsky
Born13 September 1856 (1856-09-13)
Kyiv, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire
Died24 February 1953 (1953-02-25) (aged 96)
Brie-Comte-Robert, France
Alma materSaint Petersburg Imperial University
Known forNitrogen cycle
Chemoautotrophy
Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria
AwardsLeeuwenhoek Medal (1935)
Fellow of the Royal Society[1]
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
InstitutionsSaint Petersburg Imperial University
University of Straßburg
Institute of Experimental Medicine
Pasteur Institute
Signature

Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky ForMemRS[1] (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Виноградский; Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Виноградський; 13 September [O.S. 1 September] 1856, Kyiv – 24 February 1953, Brie-Comte-Robert),[2] also published under the name Sergius Winogradsky,[3] was a Ukrainian and Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil scientist who pioneered the cycle-of-life concept.[4][5] Winogradsky discovered the first known form of lithotrophy during his research with Beggiatoa in 1887. He reported that Beggiatoa oxidized hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an energy source and formed intracellular sulfur droplets.[3] This research provided the first example of lithotrophy, but not autotrophy. Born in the capital of present-day Ukraine, his legacy is also celebrated by this nation.[6]

His research on nitrifying bacteria would report the first known form of chemoautotrophy, showing how a lithotroph fixes carbon dioxide (CO2) to make organic compounds.[7]

He is best known in school science as the inventor of the Winogradsky column technique for the study of sediment microbes.

  1. ^ a b Thornton, H. G. (1953). "Sergei Nicholaevitch Winogradsky. 1856-1953". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 8 (22): 635–644. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1953.0022. JSTOR 769234.
  2. ^ "Виноградський Сергій Миколайович". ukrainci.top (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  3. ^ a b Winogradsky, Sergius (1887). "Ueber Schwefelbacterien". Botanische Zeitung (45): 489–512.
  4. ^ Waksman, S. A. (1953). "Sergei Nikolaevitch Winogradsky: 1856-1953". Science. 118 (3054): 36–37. Bibcode:1953Sci...118...36W. doi:10.1126/science.118.3054.36. PMID 13076173.
  5. ^ Dworkin, M. (2012). Gutnick, David (ed.). "Sergei Winogradsky: A founder of modern microbiology and the first microbial ecologist". FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 36 (2): 364–379. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2011.00299.x. PMID 22092289.
  6. ^ Kryvyi, P. A.; Gumeniuk, G. L.; Bratchykova, Yu V. (2022-10-24). "Serhiy Winogradsky – a great Ukrainian". Infusion & Chemotherapy (3): 57–64. doi:10.32902/2663-0338-2022-3-57-64. ISSN 2709-0957. S2CID 253131734.
  7. ^ Dworkin, Martin; Falkow, Stanley (2006). The Prokaryotes: A Handbook on the Biology of Bacteria: Proteobacteria: Gamma Subclass (3rd ed.). Springer. p. 784. doi:10.1007/0-387-30746-X_27. ISBN 978-0-387-25496-8.