Boekhout, T.

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UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)Cletus P. Kurtzman 1938-2017Boekhout, T.Publication date2017Document VersionFinal published versionLink to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Boekhout, T. (Author). (2017). Cletus P. Kurtzman 1938-2017. Web publication or website,FEMS. https://fems-microbiology.org/cletus-p-kurtzman-1938-2017/General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:10 Mar 2023IN MEMORIAM CLETUS P KURZMAN 1938 - 2017https://fems-microbiology.org/cletus-p-kurtzman-1938-2017/[17-9-2018 14:35:46]Cletus P. Kurtzman 1938-2017 CLETUS P. KURTZMAN 1938-201711-12-2017  CARIANNE BUURMEIJERby Teun Boekhout, Utrecht, 6 December 2017The father of modern yeast taxonomy, Dr. Cletus Kurtzman, passed away Monday, November 272017, after a heart attack thus leaving the yeast biodiversity research community in shock.Clete worked for 50 years as a yeast researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-ARSlaboratory in Peoria, Illinois of which 29 years as a group leader, and he was internationally verymuch recognized for his pioneering contributions to the molecular phylogeny and – taxonomy ofyeasts, mainly belonging to Saccharomycotina.Clete was the first who recognized the power of comparative molecular phylogenetic studies andstarted studying this from the 1980s. Clete already in the early days of his scientific career used DNA-based methods, such as DNA-DNA reassociation studies and estimation of Mol. % guanine andcytosine in his studies. However, after the development of PCR he started to use nucleotidesequence information, particularly of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit of the ribosomal DNA,and implemented this information into the taxonomy of yeasts. In his work he assessed the amount ofnucleotide divergence at different taxonomic levels, including the species, and he revised thetaxonomy of ascomycetous yeasts with known sexual states. His contributions paved the road frommany other researchers who started to implement similar approaches in different yeasts, and, later,also filamentous fungi. Although he clearly saw the importance of such molecular studies, he wasalso aware of the need of more classical data on mode of reproduction and nutritional physiology.Clete also lectured and taught many courses on yeast diversity and taxonomy for young scientistsfrom many countries, e.g. Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and China, and served as an editor for eightHome LOGININ MEMORIAM CLETUS P KURZMAN 1938 - 2017https://fems-microbiology.org/cletus-p-kurtzman-1938-2017/[17-9-2018 14:35:46]scientific journals. He also (co-)edited the 4th and the 5th edition of The Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study,the widely used encyclopaedia on yeast diversity.Working at a USDA laboratory, applied features of yeasts, including applications in biotechnology andclinical diagnostics, had his interest as well. The mental flexibility of Clete became also clear as hewas still actively involved in the next technical breakthrough in yeast diversity, namely the use ofwhole genome data for a better understanding of yeast diversity, including functional aspects.Until the very last moment Clete has been a very active scientist highly interested in the future ofyeast taxonomy, including nomenclatural aspects, and he interacted with many scientists worldwide.He (co-)authored more than 350 scholarly publications that resulted in > 23,000 citations and ispresent in the ARS Science Hall of Fame since 2016. Clete was a fellow of the American Academy ofMicrobiology and in 2008 he was the first awardee of the Josef Adolf von Arx award given by theWesterdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He also served as the USArepresentative in the International Commission of Yeasts of the International Union of MicrobiologicalSocieties. In a recent interview he replied ‘Because I am still quite excited about my work with theyeasts, it is hard to think that I might do something else.’ Clearly indicating his passion for themicrobes he studied lifelong.On a personal note it has been a great pleasure to work as a postdoc in his laboratory in 1992, toenjoy his somewhat dry sense of humour when we met at meetings having a beer [or two], and hehas always been a family man, showing keen interest in the well-beings of (my) family members. Hewas very much worried about his wife Mary Ann as her health deteriorated during the last years, andhe was a proud father of his children and a great grandfather to his five grandchildren. He will bemissed by them and by us from the yeast research field. Clete has been an editor for FEMSYR fromthe beginning. As a token of appreciation the journal will publish an extensive overview of Clete’sscientific achievements in 2018, as well a number of reviews on the impact his work had on variousareas of yeast research.Reference: Boekhout, T. & Kurtzman, C.P. (2016) Interview with Cletus Kurtzman and TeunBoekhout. FEMS Yeast Res.16: fow097   Share this news    

Cletus P. Kurtzman 1938-2017

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Cletus P. Kurtzman 1938-2017

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