Collection CAY - Dorothy M Cayley

Extent: 1 folder, 1 book

Book: Journal of Genetics, Vol. XIII., 1923, W Bateson and R C Punnett (eds), Cambridge University Press. Containing an article by Dorothy M Caley, 'The Phenomenon of Mutual Aversion Between Mono-Spore Mycella of the Same fungus (Diaporthe Perniciosa Marchal). With a Discussion of Sex-Heterothallism in Fungi', pp 353-370. Charts I and II are loose (in folder).

Admin History: Dorothy Mary Cayley (1874-1955) was a British mycologist, best known for discovering "Tulip breaking" was caused by a virus. She studied at University London and Reading gaining a first class in the Royal Horticultural Society Examination and was appointed as the superintendent of the gardens that belonged to the Botanical Department at Reading. In 1910 Cayley volunteered at the John Innes Horticultural Institute in Merton and was offered a minor studentship by William Bateson in 1911. Cayley started investigating the phenomenon of "Tulip Breaking" - the formation of feather-like patterns on tulip petals. Through bulb-grafting experiments, she found that "Tulip Breaking" could be transferred from one plant to another, rather than being genetic in nature. She concluded that the infectious agent was a virus as the filtrate of an infected bulb did not cause "breaking", and that the virus was probably spread by aphids. Cayley was also interested in other microbes. She worked on the diseases of peas and fruit, including the life history of the fungus that caused apple 'die-back'. She studied the growth and development of slime moulds. She improved understanding of sexual reproduction in the fungi. She also investigated mushroom compost. She was a founding member of the Genetics Society in 1919 and the vice president of the British Mycological Society in 1939. Cayley became deputy director of the JIHI in 1928 and retired in 1938.