In Honour of the 75th Birthday of Professor Wolfgang Barz

This issue of Planta Medica contains contributions dedicated to Professor Wolfgang Barz on the occasion of his 75th birthday, which was celebrated May 21, 2010.

Wolfgang Barz has been Director of the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Muenster, Germany and for many years Co-Editor and Editor of Planta Medica. He was born in Düsseldorf and studied chemistry in Munich and Freiburg, where he obtained his Diploma. Wolfgang Barz then joined the famous group of the late Prof. Grisebach in Freiburg as a PhD student and became attracted to the field of plant secondary products. After his PhD on biosynthesis of flavonoids and isoflavonoids in 1964, he received a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for post-doctoral research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, USA. Afterwards, he returned to the University of Freiburg, continued to work on biosynthesis and turnover of plant natural products, mostly on flavonoids, and received his Habilitation for his work on the biochemistry of plants in 1969. Wolfgang Barz was 37 years old when he was appointed full professor and attained the newly founded chair of plant biochemistry at the University of Muenster in 1972.

The first years in Muenster were dominated by intensive research on fundamental mechanisms in plant biochemistry, for example photosynthesis, pathogen defence, and growth and metabolic capacities of plant cell cultures. At the same time, Wolfgang Barz established plant biochemistry teaching at the University of Muenster and continuously widened the spectrum and the topics of this new and seminal field. His vivid interest in fundamental questions and practical applications of research achievements in plant biochemistry brought forward many cooperation programmes with colleagues all over the world. For example, a large project involving several research groups from Indonesia and Germany was conducted on “tempeh”, a fermented soybean product and traditional food in Indonesia. Collaboration in the development of plant cell culture techniques and the investigation of plant pathogen interactions founded a long-standing friendship with numerous Japanese researchers. As a consequence of his broad research and teaching activities, Wolfgang Barz expanded the chair of plant biochemistry into the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of Plants. Having developed a strong structural background and many scientific cooperation projects, Professor Barz received research funding from the German Research Foundation DFG, the Federal German Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology (BMBF), several other foundations, and from private companies. He authored about 250 scientific publications and contributed many of them to Planta Medica.

Plant natural products remained one of the major interests of Wolfgang Barz throughout his life as a researcher. The elucidation of biosynthetic pathways, storage, turnover, and effects on other organisms has always fascinated him. His enthusiasm has infected many students and young researchers. More than 50 PhD theses were supervised by Professor Barz, and several of his former PhD students have continued to do research in the field of plant biochemistry in private companies or in academia. Being a PhD student in his laboratory often meant to share this fascination already at half past seven in the morning, when Professor Barz began his days usually in a splendid mood and all fresh and energetic. Obviously he had spent the previous evening with intensive reading of the latest publications, and for PhD students it was advisable to have also read the current papers. He remembered exactly what he had read, and he read a lot, and he expected his co-workers to do the same. His huge collection of books and journal reprints together with his enormous memory are still admired by his colleagues and students. His PhD students responded to these enthusiastic encouragements in various ways, sometimes with a lot of imagination. It is one of the dominating character traits of Wolfgang Barz that he always took all tricks, surprises, and games played with him in good humour. He enjoys laughing and he likes jokes, even and without hesitation at his own expense.

Professor Wolfgang Barz is still a highly respected authority in the field of plant biochemistry, and we wish him all the best for his future, looking forward to further exciting contributions and fruitful discussions.

Birgit Dräger, Halle/Saale
Wolfgang Kreis, Erlangen