Jiří Neustupa:
Algology and protistology at the German University in Prague in the inter-war period, II. Ernst Georg Pringsheim and Institute for Plant Physiology

Abstract

The study focuses on the life and work of Ernst Georg Pringsheim and his co-workers Viktor Czurda and Felix Mainx at the German University in Prague. In the years 1923–1938 E. G. Pringsheim was the director of the Institute of Plant Physiology at the Faculty of Science. Present study recapitulates Pringsheim′s career and shows how his studies established cultivation of microalgae and protists as one of the main research tools in this field. Besides the studies on cultivation, the present study also deals with Pringsheim′s studies on vascular plant development and his views on evolution of microorganisms. Finally, the study analyses the research of V. Czurda, F. Mainx and E. G. Pringsheim focused on sexual phenomena in microorganisms, including their controversy with Max Hartmann concerning the nature and substance of sexual reproduction.

Language: czech

Keywords: Ernst Georg Pringsheim; Victor Czurda; Felix Mainx; German University in Prague; history of biology; algology