Sweden
January 6, 2021
It is with great regret we must inform that Udda Lundqvist, one of the pioneers of barley research and a beloved colleague at NordGen, has passed away at an age of 92. Udda spent her entire life developing a collection of barley mutants which is now an invaluable and unique part of NordGen’s seed collection and of great value to researchers worldwide. Up until the end, Udda was a bright and colorful personality who considered NordGen her second home.
Udda Lundqvist was born in Germany in 1928, as daughter to the renowned Austrian botanist and geneticist Fritz von Wettstein, who worked as a professor in Berlin. Her father died just before the end of World War II and since the family struggled finically, Udda and her brother were sent to Sweden. Udda ended up with a colleague of her father’s – Åke Gustavsson the renowned professor in genetics working at Svenska Utsädesföreningen (The Swedish Seed Association) in Svalöv, and became his research assistant.
Worked as a Plant Breeder
Udda Lundqvist was often the only woman at conventions and meetings discussing barley mutations. This picture of the “mutation group” at Svalöv was taken in the 1950’s.
This took place in a time when women weren’t welcome in higher academic studies at the universities. While her brother took his PhD and went on to become a professor at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in Copenhagen, Udda therefore continued her work as a barley breeder at Svenska Utsädesföreningen. In 1952, she married Arne Lundqvist who worked in the same field and later went on to become a professor in genetics at Lund University.
Renowned Worldwide
In her work, Udda induced mutations in barley by using radiation or chemical treatments. The new barley mutant lines that were created were used in plant breeding to develop new and better barley cultivars. Her work was renowned worldwide, and she was a very appreciated speaker at several international research conferences. Udda was also recognized for her work on several occasions, for example by the UN-organ IAEA and the Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. After the entire barley genome was sequenced in 2017, Udda’s work is increasingly important since the mutants provide a unique source of material for elucidating which genes control which traits in the barley. Udda’s collection of 10 000 barley mutants is part of NordGen’s seed collection and its associated data base. The barley mutants constitute a unique collection and is today being distributed to researchers worldwide by NordGen.
Heritage Preserved in Seeds
Udda always participated in the NordGen staff activities. Her work and her extensive social contacts was an important part of her life.
Udda Lundqvist lived for her work and her extensive social contacts and had no plans of retiring. Before the pandemic, she visited her office at NordGen in Alnarp every week where she continued updating the data base and take part in the colleagues’ discussions. Despite working mostly as a plant breeder, she published 145 scientific articles about her work, the latest only a couple of months before she passed. Her great achievements will now live on in the seeds she worked with which constitutes an important part of the research infrastructure vital for adapting our crops to future challenges.
Udda Lundqvist passed away after a period of sickness. She’s leaving her brother’s wife and their two children behind as well as her husband’s relatives.
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