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David A. Jones, M.A., D. Phil.
Emeritus Professor of Botany
Biography
I was born in Surrey, England of Welsh-speaking parents. My father read French at University College, Cardiff, captained the University at soccer and played as an amateur for two professional clubs in the Football League. Fully qualified, he started high school teaching before his 21st birthday and thirteen years later became the youngest headmaster of a secondary grammar school (students aged 11 - 18) in the UK. My mother was trained as a junior school teacher, specializing in biology. Later she had great success teaching 14-year-olds to read.
For seven years I lived in Mickleham, a village between Dorking and Leatherhead. I attended a boarding school in Leatherhead as a dayboy. The flora of the area is outstanding and I spent much of my spare time wandering around the countryside. At Cambridge, I read Botany, Zoology, Organic Chemistry, and Mathematics. At this stage my progress was by no means distinguished. I was playing rugby football, I rowed ( I have an oar won in bumping races) and was involved in track and field as well as social activities. I spent much time wandering round the Cambridgeshire countryside visiting the seventeenth century haunts of John Ray. Eventually, I was one of the two last undergraduate students of R.A.Fisher in the Department of Genetics. We both obtained First Class Honours.
In the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, I studied the ecological genetics of some plants, under the guidance of E.B.Ford. In my final months as a graduate student, I was appointed Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Genetics in the University of Birmingham. A week later, I exhibited my research at the annual Conversazione of the Royal Society in London, where I was introduced by my new 'boss' to my father-in-law! During my twelfth year at Birmingham I was appointed Professor of Genetics at the University of Hull.
Over the years I had been 'head hunted' by several United States universities but declined, largely because we wanted our children to complete their education in England. When our younger son completed his degree we actively sought a move. I was interviewed for the Chair of Botany in the University of Florida in January 1988. I was offered the position, but then had to go through the drawn-out process of obtaining a permanent resident's visa. This eventually came through in August 1989, and I started as Chair in the October. My term finished in August 1998.
Education
- B.A. (Genetics), University of Cambridge, 1957, M.A. 1959.
- D.Phil. (Genetics), University of Oxford, 1963
- C.Biol., F.I.Biol., F.L.S.
- D.Phil. Thesis Title: Studies on the polymorphism and antibody formation in lower organisms and their bearing on ecological genetics and human serology.
Academic Positions
- Lecturer in Genetics, Department of Genetics, University of Birmingham, England, 1961-73.
- Professor of Genetics, University of Hull, England, 1973-89. Head of the Unit of Genetics (1973-1983),
- Head of the Department
of Plant Biology and Genetics, University of Hull, England, (1983 -1988).
- Professor (1989 - 2003) and Chair (1989-98), Department of Botany, University of Florida
- Professor Emeritus (2003 - date), Department of Botany, University of Florida
Research Interests / Major Research Achievements:
For many years I have been interested in the ecological genetics of cyanogenesis in plants. This has pioneered the study of plant/herbivore interactions mediated by plant chemistry, with the bonus of showing how it is possible to use genetics to prove chemical defense by plants. It has been known for many years that some plants are cyanogenic and whole conferences have been held to discuss cyanogenics in cassava. We now know that 16 of the 24 most important food plants are cyanogenic. Field research on cyanogenic plants has highlighted the need to be able to identify, not only individual perennial forbs from year to year, but also the male parents of seeds collected from wild plants.I am interested in the ecological genetics of flower colours and consequently in the colour of flowers as perceived by bees. Techniques for measurement of temperature within flowers are being developed with Dr. T. J. Crawford, University of York, UK. I have also been continuing the long-term study of the scarlet tiger moth at Cothill Fen near Oxford in England.
Present Research
Developmental genetics of cyanogenesis in Lotus corniculatus. The relative effectiveness of aromatic as opposed to aliphatic cyanogenic glucosides in plant defense. Effect of phenotypic instability for cyanogenesis on herbivore behaviour. Genetics of invasions, origin of new variation in natural populations, and initial colonization of entirely new habitats using Lotus corniculatus as the model plant.The development of techniques for analyzing the genetic structure of plant populations using genetic fingerprinting and random DNA primers by the polymerase chain reaction. Ecological genetics of flower colour in insect-pollinated plants in Florida. The genetics of heterostyly of plants in Florida. The medionigra polymorphism in the moth Panaxia dominula L. Epiphytes in three dimensional space.
Present Students
Claudia Romero
Courses Taught:
For undergraduates
- BSC 2011 Integrated principles of Biology II - the genetics part of the course.
- IDH 2931 Genetics and its History - for Honors students.
For graduate Students
- PCB 5575C Ecological Genetics - in even numbered years
- PCB 6691 Topics in Plant Genetics - on demand in odd numbered years.
Link to Jones course web sites
Membership in Professional Organizations:
- The Genetical Society (UK),
- British Association for the Advancement of Science,
- The Institute of Biology (UK),
- American Association for the Advancement of Science,
- International Society of Chemical Ecology (President 1987-88),
- Botanical Society of America,
- American Society of Naturalists,
- Society for the Study of Evolution,
- Sigma Xi,
- Gamma Sigma Delta,
- Journal of Chemical Ecology - CoEditor with J.L. Nation and J.T. Romeo
Selected Publications
2008. Compton, S. G. A. and Jones, D.A. The Lotus Eaters: a Naturalists’ Handbook.
200?. Jones, D. A. Back from the green desert of the American lawn: an experiment in Florida. Pp. xxx-xxx in M. Aleksiuk and T. Nelson (eds) Nature, Environment and Me; Personal Explorations in a Changing World. Accepted for publication.
2002. Jones, D.A. Cyanogenesis and gene transfer – a defense strategy that may prove counterproductive. SAAS Bulletin: Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 15, 25-33.
2000. Jones, D. A. Temperatures in the Cothill habitat of the Scarlet Tiger moth, Panaxia (Callimorpha) dominula L. Heredity, 84, 578-586.
1999. Jones, D. A. The cost of anti-herbivore defence in cyanogenic plants. In Preparation.
1999. Jones, D. A. and Cook, L. M. Temperature effects and the medionigra phenotype of Panaxia dominula L. Oikos, 87, 175-180.
1999. Jones, D. A. Back from the green desert of the American lawn: an experiment in Florida. Pp. xxx-xxx in M. Aleksiuk and T. Nelson (eds) Nature, Environment and Me; Personal Explorations in a Changing World. Accepted for publication.
1999. Jones, D. A. Natural Pesticides and the Evolution of the Major Human Food Plants. Pesticide Science, 55 ,633-675.
1998. Jones, D. A. Why are so many food plants cyanogenic? Phytochemistry, 47, 155-162.
1996. Cook, L.M. and D.A. Jones. The medionigra gene in the moth Panaxia dominula: the case for selection. Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society B, 351, 1623-1634.
1993. Jones, D. A. The phenotype and frequency of f. medionigra of Panaxia dominula L. (Lepidoptera:Arctiidae) at Cothill, Oxfordshire, England, 1988-1991. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 49, 305-316.
1992. Lewis, D. and D. A Jones. The genetics of heterostyly. Pp. 129-150 in S.C.H. Barrett (ed.) Evolution and Function of Heterostyly. Springer-Verlag.
1988. Jones, D. A. Cyanogenesis in animal/plant interactions. Pp. 151-170 in D. Evered and S. Harnett (eds) Cyanide Compounds in Biology Ciba Foundation Symposium 140, J. Wiley.
1988. Compton, S. G., S. G. Beesley and D. A. Jones. Variation in the colour of the keel petals in Lotus corniculatus L. 5. Successional differences in the distribution of dark-keeled plants. Heredity, 61, 235-245.
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