Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 55 (2005), 1751; DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.63995-0
© 2005 International Union of Microbiological Societies
In memoriam – David R. Boone (1952–2005)
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David R. Boone, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, Portland State University, died on 27 May 2005 of cancer. He was 53. He is survived by his wife Jane and son Michael.
David Ridgway Boone was born on 19 January 1952 in Lewes, DE, USA. His interests in microbiology were sparked more than 30 years ago during an undergraduate course in microbial ecology offered by Dr Paul Smith at the University of Florida. A major focus of the course was metabolic interactions among bacteria. Because of his fascination with this topic, Dave studied propionate and butyrate degradation in anaerobic digesters while in graduate school. He earned his doctorate at the University of Florida in 1977 and continued these studies in the laboratory of Dr Marvin Bryant at the University of Illinois at Urbana. This research led to the discovery of Syntrophomonas wolinii, the first propionate syntroph ever isolated in coculture. Dave's subsequent work focused on the methane-producing archaea and their roles in a wide range of natural environments. At the Alberta Research Council, he studied methane-producing anaerobic digestion from 1979 to 1983. He continued these studies with Dr Bob Mah at UCLA and initiated his work on methanogenesis in saline and alkaline lakes. Dave moved to the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology in 1987 and Portland State University in 1997. In the last three decades, Dave and his collaborators have isolated and described more than 16 new species of methanogens, syntrophs and other anaerobic prokaryotes. It is important to note that during his studies at UCLA, Dave developed a partnership with Mr Yitai Liu that has continued throughout their careers. The hands that picked the colonies that are the type strains of those new species were mostly Mr Liu's.
From 1987 to 2004, Dave was Director of the Oregon Collection of Methanogens, which he founded. For over a decade, this collection was the only source of viable cultures of the strictly anaerobic methane-producing archaea in the United States. With time, it was also expanded to include syntrophic bacteria and anaerobes from the subterranean environment. This invaluable resource provided cultures and cell pastes to investigators from all over the world. As Dave's health began to fail, he received funding from the National Science Foundation to transfer these cultures to the American Type Culture Collection. Dave also served on the executive board of the United States Federation of Culture Collections, 1992–2000. In recognition of his service to the scientific community, he received the USFCC/J. Roger Porter Award in 2005.
Dave possessed keen interests in the systematics of prokaryotes, especially the methane-producing archaea. He served as Chair of the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Methanogens from 1986 to 2001. While Dave was chair, this Subcommittee was very active, publishing the minimal standards for describing new taxa in 1988 and at least six opinions and taxonomic notes. He also edited volume 1 of Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edition, in 2001, with Richard Castenholz.
Dave communicated his passion for prokaryotic life through a lifetime of teaching, research and service to the scientific community. Donations to a scholarship fund at Portland State University in memory of David Boone can be sent to: Dr Stanley S. Hillman, Chair, Department of Biology, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA. Cheques should be payable to PSU Foundation, with ‘Biology Teaching Fund (Boone)’ in the memo block.
Melissa Kendall, Department of Biology, Portland State University
William B. Whitman, Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia
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