Placing women in Cytogenetics: Lore Zech and the chromosome banding technique

Abstract

Background Scholars agree that Torbjörn Caspersson’s lab at the Institute of Medical Cell Research and Genetics at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, played a key role in the first description of the so-called Q-banding technique. It laid the foundation for a new era of cytogenetic diagnostics and had a lasting impact in several areas of biology and medicine. Methods Based on a mixed-method approach, essential aspects of the history of human cytogenetics are considered via primary and secondary analysis of biographical interviews as well as the qualitative evaluation of bibliometrics. Drawing on interviews with colleagues of lab member Lore Zech (1923–2013) and contemporary publications, this paper illuminates the role of and contribution by Zech: To what extent is the discovery attached to her and what does her legacy look like today? Results The analysis of the contemporary witness interviews with colleagues, students and junior researchers shows that Lore Zech was a committed member of Caspersson's research group. In addition, memoirs by contemporary colleagues describe her outstanding skills in microscopy. The different sources paint a multifaceted picture. In addition to the historians' patterns of interpretation, different legacies can also be found within the peer group. Conclusions We argue that Zech represent the type of scientist who, although her research was acknowledged with several prizes, so far has not been part of the canon of pioneers of international cytogenetics.

Genetic variation in placental insufficiency: What have we learned over time?

“…Unequivocal identification of individual chromosomes and chromosomal regions became possible easier in the early 1970s with the development of several techniques to stain each chromosome with unique regional banding patterns that could be observed under a microscope. While many structural rearrangements had already been observed with solid staining of chromosomes, techniques such as Giemsa (G-banding) (Barcia, 2007) and quinacrine mustard (Q-banding) (Söhner and Hansson, 2021) allowed for easier interrogation of structural rearrangements, and led to the discovery of more subtle chromosome alterations. This also prompted the establishment of the International System for Human Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ICSN) in 1971, which enabled a standardized description of this chromosomal variation at different levels of resolution (Paris Conference (1971): Standardization in human cytogenetics., 1975).…”