Folke Karl Skoog
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| Born | (1908-07-15)July 15, 1908
Halland, Sweden
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| Died | February 15, 2001(2001-02-15) (aged 92) |
| Resting place | Uppsala old cemetery, Sweden |
| Alma mater | Caltech |
| Known for | Murashige and Skoog medium |
| Spouse | Birgit Skoog |
| Awards | National Medal of Science (1991) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plant physiology |
| Institutions | Caltech, Berkeley, University of Hawaiʻi, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Wisconsin |
| Thesis | Some Physiological Functions of the Growth Hormone in Higher Plants (1936) |
| Notable students | Toshio Murashige |
Folke Karl Skoog (July 15, 1908 – February 15, 2001) was a Swedish-born American plant physiologist who was a pioneer in the field of plant growth regulators, particularly cytokinins. Skoog was a recipient of the National Medal of Science 1991.[1][2]
Born in Halland, Sweden, Skoog emigrated to the United States during a trip to California in 1925, and was naturalized as a citizen almost a decade later. He competed, and finished sixth in heat 2, in the 1500 meter race during the 1932 Summer Olympics.[3] In 1936, he received his PhD in biology from Caltech for his work done with auxin, a plant hormone.
In 1937, Skoog was a postdoctoral researcher with Dennis Robert Hoagland, and his professional career advanced significantly with his arrival at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1947. Carlos O. Miller discovered kinetin in 1954,[4] and benzyladenine and related compounds were later synthesized in Skoog's lab.
In 1962, Skoog and Toshio Murashige published what is probably the best-known paper in plant tissue culture; in a fruitless attempt to discover a yet-unknown plant growth regulator in tobacco juice for his doctoral thesis, Murashige and Skoog instead developed a greatly improved salt base for the sterile culture of tobacco. Now referred to as Murashige and Skoog medium, the final paper (Murashige, T. and Skoog, F. (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 18: 100-127) is one of the most often-cited papers in biology.[5] Now 60 years after the work, M&S salt base remains an essential component in plant tissue culture, but not in hydroponics.[6]
In 1970, Skoog was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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