Nationality British Doctoral students Peter Lawrence Fields Entomology | Known for metamorphosis Notable students Peter Lawrence Name Vincent Wigglesworth | |
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Born 17 April 1899 ( 1899-04-17 ) Died February 11, 1994, Cambridge Books The principles of insect, Insects and the life of man, The physiology of insect, Insect Physiology, Insect Hormones | ||
Sir Vincent Brian Wigglesworth CBE FRS (17 April 1899 – 11 February 1994) was a British entomologist who made significant contributions to the field of insect physiology.
In particular, he studied metamorphosis. His most significant contribution was the discovery that neurosecretory cells in the brain of the South American kissing bug, Rhodnius prolixus, secrete a crucial growth hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), which regulates the process of metamorphosis. This was the first experimental confirmation of the function of neurosecretory cells. He went on to discover another hormone, called the juvenile hormone, which prevented the development of adult characteristics in R. prolixus until the insect had reached the appropriate larval stage. Wigglesworth was able to distort the developmental phases of the insect by controlling levels of this hormone. From these observations, Wigglesworth was able to develop a coherent theory of how an insect's genome can selectively activate hormones which determine its development and morphology.
Personal life
Wigglesworth served in the Royal Field Artillery in France in World War I. He received his degree from the University of Cambridge and lectured at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of London, and finally at the University of Cambridge.
He was named Quick Professor of Biology at the University of Cambridge in 1952, appointed CBE in 1951, and knighted in 1964.
Wigglesworth was President of the Royal Entomological Society from 1963–64 and the Association of Applied Biologists from 1966–67.
The bacterium Wigglesworthia glossinidia, which lives in the guts of tsetse flies, is named for him.