Luiz Fernando Gouvea Labouriau, Brazilian plant physiologist (Rio de Janeiro 22 June 1921 – Brasilia 29 March 1996)

From French descent and nephew of ophthalmologist Hilario Soares de Gouvea

Authored about 75 papers

Recognized worldwide for his studies on seeds germination

Introduced the thermodynamics and information theory (1976) in studies of germination physiology

Performed important contributions to germination kinetics and its thermodynamical treatment

Provided original interpretations about temperature effects on proteins stability during the germination process

Seed germination as thermobiological problem. Rad. Environ. Biophysics 15:345-66, 1978 

Proposed mathematical expressions to measure the germination process (1983)  

Discovered that the fern Regnellidium diphyllum produces rubber being the first report of lactescence in Pteridophyta (1952) after Mahabale    

With L. Morhy & J.C. Gomes Jr. Ocimum nudicaule Benth., a new source of methyl-chavicol (1970)

METHODS

Aplicações fitossociológicas de um novo índice de concentração (1947)

Nova expressão do grau de homogeneidade de uma associação vegetal (1947)

Proposed the absciss of the mean of the frequency diagram of plant associations as a new index of homogeneity

Nota sobre o baricentro dos diagramas de frequência das associações vegetais. Arq. Jard. Bot 8:221-5, 1948

Developed a method for detecting the presence of silicon in leafs

With S. Teixeira da Silva. Corpos silicosos das gramíneas dos cerrados. III. Pesquisas Agropecuárias Brasileiras. Secção Botanica 5:1167-82, 1970.

Developed a thermal gradient block

A thermal gradient block for germination experiments. Rev. Bras. Biologia 37:295-05, 1977

With R.B. Cavalcanti. Um bloco de gradiente térmico de fácil construção para experimentos termobiológicos. Rev. Bras. Fisiol. Veg. 8:149-56, 1996

OTHER PAPERS

With I.S. Labouriau. The Arrhenius plot of a physiological rate process is never linear. Cien. Cult. 43:363-9, 1991

Nota sobre uma lei da morfologia da exina dos grãos de pólen. Arq. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 8:249, 1948

Sobre a simetria dos grãos de pólen. Rev. Bras. Biol. 7(4):419-22, 1947

His wife, Maria Lea Salgado Labouriau, palynologist (Rio de Janeiro 02 August 1931 – Brasilia 13 July 2013)

Authored 66 papers, 4 books and 11 book chapters (until 2002)

Authored Contribuição a Palinologia dos Cerrados (Contribution to Cerrado Palynology), that became a world reference in this field (1973)

Developed Salgado-Labouriau & Rizzo atmospheric collector

With J.A. Rizzo. Nota preliminary sobre a coleta atmosférica no município de Aparecida (Goiás). Anais XX Congr. Nac. Bot. Soc. Bras. Bot. 60-70, 1969

TECHNIQUES  

Modified the Faegri-Iversen staining technique for pollen fresh grains (1973)

With U. Rull. A method of introducing exotic pollen for paleoecological analysis of sediments. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 47:97-103, 1986