Biography
Maximo Eduardo Drets Nicolini, Uruguayan cytogeneticist (Montevideo 21 April 1930 – Montevideo 23 February 2017)
Authored over 130 scientific publications
Demonstrated the clastogenic action of some substances from animal origin
With F.A. Saez. The action of gonyleptidine on the mitotic and meiotic chromosomes and on the interphase nucleus. Portugaliae Acta Biol. 5:287-302, 1958
With G.A. Folle & A. Aznarez. Clastogen action of a dimethyl p-benzoquinone of animal origin. Mutation Res. 102:159-72, 1982
Extreme chromosome shortening induced in human lymphocytes by 2, 3 dimethyl p-benzoquinone resembling fragmentation. Brief Comm. Environm. Mutag. 5(6):923-7, 1983
First to report a pericentric inversion of the X chromosome
With J.H. Cardoso & A. Navarro. Sex chromosome inversion in a mosaic girl. Heredity 24(3):477-81, 1969
Presented the first case in the world of genetic malformation related chromosome 16
With J. H. Cardoso, A.H. Delfino & J. Carrau. Familial normal partial trisomy 16 with selective endoreduplication in malformation proband. Cytogenetics 9(5):333-50, 1970
Studied accurately the biggest family with Alport syndrome in medical literature
With P. Purriel, E. Pascal, R. Sanchez Cestau et al. Familial hereditary nephropathy (Alport syndrome). Amer. J. Med. 49(6):753-73, 1970
Described the karyotype of capybara, the biggest rodent in the world
With F.A. Saez & N. Brum-Zorrilla. Karyotype of the “carpincho” (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris uruguayensis (Rodentia, Hydrochaeridae). Experientia 27(5):584-5, 1971
With F.A. Saez & N. Brum-Zorrilla described the karyotype of Southern long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus hybridus) in 1964
Discovered the first case of universal chromosome association
With M. Soll. C-banding and non-homologous associations in Gryllus argentinus. Chromosoma 48:367-90, 1974
Observed for the first time different interchromatid distributions of high density chromatin in t-banded segments of human chromosomes and that these subtelomeric segments display standard features
Discovered TSCE that are subtle exchanges of sister chromatids in subtelomeric t-region
With G. Obe, F.J. Monteverde, G.A. Folle, I.I. Medina et al. Computerized graphic and light microscope analyses of t-banded chromosome segments of Chinese hamster ovary cells and human lymphocytes. Biol. Zentralbl. 111:204-14, 1992
Designed new techniques and devices for analysis of cells and chromosomes
Image discriminator apparatus for cytophotometry. Mikroskopie 15:14-20, 1960
Ratio recorder for cytophotometry based on an image discriminator apparatus. Mikroskopie 16:341-8, 1962
Bandscan – A computer program for on-line linear scanning of human banded chromosomes. Comp. Progr. Biomed. 8:283-94, 1978
Described G-banding (Giemsa banding) independently from Lejeune & Dutrillaux
With M.W. Shaw. Specific banding patterns of human chromosomes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 68(9):2073-7, 1971
First to design a quantitative plot for location of chromosome bands
With H. Seuanez. Quantitation of heterogeneous human heterochromatin microdensimetric analysis of C and G-bands (1973)
Developed the first method displaying three quantitative definitive parameters for each chromosome band
With F.J. Monteverde. Automated cytogenetics with modern computerized scanning microscope photometer systems (1987)
HONOURS
Edward Larocque Tinker Award