| Folke Karl Skoog | |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Halland, Sweden |
| Death Place: | Madison, Wisconsin, US |
| Resting Place: | Uppsala old cemetery, Sweden |
| Fields: | Plant physiology |
| Workplaces: | Caltech, Berkeley, University of Hawaiʻi, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Wisconsin |
| Alma Mater: | Caltech |
| Thesis Title: | Some Physiological Functions of the Growth Hormone in Higher Plants |
| Thesis Url: | https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/10909/ |
| Thesis Year: | 1936 |
| Notable Students: | Toshio Murashige |
| Known For: | Murashige and Skoog medium |
| Awards: | National Medal of Science (1991) |
| Spouse: | Birgit Skoog |
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.