Dolores A. Ramirez was born on September 20, 1931, in Calamba, Laguna to Leonor Altoveros and Augusto U. Ramirez. She was the oldest of eight children and her father died when she was young. She graduated from Laguna Institute in 1952 with a First Honorable Mention award.[1]
After Ramirez completed her PhD, she returned to the University of the Philippines where she conducted research into the breeding and cytogenetics of plants.[2] She was hired by the College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines Los Baños as an assistant professor in 1964. She attained the position of associate professor in 1969 and full professor in 1974. She was named a full University Professor in 1995.[1]
Much of Ramirez's research has been into plants important to agriculture in the Philippines. She researched the genetic basis of chemical resistance factors of Cercospora, which causes the formation of leaf spots in mung beans. She also studied the cytogenetics of hybrids of rice, tracing the cause of sterility from crosses with wild strains. Her plant research led to improved varieties of fruit, sugarcane, rice, coconut, and ornamentals. She conducted research with Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza on how macapuno coconut genes that characterize endosperm cell walls are affected by high galactomannan metabolism.[1]
A hybrid of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis was named for her in 2000, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Dolores A. Ramirez'.[5]
Selected publications
Ranjhan, S.; Glaszmann, J. C.; Ramirez, D. A.; Khush, G. S. (April 1988). "Chromosomal localization of four isozyme loci by trisomic analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.)". Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 75 (4): 541–545. doi:10.1007/BF00289118. S2CID777808.
Mujer, Cesar V.; Ramirez, Dolores A.; Mendoza, Evelyn Mae T. (April 1984). "α-d-galactosidase deficiency in coconut endosperm: its possible pleiotropic effects in makapuno". Phytochemistry. 23 (4): 893–894. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)85051-7.
Ramirez, Dolores A.; Tomes, Mark L. (1964). "Relationship between Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Dirty-Red (Green-Flesh) Mutant in Tomato". Botanical Gazette. 125 (3): 221–226. doi:10.1086/336275. ISSN0006-8071. S2CID84922188.
Mujert, Cesar V.; Ramirez, Dolores A.; Mendoza, Evelyn Mae T. (May 1984). "Coconut α-d-galactosidase isoenzymes: isolation, purification and characterization". Phytochemistry. 23 (6): 1251–1254. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)80435-5.
^Almario, V., ed. (2015). "Ramirez, Dolores A.". Sagisag Kultura (in Filipino). Vol. 1. Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2022-12-31.