Mary-Dell Chilton was determined to challenge a prevailing scientific theory: that a bacterium could alter the genes of trees.
But as she set out to prove the theory wrong, she instead discovered its truth — and in the process, helped turn science fiction into reality. Chilton, who died at 87 on Wednesday, June 24, at her home in Carrboro, led the team that created the first genetically modified plants, a breakthrough that would eventually lead to crops with increased yields and drought resistance.
Born in 1939 in Indianapolis, Chilton grew up in Southern Pines with her grandmother, Henrietta Dell Hayes. Mark Chilton, Mary-Dell Chilton’s son, calls Hayes “probably the single biggest influence” of his mother’s life…