Contents

Director’s notes

Student Achievements

Research:Students

Research:Facul ty

Word from the Alumni

06/15/2011 Volume 1 Issue 3

Jane Glazebrook is completing her term as

Director of Graduate Studies and as of July

will be succeeded as DGS by Gary

Muehlbauer, who is Professor of Agronomy

and Plant Genetics. We welcome

Professor George Weiblen who will be the

new Associate DGS. George brings

expertise on ecology, evolution, and

systematics of plants and interacting

organisms. He has gained extensive

knowledge of the program not only through

mentoring Ph.D. students, but also through

service on the admissions and steering

committees. Thanks to Jane for her

dedicated service as DGS and her many

contributions that helped keep us all on

track!

By: Kate Vandenbosch

Professor and Plant Biology Department

Head

Upcoming Events...

Itasca Orientation: We have five incoming students! Aug 16th

-21st,2011

- visit http://www.cbs.umn.edu/plantbio/events/index.shtml

Volume 1 Issue 3

Director’s notes

-Jane Glazebrook

My service as DGS of the PBS program is nearly at an end. On

July 1, Gary Muehlbauer will take up the position of DGS, and the

new Associate DGS will be George Weiblen. I am sure that they

will both be excellent leaders of the PBS program. I have been

very lucky to work with Gail Kalli and a great group of students

during my tenure as DGS. Our third-year students had all

completed their preliminary exams by the end of last year, and

some of our second year students have also passed their exams.

Over the last two years, many students have practiced their oral

exams with committees composed of other students and post-

docs. Students report that such practice sessions helped them a

lot, and this showed in their strong performances on the oral

exams. I hope that this kind of practice can become part of the

culture of the PBS program. As you can see in the “Student

Achievements” section of this edition of PBS Medium, several

students have recently obtained prestigious fellowships.

Congratulations to each of them! Besides recognizing scientific

promise, such fellowships provide a measure of financial security

to students, and improve the financial situations of their advisors’

labs and the PBS program. For Fall 2011, we had the same

number of requests for TA support as we have TA positions. While

I am retiring as DGS, I am remaining a member of the PBS

program. I am looking forward to working with faculty and

students in the years to come.

Farewell and Thank You Kelsey

Kelsey has been a student worker in the Plant Biology Department since 2007 and has assisted me

immensely over the years in the PBS graduate program. Kelsey finished her degree in the Spring,

graduating with a BA in Biology. As she moves forward with her career choice(s), her immediate intention

is to apply for admission to a Physician’s Assistant program. I am positive that she will be successful in any

career path she chooses. I am sure that I can speak for all of us, Kelsey, that you will be truly missed.

Thanks again for your committed contributions to the PBS graduate program, and good luck in your future

endeavors! Best of luck on your wedding in June. By: Gail Kalli

Volume 1 Issue 3

Associate Director

Gary Muehlbauer Associate DGS/ July 1st DGS

My laboratory works on a variety of topics including: Fusarium head blight of wheat and barley, the

genetic control of tillering in barley, developing barley genomics tools, genetic control of the maize shoot

apical meristem, and exploiting wild barley for crop improvement. A primary focus of my laboratory is

utilizing genomics tools for barley improvement. To that end, I am the project director of the barley

Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP; http://www.barleycap.org/) and the co-director of the Triticeae

CAP (http://triticeaecap.org/).

The barley CAP is winding down and will be finished at the end of September. The barley CAP is

composed of 28 scientists at 18 institutions. The basic idea of the barley CAP was to genotype and

phenotype 3,840 barley breeding lines and use the combined datasets to conduct genome wide

association studies (GWAS) to detect quantitative trait loci for important traits. Within the framework of

this project, we developed a 3,000 single nucleotide polymorphism map of barley that was published in

BMC Genomics (Close et al., 2009), developed a database called The Hordeum Toolbox

(http://hordeumtoolbox.org/) that houses the genetic and phenotype data from the project, and have

conducted GWAS for a variety of traits on the 3,840 barley breeding lines. Examples of GWAS that have

been conducted include mapping Fusarium head blight resistance (Massman et al., 2011) and winter

hardiness (von Zitzewitz et al., 2011). As part of the project, we collaborated with the Scottish Crop

Research Institute and isolated the INTERMEDIUM-C (INT-C) gene, which is an ortholog of the maize

TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 (TB1) gene. INT-C and TB1 regulate inflorescence and tiller development,

indicating that the barley INT-C and maize TB1 gene exhibit similar functions. The description of this

work was published in Nature Genetics (Ramsay et al., 2011).

The Triticeae CAP is composed of 56 scientists at 28 institutions. Jorge Dubcovsky (University of

California, Davis) and myself are co-directors of the project. This project includes the wheat genetics

and breeding community and builds upon the success of the barley and wheat CAPs. The Triticeae CAP

will develop novel genomics approaches to mine and utilize beneficial alleles with the goal of

minimizing the damage of climate change on wheat and barley production. The long-term objective is to

reduce both nitrogen and water use in barley and wheat production, reduce the impact of fungal

pathogens, and increase yield through the development of improved varieties adapted to the climate of

the coming century. Thirty Ph.D students and 100 undergraduates will be trained during the course of

the project.

Congratulations!!

Student Achievements

Congratulations to the students passing their Preliminary Written Examination: Steve Eichten, Cece Martin,

Zhou Fang, Peng Yu, and You Lu

Congratulations to the students who also passed their Preliminary Oral Examination:

Jing Chen, Brendan Epstein, CeCe Martin and Steve Eichten

Great Accomplishments -- PBS students received an array of awards!

Alicia Knudson received the 2010 Award for Outstanding performance as a Teaching Assistant for the

College of Biological Sciences

Moana McClellan received the 2011-12 Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship Award.

Johnathon Fankhauser and Cece Martin both received the NSF Graduate student fellowship—funding for

three years – awesome

Cece Martin United Negro College Fellowship

Peng Yu and You Lu: Monsanto Fellowship (three-years)

Tim Whitfeld: Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (Graduate School) for academic year 2010-11.

Carrie Eberle received The William H. Alderman Memorial Graduate Award (2011) and the The M.T.M.

Willemse Poster Award of 2010 Recipient

Margaret Taylor: Graduate School Fellowship 2010-11

Steve Eichten: Phinney Fellowship

Rachel Hillmer: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Training Grant in Biotechnology

Ye Sun: PBS Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship 2011-12

Peter Reich, a PBS graduate faculty member, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of

Arts and Sciences. Reich, is a professor in the Department of Forest Resources, a Regents Professor and

a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, two of the university's highest honors for faculty. He

currently holds the F.B. Hubachek Senior Chair in Forest Ecology and Tree Physiology. He was elected

because of his work advancing science and its applications in ways deemed scientifically and socially

distinguished. Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon academy members by their peers.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Recent Publications/Presentations:

Whitfeld, T. J. S. & G. D. Weiblen. 2010. Five new Ficus species (Moraceae) from Melanesia. Harvard Papers

in Botany 15(1):1-10

Wilson, M.B., A.D. Hegeman, M. Spivak & J.D. Cohen – PUBLISHED ABSTACT, American Bee Journal (in

press)DETERMINING THE BOTANICAL ORIGINS OF PLANT RESINS COLLECTED BY APIS MELLIFERA WITH

METABOLIC FINGERPRINTING ANALYSIS

Sun, Y., Reinders, A., LaFleur, K., Mori, T. and Ward, J. (2010). Transport activity of rice sucrose transporters

OsSUT1 and OsSUT5. Plant Cell Physiol. 51(1): 114-122

Anderson, N., Younis, A. and Sun, Y. (2010). Inter-simple sequence repeats distinguish genetic differences

in easter lily ―Nellie White‖ clonal ramets within and among bulb growers over years. J. Amer. Sco. Hort. Sci.

135(5): 445- 455

Wagenius S, Dykstra AB, Ridley CE, Shaw RG. 2011. Seedling recruitment in the long-lived perennial,

Echinacea angustifolia: a ten year experiment. Restoration Ecology, in press.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Recent Graduates CONGRATULATIONS!! Hui Tian, advisor John Ward, earned her Ph.D. in January 2011 Hui is now working as a post doc at the

University of Utah.

Toko Mori, advisor Sue Gibson, earned her M.S. degree in January 2011.

Sumitha Nallu, advisor Kate Vandenbosch, earned her Ph.D. in May 2011

Tim Whitfield, advisor George Weiblen earned his Ph.D. in May 2011

Dykstra AB and Shaw RG. 2011. No evidence of local adaptation in seedling recruitment of narrow-leaved

purple coneflower. In D. Williams (ed.) Proceedings of the 22nd North American Prairie Conference, held

August 1-5, 2010. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls. In press.

Phillips KA, Skirpan AL, Liu X, Christensen A, Slewinski TL, Hudson C, Barazesh S, Cohen JD, Malcomber S,

McSteen P, vanishing tassel 2 encodes a grass-specific tryptophan aminotransferase required for vegetative

and reproductive development in maize (2011), Plant Cell, 23(2): 550-566

Eberle, C., N.O. Anderson, A.D. Hegeman, A.G. Smith. 2010. Nicotiana tabacum style-localized proteins

control interspecific incompatibility. XXI International Congress on Sexual Plant Reproduction. August 2-6,

2010. PSR5.9. Bristol, UK. Poster.

Smith, A.G., C.A. Eberle, B.M. Clasen, N.O. Anderson, A.D Hegeman. A Novel Pollen Tube Growth Assay for

the Identification of Interspecific Incompatibility Factors in Nicotiana. Plant Biology & Botany meeting. July

31 - August 4, 2010. P04031. Montreal, Canada. Poster.

Eberle, C., 2010. What Pollen Tubes Want: The transmitting tract, pollen tube growth, and interspecific

incompatibility in Nicotiana. Plant Biological Sciences Annual Retreat. May 2010. UMN-Twin Cities.

Leavitt S.J., Fankhauser, J.D., Leavitt D.H., Porter L.L., Johnson L.A., St. Clair L.L.,(2011): Complex patterns

of speciation in cosmopolitan ―rock posy‖ lichens - discovering and delimiting cryptic fungal species in the

lichen-forming Rhizoplaca melanophthalma species-complex (Lecanoraceae, Ascomycota) (Lecanoraceae,

Ascomycota). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Jun;59(3):587-602

Lumbsch H.T. et al.* *(Fankhauser, J.D.; 28) (2011), One hundred new species of lichenized fungi: a

signature of undiscovered global diversity. Phytotaxa 18: 1–127.

Research Highlights-Current Students

Mike Wilson Advisor: Jerry Cohen

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are extremely important to fruit and vegetable production due to the

pollination services they provide. It is estimated that 1/3 of our food is dependent, to some degree, on

pollination provided mostly by managed colonies of A. mellifera. For instance, California produces 80% of

the world‘s almonds and this industry is almost completely dependent on out-crossing pollination

performed by bees. Half of all 2.5 million honey bee colonies in the US are transported to California every

spring to provide this service. Hence, it is very alarming that disease and environmental factors have

contributed to more than a 50% decline in the number of managed honey bee colonies in the US since

1945. The key to combating bee decline is understanding the factors contributing to bee health and

applying that knowledge to managing bees and their environments.

Volume 1 Issue 3

It is clear that the botanical landscape affects honey bee health, and my

research involves studying this relationship. In addition to nectar and

pollen, honey bees forage resins (complex mixtures of terpenoid and

phenolic compounds) from plants in their environment and deposit them

in their nest. It has been known since antiquity that these resins have

antimicrobial properties. Applying resin extracts to honey bee hives was

shown to decrease gene expression related to immune function in adult

bees, possibly due to decreased challenge by microbes. Chronically

activated immune gene expression decreases productivity in honey

bees, so it is very important that bees externally supplement their innate

immune function with antimicrobial resins.

I study the chemical nature of plant resins collected by honey

bees, where these resins come from, and their ability to inhibit the

growth of a bee bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus larve. My aim is to

isolate specific antimicrobial resin metabolites using bioassay-guided

fractionation and then trace these metabolites back to their plant

sources using metabolic fingerprinting. It may be that specific resin-

producing plant species are more beneficial to bees than others, and as

such would be part of a healthier botanical environment.

Johnathon Fankhauser Advisors: Georgiana May and Adrian Hegeman

Symbioses of plants and fungi are widespread in nature.

Considerable research explores plant defense mechanisms against fungal

pathogens, leaving the unanswered question, what mechanisms lead to

pathogenic or non-pathogenic lifestyles of fungal symbionts? Endophytes

are ubiquitous plant associated microorganisms that cause no apparent

disease and can express a number of lifestyles. They can be beneficial

(mutualist), or seem to be of little consequence (commensal) to a host1, 2.

Importantly, all lifestyles affect the plant in some degree, because as a

biotroph the fungus receives nutrients and carbon resources. Mutualisms

increase plant fitness by benefits conferred by the fungus1-3. As

commensals, the effect on plant health is not static, as some fungi switch to

pathogens when conditions are amenable3. Moreover, some asymptomatic

fungi are actually natural variations of restrained pathogens2. In this

proposal I will address which symbiont controls lifestyle changes? Lifestyle

changes can result from three mechanisms; host control: plant defenses

limit proliferation and disease progression thus endophytes are poor

pathogens, fungal control: endophytes are excellent colonists adapted to

evade or overcome the host response and reproduce without host damage,

or joint control: endophytes may result from multiple adaptations and a fine-

tuned balance of demands between the fungus and host4, 5.

Honing my coconut opening

skills in PNG, now that I think

of it perhaps playing with a

large knife in sandals at night

is not a good idea.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Do fungal or plant adaptations lead to lifestyle changes? Few studies have described molecular or

biochemical mechanisms of both host and colonist and fewer still compared pathogen and endophyte

lifestyles. The few studies available suggest that numerous genes and pathways may be involved in

transitions among lifestyles6-10. For example, fungal mutations leading to an up-regulated enzyme in an

endophyte and reduced enzyme production in a pathogen mutant resulted in lifestyle changes 8-10. Many

reviews suggest the symbiotic mechanisms are under-explored and an area of future study2, 3, 5. Symbiotic

interactions involve elaborate recognition events involving metabolites, cell components, or small secreted

products; suggesting both symbionts are responsible for lifestyle variation6. Differing lifestyles are a result of

changes in the intimate interaction of both fungal colonists and a plant hosts; an endophyte may 1) evade

or manipulate the host response, 2) simply grow without host damage and limited host cost; the host may

3) limit fungal proliferation and disease progression, or 4) simply tolerate the costs of symbionts that do not

cause damage. Understanding the mechanisms of both symbionts will distinguish the significance of fungal,

plant or joint control.

I am working with Dr. Adrian Hegeman to characterize the secondary metabolites involved in the

complex signaling events between plants and fungi symbiosis produced by endophytic fungi from Papua

New Guinea. I am working with Dr. George Weiblen to make use of key infrastructure and research plots in

PNG. Currently I am using molecular markers to identify unique groups of fungi from over 2000 isolates we

collected last year. I am determining which isolates are closely related and asking questions such as: Do

fungi that are closely related make similar metabolites? Is there a correlation between plant host and

metabolite profiles? What are the biological roles of endophytic fungal secondary metabolites? I will be

using a series of experiments and techniques such as: mass-spectrometry and next generation sequencing

to investigate the role of fungal metabolites in symbiotic systems.

Citations

1.K. H. Kogel, et al, Curr Opin Plant Biol 9, 358 (Aug, 2006).

2.A. E. Arnold, F. Lutzoni, Ecology 88, 541 (Mar, 2007).

3.R. J. Rodriguez, et al., New Phytologist 182, 314 (2009).

4.R. Maor, K. Shirasu, Current Opinion in Microbiology 8, 399 (Aug, 2005).

5. L. G. Barrett, et al., New Phytologist 183, 513 (2009).

6. R. O'Connell et al., Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 17, 272 (Mar, 2004).

7.R. S. Redman, et al. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 12, 969 (Nov, 1999).

8. C. J. Eaton, et al, Plant Science In Press.

9. R. S. Redman et al., Symbiosis 32, 55 (2002).

10. C. J. Eaton et al., Plant Physiology 153, 1780 (Aug, 2010).

11.P. Talhinhas, et al., Mol Biotechnol 39, 57 (May, 2008).

Volume 1 Issue 3

PBS Faculty Research

Jennifer Powers

I am currently an assistant professor with a joint

appointment in the Departments of Plant Biology and

Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior, and my research

integrates soil science, plant biology, and ecology. My

lab studies ecosystem processes and plant community

dynamics, with a particular focus on the feedbacks

between global environmental change (in climate and

land use) and the biogeochemical cycles of carbon,

nitrogen, and other elements. We use observational

and experimental approaches to study specific

questions such as: how biodiversity and carbon storage

change with secondary forest regeneration on abandoned pastures in Costa Rica, how do

biophysical factors such as soil mineralogy and annual rainfall affect litter decomposition and

responses of soil carbon stocks to land-use change across tropical forests, how do nitrogen-fixing

legumes affect ecosystem nutrient cycles, how do woody vines (lianas) affect soil nutrient

heterogeneity, and, how do plant species vary in their traits and is trait variation linked to

ecosystem processes? We currently have projects in Costa Rica, Panama, and Cedar Creek,

Minnesota, although I have worked throughout the country (including Oregon, Maryland, and North

Carolina) as well as South America (Peru, French Guiana, and Brazil). In Costa Rica, we have

established long-term studies of forest productivity and ecosystem processes across forest plots

that vary in time since abandonment and soil fertility. In Panama, we are collaborating with Dr.

Stefan Schnitzer of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to establish the first experimental

determination of the role of lianas in ecosystem processes. Toward that end, we have established

16 large plots in mature rainforest, and the lianas will be cut out of these plots starting in April,

2011. In addition to our studies, we are also very interested in linking research to conservation in

tropical countries. Toward that end, I co-founded an environmental non-profit organization,

Investigadores del Area de Conservación Guanacaste. In addition, we also collaborate with artists

and environmental educators to develop curriculum for Costa Rican school children and to publish

a pictorial guide to the plants of Santa Rosa, Costa Rica.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Adrian Hegeman Plant Metabolomics at UMN

The field of metabolomics right now is working hard to create

an infrastructure and a set of best practices for increasing

the number of measurable metabolites. PBS faculty member

Assistant Professor Adrian Hegeman thinks that he can play

an important part in helping to define that methodology.

The Hegeman lab (with Co-PI Jerry Cohen) recently received

funds from the NSF (IOS-0923960) to extend the amount

and quality of metabolomics information obtained using

mass spectrometry. With this grant they purchased

additional mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation including

an LTQ-Orbitrap (installed in August 2010). This new mass

spectrometer will allow them to perform gas-phase

metabolite fragmentation at a rate of approximately 10 per

second as needed to provide structural information for high

complexity metabolite samples. The major goals of the

project are to generate new public plant metabolite MS

spectral libraries and improved methods for metabolite

Adrian and daughters Sylvia and Ramona (backpack)

are posing with charismatic mega-flora (Joshua tree).

identification. They will also be providing methods that use plants grown using stable isotope labeled

nutrients (15NH415NO3 or 13CO2) that completely substitute 14N for 15N or 12C for 13C in every molecule in the

plant, to improve metabolite identification, quantification and provide a measure of metabolic flux.

In order to provide metabolite measurements on a scale comparable to that of next-generation nucleic acid

sequencing, microarrays or even proteomics the community needs to identify the best general strategies for

providing the most information. At a minimum this means being able to observe hundreds to thousands of

metabolites in a single sample, and provide identities and quantities for as many of the metabolites as

possible.

This is a big analytical challenge at least partly because metabolite populations encompass a huge range of

chemical structures and properties. High-throughput ‗omics‘ approaches have excelled at extracting ordered

sequence information from polymeric biomolecules with comparatively minimal chemical diversity.

Metabolites, in contrast, range from simple gasses to large heterogeneous branched polymers or from

hydrophobic waxes and lipids to hydrophilic saccharides and organic salts. It can be difficult to find methods

that can be applied to compounds with such a broad range of chemical properties.

Fortunately for people interested in human metabolomics, the estimated number of metabolites is about

3,000, or around ten-fold less than the number of genes. By using a combination of gas and liquid

chromatographies coupled to mass spectrometry this number of metabolites seems quite tractable as each

of these complementary techniques may be used to detect several thousand compounds in an hour or so of

analysis time.

Volume 1 Issue 3

For plant metabolomics the challenge is greater with estimates of metabolome size ranging from the tens of

thousands of compounds for a single species to hundreds of thousands up to one million across the entire

kingdom (Saito K, et al., 2010, Annu Rev Plant Biol. 61: 463.). The large majority of these are secondary

metabolites that can be an important interface between the plant and its environment or a plant and other

organisms. Secondary metabolites may act as UV-photoprotection or provide defense against pathogens,

herbivory or may attract animals for seed dispersal or pollination (to name a few activities).

Most people are aware of at least a handful of plant secondary metabolites that are biologically active in

humans or other animals such as caffeine, nicotine, morphine or strychnine. Yet there is much less known

about the plant metabolites that exhibit bioactivity in fungi, bacteria or other plant species; the potential for

interactions with endophytic fungi and/or bacteria adds an additional layer of complexity. Hegeman

indicated simply that he is fascinated by the chemical forms that have already been described in of some of

these less well-studied classes of secondary metabolites.

Polyalkyne isolated from the roots of many species

from the family Asteraceae including Zinnia elegans.

Polyalkynes, such as tridecapentaynene isolated from zinnia

roots, he cites, is an example of an unusual class of secondary

metabolites found throughout Asteraceae. These compounds

have exhibited strong anti-fungal activity and may be inducible

or constitutively expressed. Many of us eat these compounds

regularly as there is a dialkyne found in trace amounts in carrot

root.

In pursuit of novel classes bioactive secondary metabolites the

Hegeman lab has recently joined an ongoing project with Don

Wyse (Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics) to generate a collection of Minnesota native plant

metabolite extracts. This botanical library will be screened for bioactive compounds using antimicrobial,

antifungal and antioxidant assays. They hope to be able to provide these resources to others interested in

exploring additional activities.

Adrian joined the PBS faculty in 2008 having been hired the previous year to fill a Plant Metabolomics

position in the CFANS Division of Plant Science. He has a split appointment between the Departments of

Plant Biology and Horticultural Science. He currently advises three PBS graduate students: Jing Chen,

Cece Martin and Johnathon Fankhauser.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Kelly Zinn I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Jeffrey Harper at the University of Nevada Reno. In

my postdoctoral work, I study the function of Ca2+ -dependent protein kinases (CPKs) in Arabidopsis pollen

tube tip growth. The Harper lab reported that a double knock-out of CPK17 and 34 (cpk17/34)

significantly reduced pollen tube growth rate. The current goal is to identify pathways mediated by

CPK17/34 in pollen, in part by observing morphological characteristics of the pollen tube. Cytoplasmic

streaming rates were measured in growing cpk17/34 pollen tubes using microscopy to track vesicle

movements. The cpk17/34 pollen tubes show cytoplasmic streaming rates that are slower than wild type.

The cpk17/34 pollen tubes show larger “clear zone” at the apical tip than wild type tubes. Additionally, the

position for a band of plasma membrane targeted cyclic nucleotide gated channels (CNGC-18) that are

essential for normal tip growth is shifted apically in the cpk17/34 pollen.

Furthermore, I am determining rates and localization of endocytosis and exocytosis in both wild type

and cpk17/34 pollen tubes by following the dynamics of plasma membrane bound and anchored proteins

linked to photo-activated GFP. We hypothesize that endocytosis and exocytosis rates are lower in the

cpk17/34 mutants. The Harper lab is also interested in studying the effects of temperature stress on plant

reproduction, particularly the male gametophyte. I am the first author of a review published in The Journal

of Experimental Botany where we describe an ecotype from Arabidopsis, Hilversum, which shows pollen

stress sensitivity.

A Word from our Alumni:

Wenjing Zhang

Since graduation from PBS in 2008, I have been working as a

postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Joe Kieber at University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My research focuses on the role of a

family of negative regulators in cytokinin signaling, type A response

regulators, in maintaining root and shoot apical meristem function.

The type A RR family is highly redundant, consisting of 10 gene

members sharing overlapping roles. Thus, genetic tools would be hard

to be applied to this study. However, the nCounter Nanostring

technology enables me to examine the expression of multiple root

meristem regulators with a small amount of RNA isolated specifically

from the root meristem region. Using the whole-mount immunohistochemistry, I am also able to study

the protein function of these meristem regulators in the high-order type A RR mutants. My study has

suggested that the type A response regulators are required for both distal and proximal root meristem

function through the regulation of auxin transport at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

Since moved to North Carolina, I have become a Tar Heel fan. Watching Tar Heel games and hiking in

the North Carolina mountains have become my hobbies outside of the lab.

Editors: Jane Glazebrook, Gail Kalli, Kelsey Morovic and Johnathon Fankhauser Questions or comments contact Gail Kalli at

desha001@umn.edu

Brian Piasecki, Ph.D. 2008

Upon completion of my graduate work studying

cilia/flagella in the Silflow lab, I moved to Stockholm,

Sweden to pursue postdoctoral research at The Karolinska

Institute. In addition to the change in geography, this move

also marked my transition from using the unicellular alga

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to the nematode worm

Caenorhabditis elegans as a model genetic system. For the

first component of my postdoctoral research, I applied a

comparative genomics-based approach to reveal how

ciliary gene regulation uniquely evolved in animals (PNAS

107: 12969-12974. 2009). This project was largely

informed by the breadth of knowledge I gained taking

courses as a graduate student at The University of

Minnesota. I have also been characterizing a subset of

putative C. elegans ciliary genes. One of these genes is

involved in the deglutamylation of -tubulin and is broadly

expressed in ciliated cells of the C. elegans nervous system

(in review). I am in the early stages of characterizing

additional candidate ciliary genes in C. elegans as I

transition into my second postdoctoral teaching and

research position at Lawrence University, which is a private

Liberal Arts University in Appleton, WI. At Lawrence

University, I have been teaching Integrative Biology and

Evolutionary Biology, and I will be developing a Cell Biology

course during the 2011-2012 academic year. I look

forward to working with undergraduate students in the lab

and to a visit back to the Twin Cities this summer!