CommuniquéBiological Sciences

Winter 2013–14

University of Missouri

Bing Zhang Adds Expertise on Drosophila Neurobiology

Bing Zhang may have not written the book on Drosophila neuro-biology, but he has written the

laboratory manual and has taught the course that has trained a generation of neuroscientists. He also has an inter-national reputation for his own work on the neural basis of behavior in fruit flies. When the Division of Biological Sciences began search-ing for someone to join its faculty to fill out its cellular and mo-lecular biology research strength, Zhang’s name immediately made the short list.

At the time, Zhang was an as-sociate professor of zoology at the University of Oklahoma (OU), where he taught both ba-sic and advanced courses on neu-robiology and physiology. He of-ficially joined MU’s faculty this past September.

Zhang says he was attracted to the diversity of neurobiolo-gists and cell biologists at MU. “We have a group of really good neuroscientists here who study insects, crustaceans, Drosophila, lamprey, frogs, all the way up to zebrafish and mouse. With the exception of c. elegans, we have almost every model system.”

The diversity, says Zhang, opens doors for expanding his studies. “I am interested in combining Drosophila studies with studies in mice, so it was a major attraction for me to have col-leagues in the same department who are working on a range of organisms

with whom I can collaborate.” Zhang earned his doctorate in neu-

robiology and behavior at Cornell University and subsequently taught at the University of Texas before join-ing the zoology department at OU. He is widely published and is co-editor of

the acclaimed Drosophila Neurobiol-ogy: A Laboratory Manual (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2010), an essen-tial how-to manual for all research-ers who use the fruit fly to study the nervous system. The book draws on Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s long-running neurobiology of Drosophila course, which Zhang co-taught and co-directed for many years.

His current research focuses on how the brain produces locomotion. Zhang

uses locomotion to learn about glial cells, the cells that insulate nerve cells by laying down a fatty coating of my-elin. His lab is interested in the neu-rocircuitry level, how neurons and glial cells work together to produce behavior. “You can study one neuron

or one particular gene in detail, but it’s not powerful enough to predict overall brain function,” says Zhang. “Our approach is to ask the question: which group of neurons or glial cells is critical for a certain behavior, specifically lo-comotion?”

It’s the same idea as studies of brain injuries or lesions, such as a stroke-induced speech im-pairment. “In that case, you’re not studying specific genes, but rather a group of cells in a brain area that has a behavioral conse-quence. We take that similar le-sion approach, except instead of poking holes in the fly brain, we genetically manipulate a subset of cells in their brain and see what

happens to behavior,” he says. “If you know that this group of cells that forms a network in the brain is critical for a specific behavior, then you also know where the behavior comes from or which critical component of the ner-vous system is involved in a particular behavior.”

Traditionally thought to provide only a supporting role for nerve cells, glial cells recently have been shown

Continues on Page 11

New biology faculty member, Professor Bing Zhang in his Tucker Hall lab.

Chair ChatChair Chat

3Communiqué Winter 2013–142

Hannah Alexander, adjunct associ-ate professor, was appointed a member of the Public Outreach Committee for the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). She received funding from the ASBMB to host a one-day symposium on science outreach and communication at MU on Sept. 21. The symposium, attended by more than 125 people from 19 insti-tutions in 12 states, was featured in the November 2013 issue of ASBMB Today.Curators’ Professor of Biological Sci-ences James Birchler published two new books, Plant Centromere Biology and Polyploid and Hybrid Genomics, both with Wiley-Blackwell in 2013.

Assistant Professor Pamela Brown’s scanning electron micrograph of the bacterium Pros-thecomicrobium hirschii was voted “most popular” in microbiology in a

photo competition sponsored by the American Tissue Culture Collection.

Associate profes-sors John Da-vid and Michael Garcia received a $1.1-million train-ing grant from the National Insti-tutes of Health to increase diversity in biomedical sci-ences. The grant funds for an addition-al four years MU’s Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), a program that endeavors to increase

the di-versity of students entering graduate school in

the biomedical sciences by providing research training to enhance students’ competitiveness.

Professor John Faaborg was re-cently honored by his home county in Iowa for his na-tional and interna-tional accomplish-

ments in the field of ornithology. He received the 2013 Bell Tower of Fame Award, the highest honor for people who have lived in Greene County, Iowa, and have received international, national, or state recognition for profes-sional and/or civic accomplishments.

Professor Candi Galen re-ceived fund-ing from the Kansas As-sociation for Conservation and Environmental Edu-cation to support the Show-Me Nature Program.

Assistant Professor Ricardo Holdo re-ceived a new NSF grant to

look at growth and resprouting of sa-vanna trees across a resource gradient in Kruger National Park. He also re-ceived an MU Research Council grant to look at spatial heterogeneity in fire intensity in African savannas.

Elizabeth King will join the fac-ulty as an assistant professor in Janu-ary 2014. King uses genomic and quan-titative approaches to study the evolu-tion of organismal

allocation patterns. She received her bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College and her doctorate from the University of California, Riverside. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Depart-ment of Ecology and Evolutionary Bi-ology at University of California, Irvine.

Assistant Professor Lorin Milescu re-ceived a grant from the American Heart Association to study sodium channels as sensors and regula-tors of cellular ex-citability. He also

received a UM Research Board grant to study neuronal mechanisms for respira-tory rhythm.

Assistant Professor Mirela Milescu received a grant from the Ameri-can Heart Association for a project on voltage-sensor pharmacology in T-type calcium channels.

Associate Professor J. Chris Pires was awarded the 2013 Outstanding Gradu-ate Research Mentor Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research. Pires is the first faculty member to win the award twice, having received it also in 2008. The award recognizes the dedica-tion of faculty who advise undergradu-ates in their research projects and cre-ative and scholarly activities. Pires also received the 2013 Advising Shout Out! Award from MU’s Advisors Forum.

Columbia Pub-lic Schools named Anna Waldron one of two “Science Outreach Heroes” for 2013. Waldron is director of MU’s Office of Science Outreach and a fac-

ulty member in the Division of Biologi-cal Sciences.

Associate Professor David Schulz was awarded a Faculty In-centive Grant

from the Arts and Science Alumni Or-ganization to study crayfish in Missouri. The project will study two neural net-works that control heartbeat and food processing in crayfish.

FacultyAccolades

Thanks to endowments from friends and alumni, the division is able to recognize a number of undergraduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the biological sci-ences. Clarence Clinton Crouch Outstanding Undergraduate AwardCasey Burns, Benjamin Vega, and Qi Zhong

John I. Hardy Outstanding Undergraduate AwardBrian Jochems, Seung Ah Lee, and Jacob Taylor

Jonas Viles Jr. Outstanding Sophomore in Biological SciencesCatherine Seidu, Kati Seitz, and Omar Tranissi

Laura Nahm Outstanding Undergraduate AwardAlison Huber, Andrea Sweet, and Katherine Suman

Professor Stanley Zimmering Prize in BiologyJordan Bartlebaugh, Katie Benthall, Grace Olinger, and Michelle Tang

Award-winning Students

Dear Alums, friends, colleagues,Greetings! The holidays are a time

to think about home and family, and in that spirit I am happy to extend the warmest of holiday greetings from your Division of Biological Sciences family.

We are excited to welcome two new faculty members to our divisional family: Bing Zhang and Elizabeth “Lib-by” King. Bing joined our faculty as a professor this September. His studies on the neural basis of behavior in fruit flies are highlighted in this newsletter. His research transects our research strengths in neurobiology, behavior, and cell and molecular biology. Libby will be joining our faculty as an as-sistant professor in January 2014. Libby is a world-class computational biologist who brings a very strong analytical background to the study of the evolution of resource allocation strategies. She will add considerably to the division’s research strengths in computational and quantitative biol-ogy, ecology, evolution, and genetics and genomics. We also are pleased to

welcome 14 new graduate students this year. As always, the graduate stu-dents bring an enjoyable amount of enthusiasm and positive energy to the division.

As you will read in this issue, we were sorry to bid farewell to Profes-sor Clair Kucera this year. Clair died on July 27. He joined the faculty in 1950 and retired in 1987, during which time he established an international reputation as a grassland ecologist. Among the many lasting contribu-tions he made to the division was the purchase of Tucker Prairie for preser-vation and research. We also bid fare-well to our very own “Batman,” Philip Jen, who retired from the division this September. We include stories about Kucera and Jen as well as Tucker Prai-rie in this newsletter.

One of my primary goals as the director is to reach out to our larger Division of Biological Sciences fam-ily—to reconnect with those whose research, ideas, creativity, energy, and accomplishments have made this a truly special place to teach, study, and do research in the biological sciences. Toward that end, I am establishing an Alumni Leadership Board, and I am seeking alumni willing to serve in this leadership capacity. Members of this board will serve as a resource for ideas and input on ways of fostering partnerships between the division and its expansive base of alumni. They also will play a key role in suggesting initiatives and activities that further the growth and development of the division. We anticipate having a board

meeting twice each year. If you are in-terested in volunteering for this impor-tant leadership group, please contact me directly at WalkerJ@missouri.edu or 573-882-8985.

There are other ways you can re-connect. First and foremost, please keep us posted on where you are and what you are doing through our Alum-ni & Friends page on the division’s Web site (biology.missouri.edu). You can also stay abreast of biology-spon-sored seminars, events, activities, and accomplishments of our students, faculty, and alumni on Facebook (Mizzou-Biology) and Twitter (@Miz-zouBiology).

Of course, financial support is al-ways welcome. In fact, the financial contributions of alumni represent a vital resource for the division’s teach-ing and research activities, especially in today’s budgetary climate. You can give online, by credit card, by going to https://donatetomu.missouri.edu/. In the Comment section, you can in-dicate that the gift is for the “Biologi-cal Sciences Development Gift Fund 030321.”

I appreciate your support and honor your continued involvement with the biological sciences family.

Warmest regards,

John C. Walker, PhDProfessor and Director

5Communiqué Winter 2013–144

Biology Welcomes

Its Newest

Graduate Students

Andrea Ravelo MEd, science education, University of Missouri

Anna Scharnagl BS/BA, biology and

religious studies, Florida International University

Cindy Kyi BA, psychology,

Concordia College

Freya Rowland MS, zoology, Miami

University

Jacob Burkhart BS, biology, Central Michigan University

Jon Cody BS, biological sciences,

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Laura Arnold BS, biology, Bowling

Green State University

Leusoni Johnson BS, biology, Wagner

College

Marco Navarro BS, biology, St. Louis

University

Maria Jones BS, biology, Missouri

State University

Matthew Howell BS, biology, Columbia

College

Sarah Unruh BA, biological sciences, University of Missouri

Veronica LaCombe BS, biology, Truman

State University

Victoria Balise BS, biochemistry, New

Mexico State University

By Chanelle KoehnReprinted with permission from the Columbia Missourian. Originally

appeared in the July 30, 2013 issue. Edited for length and style.

Throughout the 58 years of his profes-sional career, Clair Leonard Kucera earned many titles, including professor, ecologist, author, and conservation-ist. Above all, though, he was known as a passionate environ-mental advocate and the driv-ing force behind MU’s Tucker Prairie.

Kucera never failed to speak up for the issues he felt deep-ly about, and when he spoke, people listened. Likewise, when the prairie spoke, Kucera lis-tened.

“He was just a person who was way ahead of his time,” said Barb Sonderman, a close friend of Kucera’s and the Tucker Greenhouse coordina-tor. “If there were more people like Clair, the world would be a better place.”

Kucera died Saturday, July 27, 2013, at Lenoir Woods Se-nior Living Community. He was 91.

He was best known for his influence in securing and maintaining 160 acres of un-touched native land known as Tucker Prairie.

Kucera was born April 30, 1922, in Tama County, Iowa, but he lat-er moved to a farm in Parnell, Iowa, at age 8. He was the oldest of seven chil-dren born to Emma Krafka Kucera and Charles Kucera.

After graduating high school in 1940, Kucera’s father sent him to Iowa State Agricultural College—now Iowa State University—to earn a degree that would lead to an easier career than the harsh farm life his parents experienced. Kucera met his wife, Elizabeth Trem-mel, at a mixer there, but World War II pulled him away from her and his studies.

In 1943, Kucera enlisted in the Army and attended officer training school in Oklahoma. He entered active duty in Europe, where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant attached to the 660th field artillery as a forward observer.

He spent a year in England after V-E Day until his discharge in 1946, when he returned to Iowa State on the G.I.

Bill and married Tremmel. In 1947, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in forestry. He went on to earn his mas-ter’s degree and doctorate from Iowa State in plant ecology.

Kucera became MU’s first ecology professor in 1950. He taught a variety of courses during his 37 years at MU, including ecology, plant geography, plant taxonomy, and basic environ-mental studies. He was well liked by his students, who ranged from freshmen to graduate students, because of his broad knowledge of plants and passion for learning.

“He had very high academic stan-dards for his students, but he was very encouraging and helpful,” says Robin Kennedy, who earned her doctor-ate under Kucera as a graduate stu-dent and is currently curator of MU’s Dunn-Palmer Herbarium.

“When he realized a student didn’t fully understand something, he would

patiently go over it again and make sure the student looked at the issue from all different angles,” Kennedy says.

It was during his first few years at MU that Kucera first heard about Tucker Prairie from his colleagues. The par-cel of land, about 20 miles east of Columbia, is a fragment of the 15 million acres of prairie in Missouri tread on by European settlers in the early 1800s and developed ever since. It gained its name from the Tucker fam-ily of Fulton, who purchased a large grassland area in 1851 that included Tucker Prairie.

For several years, Tucker Prairie served as an outdoor classroom for students and teachers like Kucera. When the Tucker family announced they would sell their land in 1955, Kucera recognized it as an opportunity that could not be overlooked. It was the only large tract of native prairie re-maining in Missouri north of

the Missouri River.He promptly approached Elmer El-

lis, then MU president, and encour-aged him to buy the prairie. At the time, MU was allowed to bring classes to Tucker Prairie but did not have full access to the property. Ellis was enthu-siastic about acquiring the land for stu-dent and faculty research.

Kucera began to single-handedly raise the money for MU to buy the prairie land. He wrote a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation, which, when awarded to him in 1958,

MU Ecology Professor, Prairie Conservationist Clair Kucera Dies at 91

Clair Kucera at Tucker Prairie.

phot

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Jim

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continues on Page 10

7Communiqué Winter 2013–146

Black Bears’ Return to Missouri Indicates Healthy Forests For nearly a century, the only bears known to reside in Missouri were on the state flag or in captivity. Unregu-lated hunting and habitat loss had wiped out most black bears in Mis-souri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma by the 1920s. Now, thanks to a reintro-duction program in Arkansas during the ’50s and ‘60s, hundreds of bears amble through the forests of southern Missouri, according to a joint study by biologists from MU, Mississippi State University, and the Missouri Depart-ment of Conservation. The biologists warn that although the bear popula-tion is still small, outdoor recreation-ists and homeowners should take pre-cautions in the Ozark forest to avoid attracting bears.

“Black bears normally do not at-tack humans, but they will ransack picnic baskets, tear through garbage bags, or even enter buildings look-ing for food,” says Lori Eggert, associate professor of biological sciences. “Although some Missourians may be concerned, the return of black bears to Missouri is actually a good sign. It means parts of the state’s forests are returning to a healthy biological balance after nearly two centuries of intensive logging and exploitation.”

Eggert and her colleagues used the genetic fingerprints of bears in Mis-souri to trace their origin back to Ar-

kansas, where thousands of bears now roam. The majority of these animals appear to be descendents of bears originally reintroduced to the re-gion from populations in Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada. Surprisingly, some of the Missouri bears analyzed by Eggert’s team had genetic signa-tures that suggested they were not descended from the northern bears. Further testing may prove that a tiny population of bears managed to sur-vive unnoticed in the Ozark wilder-ness after the rest of the region’s pop-ulation had died out.

“The larger the gene pool of bears in the region, the healthier the popu-lation will be as it recovers,” says Eg-gert. “If they do indeed exist, these remnant populations of black bears may serve as valuable reservoirs of genetic diversity.”

If the Missouri popu-lation recovers suf-ficiently, officials someday may allow human hunters to stalk the Show-Me State’s black bears, notes Eggert. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission al-lows limited bear

hunting in October and November.Results of the study appeared in

the Journal of Mammalogy (2013: 94:369–77). Lead author Kaitlyn Faires initiated the study while she was an undergraduate in the Division of Bio-logical Sciences.

Latest Research from Biological SciencesMU Sea Lamprey Research Sheds Light on Nerve Regeneration Following Spinal-cord Injury

Fish, unlike humans, can regenerate nerve connections and recover normal mobility following an injury to their spinal cords. In an article published in Neuroscience (2013: 245:74–89), MU neurobiologist Andrew McClellan sheds light on how the sea lamprey, an eel-like fish, regrows the long nerve “high-ways” that link the brain to the spinal cord. The findings may guide future ef-forts to promote re-covery in humans who have suffered spinal-cord injuries.

The study focuses on the regrowth of a particular group of neurons, called reticulospinal neurons, necessary for locomotion. These neurons, which are found in all vertebrates, are located in the hindbrain and project nerve fibers, or processes, down the spinal cord. When these neurons are damaged, the animal is unable to move below the level of injury. While humans and other higher vertebrates would be permanently paralyzed, the sea lam-prey and other lower vertebrates have the ability to regrow these neurons and recover movement within weeks.

“There is a lot of attention to why these neurons regenerate in lower vertebrates and why they don’t in higher vertebrates,” says McClellan, professor of biological sciences and director of the UM Spinal Cord Injury Research Program.

In this study, the researchers looked at the role played by small in-tracellular-signaling molecules, called second messengers, in the ability of these neurons to regenerate. Previ-ous studies have shown that these molecules can promote growth of neurons in cell culture and also can improve regeneration in higher verte-brates after an injury. Their effects on

New Study Shows Global Impact of Genomic Imbalance on Gene Expression in Drosophila

A longstand-ing area of in-vestigation in the Birchler lab involves the balance of gene regulatory mechanisms. Studies in his lab have shown that changing the balance (stoichiometry) of individual components of regulatory complexes af-fects target

gene expression, which is manifested in chromosomal dosage series. The most common such dosage effect is an inverse correlation between the dosage of a chromosomal segment or individual regulator and the amount of target gene expression. This “inverse dosage” effect is likely to contribute to the molecular basis of aneuploid syndromes. When a regulatory dos-age change is combined on the same chromosomal segment as a target gene, the target will exhibit dosage compensation. This type of dosage ef-

Researchers Create First Genetic Map of Non-coding DNA in Plants

Once labeled “junk DNA,” non-coding DNA is now known to be essential in turning genes on and off in many organ-isms, including vertebrates. While assumed to be similar, their function in plants is less

well known.Associate Professor J. Chris Pires

and Pat Edger, PhD ’12, are part of an international consortium that recent-ly sequenced the genomes of three Brassicaceae species, Leavenworthia alabamica, Sisymbrium irio, and Aeth-ionema arabicum, and then compared them with six additional genomes from Brassicaceae to create a map of 90,000 conserved non-coding DNA re-gions in the Brassicaceae family. The

Associate Professor Lori Eggert

reticulospinal neurons, however, had not been studied.

McClellan and his colleagues iso-lated and removed injured reticulo-spinal neurons from sea lamprey and grew them in culture. They applied chemicals that activated second mes-sengers and then looked to see what effects they had on these neurons’

growth. They discovered

that activation of a particular second messenger, called cyclic AMP, acted somewhat like an “on” switch, es-sentially converting neurons from a non-growing state to a

growing one. However, it had no ef-fect on neurons that had already be-gun to grow.

“That sort of makes sense,” says McClellan. “It could very well be that for neurons whose processes are al-ready growing, their cyclic AMP levels are moderately high already. Whereas in neurons that are not growing, the levels are low.”

The scientists also report results from neurophysiological experiments that show that cyclic AMP had rela-tively little effect on the electrical properties of these neurons.

“Our conclusion was that these cyclic AMP pathways do stimulate outgrowth of neural processes in the lamprey, like they do in other neurons, and they don’t seem to produce, in addition, any deleterious effects that would need to be compensated for to get the maximum growth-performing effect from the agents,” McClellan says.

Information learned from the study may shed light on studies of neural regeneration in mammals, including, perhaps, humans.

“In mammals, cyclic AMP does ap-pear to enhance regeneration within the central nervous system in an envi-ronment that is normally inhibitory for regeneration. So it seems to be able

to overcome some of these inhibitory factors and promote at least some re-generation,” McClellan says. “Hope-fully our studies with the lamprey can provide a list of conditions that are important for neural regeneration and that can guide therapies in higher ver-tebrates, and possibly in humans.”

Tim Pale, a graduate student in the division, is lead author of the paper. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the UM Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, UM Research Board, and MU Research Council.

fect appears to be responsible for X chromosomal dosage compensation in Drosophila.

In a new paper published in Pro-ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2013: 110:16514–19), the Birchler lab reports the findings from an RNA-sequencing project to exam-ine global patterns of gene expression in male and female Drosophila larvae trisomic for the left arm of chromo-some 2 (2L). According to the authors, “the study demonstrates a global im-pact of genomic imbalance on gene expression and the generality of the inverse dosage effect and aneuploid dosage compensation. The study in-dicates that sex chromosomes and genes with sex-biased expression evolve distinctly in response to dos-age-sensitive regulation.”

Curators’ Professor of Biological Sciences

Jim Birchler

Professor Andrew McClellan

Associate Professor J. Chris Pires

Brassicaceae family includes cruci-ferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, as well as the model genetic plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The map, which is the first of its kind for plants, will help scientists to lo-calize essential regulatory regions in the genomes of important crop spe-cies.

Results of the study were pub-lished in the journal Nature Genetics (2013: 45, 891–98).

9Communiqué Winter 2013–148

More than 75 Division of Biological Sciences faculty, students, alumni, and staff attended a reception at MU’s Memorial Union on Sept. 4 to honor Professor Philip Jen, who retired after 38 years of teaching and research.

Jen, who came to MU in 1975, was the first neurobiologist faculty mem-ber hired in the division and was pro-moted to full professor by 1985.

Through the years, Jen has taught thousands of undergraduates in courses ranging from neurobiology to practical electronics. He has person-ally mentored 11 master’s degree stu-dents, 16 doctoral students, and 26 postdoctoral fellows and visiting sci-entists. In 1995, the College of Arts and Science awarded Jen the Purple Chalk Teaching Award.

Jen’s use of bats to study how a mammal’s brain processes sound earned him the local name of “The Batman” as well as an international reputation in the area of neurophysi-ology of hearing. His many honors include receipt of MU’s William H. Byler Distinguished Professor Award in 1988 and election as a fellow of the American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science in 2001.

Stephen Alexander, professor of bio-logical sciences, was one of several speakers who lauded Jen at the re-ception.

“Phil is light hearted and fun to be with. At work, he is focused on excellence. His quest for excellent science is immu-table,” said Alex-ander. “We, in the Division of Biolog-ical Sciences, owe a lot to Phil’s fine example of unre-lenting hard work, excellent scholar-ship, and leader-ship over the past 38 years.”

Professor Andrew McClellan, who directs the UM Spinal Cord Injury Research Pro-gram, hailed Jen’s central role in building the division’s neurobiology program and in founding MU’s Inter-disciplinary Neuroscience Program in 2001.

“Phil is the founding member of the DBS [Division of Biological Sciences] neurobiology group and was a major force, mostly directly but also indi-rectly, in hiring virtually every neurobi-ologist in the division. At present, we now have about 12 neurobiology facul-ty,” said McClellan. “The fact that we have a vibrant, cohesive group of neu-

robiology faculty is due, in large part, to the efforts of Phil Jen.”

Throughout his career, Jen has inspired many young students to pursue stud-ies in neurobiol-ogy. Recently, Jen and his wife, Betty, established the Dr. Philip and Betty Jen Neu-roscience Stu-dent Travel Award Fund, which pro-

vides travel support to eligible neuro-science graduate students to attend professional meetings and confer-ences.

To commemorate Jen’s contribu-tions, the division presented Jen with a plaque and also announced the es-tablishment of the Philip H.-S. Jen Lecture in Neurocircuits and Behavior. Professor Troy Zars, who made the an-nouncement on behalf of the division, said that, like Jen, the lecture will be “an integral part of the division’s train-ing program in a multi-investigator group that focuses on the neural basis of behavior.”

“To paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur, old professors never die, they just fade away,” joked Jen later. “I have really had a gratifying, fulfilling career.”

Professor Philip Jen Lauded at Retirement Reception

Philip and Betty Jen with a group of neurobiology graduate students in the division.

Support the Dr. Philip and Betty Jen Neuroscience Student Travel Award Fund by making a tax-deductible do-nation online at https://donatetomu.missouri.edu/

Watch Philip Jen’s retirement lecture, “The Batman Story,” on MizzouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw2X14bziSg.

Tucker Prairie is a 146-acre tract of land located 17 miles east of Colum-bia on the south side of Interstate 70. The University of Missouri purchased the prairie in 1957 to support research and teaching in the Department of Botany, now the Division of Biological Sciences.

Tucker Prairie is unique as a relic fragment of the tallgrass prairie that once covered one-third of the United States. In a letter dated July 12, 1956, Dan P. Tucker states that the land was originally purchased by John Moss, his great-great grandfather, in 1851, and had remained in the possession of the Tucker family. He attested that the land was never plowed or cultivat-ed in any manner and recalled that, “I often heard my grandfather, who was born in 1848, tell of the pressure from some of his sons to plow this land during World War I. And in the time since then the family has taken pride in that this is ‘virgin prairie land.’”

Clair Kucera, then asso-ciate professor of botany, recognized the research and conservation value of the prairie and negotiated its purchase by MU when the Tucker family put it up for sale in 1957. MU pur-chased the land (at the time, 160 acres) at a cost of $32,000, or $200 per acre. Funds for the pur-chase of the prairie came from donations by a small group of individuals and interested organizations

as well as from a $19,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The donors included the Missouri Alumni Association, the Missouri Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, J. B. Arthur of Mexico, Mo; J. S. Lehman, Sidney Maestre, Edward Mallinckrodt, Edgar M. Queeny, and Tom K. Smith of St. Louis; R. B. Price of Columbia; Mrs. J. Roy Tucker, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Tucker, and Mr. and Mrs. James St. George Tucker of Fulton; and William C. Tucker of Warrensburg.

A dedication ceremony was held at Tucker Prairie on Sept. 13, 1958. The ceremony featured Alan T. Waterman, director of the National Science Foundation, and William J. Robbins, former di-rector of the New York Botanical Garden and a former dean of the Graduate School at MU. In his remarks, Waterman pointed to the important role of universities

A new sign was recently installed at Tucker Prairie. (Image courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation)

Participants of the 1958 dedication ceremony.

Preservation of Tucker Prairie

in conserving natural resources, “It is particularly fitting that the universities, which have so long stood as guard-ians of our intellectual and political freedom, should lead the way in con-serving and protecting those natural resources which we have used with such prodigal waste.”

Robbins said study of the prairie will shed light on the complexity of nature including human’s place in it, “It will inspire students to apply themselves to the understanding of the relation of organisms to themselves and to their environment. Perhaps the lessons learned may have some significance for man’s attempts to understand himself, his relations to other things and to the physical world in which he lives.”

The speeches by Waterman and Robbins appear in A Prairie Preserve: The University of Missouri Tucker Prai-rie Research Area, a bulletin published by the College of Arts and Science in 1959.

Tucker Prairie was subsequent-ly designated a National Land-mark and a Missouri Natural Area. In 1988, Tucker Prairie was offi-cially renamed the Clair L. Kucera Research Station at Tucker Prairie in honor of Kucera.

RearView

Mirror

11Communiqué Winter 2013–1410

Mo. More than 200 acres have been seeded there, and 80 percent of that seed comes from Tucker Prairie.

But Kucera’s studies did not end with plants and ecology. A consummate stu-dent, he read widely and broadly.

“I was surprised to learn that after he retired, he began reading books of all kinds,” said Ron Kucera, Kucera’s son. “He would read a book a day, and not just science books. It could be a detec-

provided the bulk of the money for the land’s purchase and the development of research facilities there. The remainder of the funds was secured through pri-vate donations and from MU.

On Sept. 13, 1958, Kucera gave do-nors, scientists and university repre-sentatives a tour of Tucker Prairie in celebration of its purchase by MU. For 30 years, he continued to lead research-ers to Tucker Prairie for several differ-ent projects, including the practice of burning land to enrich soil, which was controversial at the time.

“He was a pioneer in fire ecology when ecologists were just figuring out that fire was required for prairie sys-tems to survive,” says John Faaborg, an avian ecology professor at MU.

Kucera experimented with fire burning for 25 years to see what an-nual burn frequency worked best. One of his burn plots continues to serve as a teaching tool for MU students, Faaborg says.

Kucera retired from MU in 1987 and went on to pursue his interests in ecol-ogy through research. He published more than 60 journal articles in fields like plant ecology and plant systemat-ics. He also published four books, in-cluding The Grasses of Missouri, which has become a foundational taxonomic account of the state, and The Challenge of Ecology, published in English and Spanish and used as an introductory ecology textbook in many countries.

After Kucera retired, Faaborg was appointed director of Tucker Prairie the same year. The prairie is not used as much as a research center anymore, he says, but Kucera’s dedication to the land lives on in other ways.

“Tucker Prairie is such a wonderful place because it allows us to see what the natural soil of a tallgrass prairie looks like before humans take over,” Faaborg says. “It kind of serves as a benchmark.”

He adds that seed from Tucker Prai-rie is presently being used to restore other prairies, such as Prairie Fork Conservation Area in Williamsburg,

Congratulations to Recent GraduatesUndergraduateBachelor’s degrees in biological sciences were granted to 269 students during the spring commencement ceremonies. Sixty-three earned Latin honors for grade point averages of 3.6 or above, demonstrating high performance in general educa-tion and Division of Biological Sciences courses.

Graduate Six students earned their doctorates in biological sciences, and two were granted master’s of arts in biological sciences.

Chad NiederhuthAdviser: John C. WalkerDissertation: Genetics and Function Genomics of AbscissionCurrent position: postdoctoral fellow, University of Georgia

Shannon E. PittmanAdviser: Ray SemlitschDissertation: Movement Ecology of Juvenile Salamanders: Implications for Conservation and Management of Pond-breeding Amphibian PopulationsCurrent position: postdoctoral fellow, University of Minnesota

Diana R. RobertsAdviser: Mannie LiscumDissertation: Shedding Some Light on Phototropin Signaling in ArabidopsisCurrent position: postdoctoral fellow, University of Missouri

Doctoral StudentsKaty Frederick-HudsonAdviser: Johannes SchulDissertation: Investigating an Adap-tive Radiation in Temperate Neocono-cephalusCurrent position: instructor, University of Missouri

Cara JoosAdviser: John FaaborgDissertation: Habitat Specific Demog-raphy and Fitness of a Neotropical Mi-grant Songbird, the Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)Current position: postdoctoral fellow, University of Missouri

Thomas M. LuhringAdviser: Ray SemlitschDissertation: Complex Life Histories and Biogeochemical CyclesCurrent position: postdoctoral fellow, Michigan State University

Master’s StudentsSheena M. FeistAdviser: Lori EggertThesis: “Cryptic Gene Flow in the ‘Sedentary’ Hellbender (Cryptobran-chus alleganiensis) and the Implica-tions for Species Management”

Garrett A. HartmanAdviser: Johannes SchulThesis: “Sensory Processing and the Evolution of Female Preference in Neoconocephalus“

Clair KuceraContinued from Page 5

tive novel, a western, a history book—it didn’t matter to him, because he just loved to learn.”

As an international expert on the ecology of tallgrass prairies, Kucera traveled the globe to speak and serve as a consultant, visiting countries from England and Wales to Kenya and Tan-zania. In 1990, he was honored as one of only 10 MU sesquicentennial emeri-tus professors for contributions to his

profession and the university.Kucera is survived by his wife, Eliza-

beth; his children, Ron, Kim, Carol and Gary; his grandchildren, Christina, Matthew, and Megan; his brother, Bob; and his sisters, Dorothy, Mary, and Elaine.

continues on next page

Clair KuceraContinued from previous page

New Faculty: Bing ZhangContinued from Page 1

Professor Zhang (center) with some members of his lab: sitting, Audrey Wagner and Kayla Howard; back, Weijie Liu, Tori Balise, Christina Wang, and Hannah Brenton.

to be necessary for rapid nerve-signal transmission. Loss or breakdown of myelin also has been implicated in neu-rodegenerative diseases, such as mul-tiple sclerosis. Such discoveries have highlighted how little we know about these cells, says Zhang. “If we don’t know much about neurons, we know even less about glial cells.”

To zoom in on a group of glial cells, Zhang’s lab developed a novel genetic system called FINGR that allows sci-entists to isolate specific cells and alter their behaviors to assess the impact on behavior. FINGR refines the power-ful Gal4-UAS genetic system in Dro-sophila by increasing its specificity, says Zhang. “The FINGR system adds a powerful tool to the arsenal at the dis-posal of researchers for mapping neural circuits and for general clonal analysis in Drosophila.”

That’s what’s nice about Drosoph-ila, says Zhang. “Obviously, none of this manipulation can be done with humans. However, the general prin-ciples we learn from Drosophila should provide some guidelines about which group of cells, for example glial cells, near which part of the brain, are criti-cal for a specific function. If we know that, then maybe we can target that group of cells in the human brain to better understand how glial cells and neurons communicate.”

Pinned to a bulletin board outside the Zhang lab in Tucker Hall is a help-

wanted flier. The flier, which features a cartoon image of a fruit fly read-ing the personals in the newspaper, asks “Do you want to push flies and study their brains?” For the uninitiated, to “push flies” means exactly what it says. “To sort flies un-der a microscope, we use a brush to push them. It’s why we’re called fly push-ers,” says Zhang.

Among the fly push-ers in Zhang’s lab are two postdoctoral fellows, Mojgan Padash Barmchi and Weijie Liu; one graduate student, Victoria (Tori) Balise; and a lab man-ager, Laura Wax. Balise, Barmchi, and Liu all followed Zhang to MU from OU, and Wax joined the lab in Octo-ber. Zhang is pleased with the response from undergraduates and has four do-ing research in his lab.

“One thing that impresses me, so far, is that so many MU students seem to think about starting research early, which is good. The longer you have them, the more you can teach them,” Zhang says.

Hearing him talk about students, it is clear why Zhang is the recipient of two teaching awards from his previous institutions. “Students really care if you care about them. They don’t have to

get an A grade to see that you’re a good professor. They care whether you treat them equally well, fairly, and you care about their progress.”

Their success, he says, is his success. “I cannot measure my effort by a Na-ture paper or a Science paper. I never will. It only takes one student from a class who gets truly excited about what you’re doing, who may actually go on to become a great neurobiologist or great cell biologist or whatever. That’s what makes my job worthwhile.”

Communiqué is published annually by the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri.

Editorial OfficeDivision of Biological Sciences110 Tucker HallColumbia, MO 65211Phone: 573-882-6860E-mail: biology@missouri.eduWeb site: biology.missouri.edu

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Editorial BoardJohn C. WalkerMelody KrollMelody Galen

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Help support our students by giving a gift to the Division of Biological Sciences today.Gifts from friends and alumni of the Division of Biological Sciences create opportunities to provide more students with scholarships and help the division meet critical needs. Whether you are able to contribute $50 or $5,000, every contribution is important and helps.

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