About Our Lab

We are studying 90 hours of early anther development in maize (Zea mays L., “corn”) to elucidate the signaling networks that regulate cell type acquisition and maintenance within anther locules. The question: Without a germ line, how do cells in plants switch from mitosis to meiosis?

Cell Fate Acquisition in Anthers
Why corn?
Detecting Mutator activity
Transposon tagging and gene cloning
Corn field at San Luis Obispo
UVB and Mu elements
Ustilago maydis
Male-sterile mutants
 learn more: Ma-Plant-Journal-2007-malesteriles.pdf
Technologies utilized
 2D DIGE
 PALM (Positional Ablation w/ Laser Microbeams)
 Oligo microarrays
 Confocal microscopy

 

 

 

Shoot apical meristems produce new stems and leaves during vegetative growth, and then using a combination of external and internal cues, these meristems differentiate to an inflorescence meristem that produces flowers. Nearly all floral cells are somatic, and after the entire structure is completed, just a few cells within the anthers and ovules start meiosis to produce the haploid gametophytes.