We study the interface between signal transduction and cell function. Approaches employed include - molecular genetics, protein and lipid biochemistry, confocal and electron microscopy, protein crystallography, and model organisms approaches (e.g. yeast, Arabidopsis, C. elegans, mouse gene knockout technology).
The primary research area my lab is the regulation of meiotic recombination at the genomic level in higher eukaryotes. Genomic instability and disease states, including cancer, can occur if the cell fails to properly regulate recombination. We have created novel tools that give our lab an unparalleled ability to find mutants in genes that control recombination. We use a combination of genetics, bioinformatics, computational biology, cell biology and genomics in our investigations. A second research area in the lab is the role of centromere DNA in chromosome biology. We welcome undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists to join our team.
We use the premier model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, and real world plant pathogens like the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae and the oomycete Hyaloperonospora parasitica to understand the molecular nature of the plant immune system, the diversity of pathogen virulence systems, and the evolutionary mechanisms that influence plant-pathogen interactions. All of our study organisms are sequenced, making the tools of genomics accessible.
Our research goal is to understand how bacterial pathogens cause disease on their hosts. We are working with a plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae which introduces virulence proteins into host cells to suppress immune responses. Our laboratory collaborates with Jeff Dangl's lab in the UNC Biology Department using genomics approaches to identify P. syringae virulence proteins and to discover how they alter plant cell biology to evade the plant immune system and cause disease.
Signal transduction coupled by heterotrimeric G proteins. We use Arabidopsis, genetics, biochemistry, & in vivo imaging of protein-protein interactions. The type of signals we study include light, hormones, & sugars.
Hormones influence virtually every aspect of plant growth and development. My lab is examining the molecular mechanisms
controlling the biosynthesis and signal transduction of the
phytohormones cytokinin and ethylene, and the roles that these hormones play in various aspects of development. We employ genetic, molecular, biochemical, and genomic approaches using the model species Arabidopsis to elucidate these pathways.
Specialized cell types allow plants to shed their structures-such as leaves, flowers and fruit-through the carefully orchestrated process of cell separation. The research focus of the Liljegren lab is to investigate the molecular mechanisms that control cell separation using the Arabidopsis flower as a model system. As in many other higher plants, Arabidopsis flowers contain pattern elements which allow distinct separation events such as floral organ shedding, fruit opening, pollen dehiscence, and seed dispersal to take place during their life cycle. Currently, we are characterizing the functions of key regulators of floral organ separation, including NEVERSHED, LOVES-ME-NOT and STAMENSTAY. We have discovered that NEVERSHED regulates vesicle trafficking during flower development and are using sensitized genetic screens to identify additional components of a signaling pathway, such as the receptor-like kinase EVERSHED, that likely control the movement and secretion of specific molecules during the shedding process.
My work focuses on the role of plant pathogens in (A) controlling or facilitating biological invasions by plants, (B) structuring plant communities, and (C) modulating the effects of global change on terrestrial ecosystems. My group works on viruses, bacteria, and fungi that infect wild plants, chiefly grasses and other herbaceous species. Ultimately, I am interested in the implications of these processes for the sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services and for the conservation of biological diversity.
My research focuses on plant community ecology and such related fields as plant geography, conservation biology, ecoinformatics and plant population ecology. I am particularly interested in how plant communities are assembled and vary across landscapes. Toward this end I am helping define the emerging discipline of ecoinformatics through development of international databases and standards for large-scale data integration and exchange. My current research on the vegetation of the Southeastern United States includes on-going studies of the long-term dynamics of Southeastern forests, human impacts on floodplain ecosystems, targets for restoration, and more generally factors influencing the composition and species diversity of terrestrial plant communities across a range of spatial scales.
Regulation of plant development: We use techniques of genetics, molecular biology, microscopy, physiology, and biochemistry to study how endogenous developmental programs and exogenous signals cooperate to determine plant form. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has numerous technical advantages that allow rapid experimental progress. We focus on how the plant hormone auxin acts in several different developmental contexts. Among questions of current interest are i) how auxin regulates patterning in embryos and ovules, ii) how light modifies auxin response, iii) how feedback loops affect kinetics or patterning of auxin response, iv) how flower opening and pollination are regulated, and v) whether natural variation in flower development affects rates of self-pollination vs. outcrossing.
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"Our lab uses computational and molecular tools to study the evolution of genome organization, primarily in the flowering plants. Areas of
investigation include the origin and consequences of differences in gene order within populations and between species, the evolutionary and functional diversification of gene families (phytome.org), and the application of genomics to evolutionary model organisms (mimulusevolution.org). We also are involved in a number of cyberinfrastructure initiatives through the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (nescent.org), including work on digital scientific libraries(datadryad.org), open bioinformatic software development (e.g. gmod.org) and the application of semantic web technologies to biological data integration(phenoscape.org)."
My research interests are wide ranging, including topics in conservation biology and plant ecology. I have had several foci: species richness (including the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, beta diversity (including the comparison of diversity in different parts of the world that have similar climates and the connections to coinservation planning),and the ecology of natural disturbances (including connections to environmental ethics and conservation of biodiversity). Through my role as Director of the University's North Carolina Botanical Garden, a conservation focused garden, I am also involved in research and poliy in invasive species biology, ecological restoration, ex situ conservation and reintroduction of rare species, and related subjects.
