| |
Dr.
John Browse
.jpg) 509-335-2293
jab@wsu.edu
Professor
of Biochemistry, Professor of Molecular Plant Sciences, Fellow
of the Institute of Biological Chemistry. Ph.D. 1978, University
of Auckland, New Zealand.
Research
Highly
unsaturated lipid molecules constitute approximately 50% of the
hydrophobic membrane barriers, which delineate the compartments
of plant cells, and they are major components of the light harvesting
membranes of chloroplasts. Many lines of evidence indicate that
these lipids are critically important for many membrane functions
and, thus, for the proper growth and development of plants. In
addition, lipid oils are a major form of carbon storage in seeds,
and these vegetable oils have many commercial applications.
One of the
research programs in my laboratory encompasses a diverse set of
projects that have at their base our investigation of the biosynthesis
and function of membrane and storage lipids in plants using Arabidopsis
as a model. These projects include the isolation and characterization
of genes that control the elongation, desaturation or other modifications
of fatty acids. These genes have been used to produce transgenic
plants with altered membrane compositions or improved vegetable
oils. We have several research projects that focus on the roles
of membrane lipids in the cell biology and physiology of plants
using a large number of mutants with alterations in the lipid composition
of their membranes. In addition, our isolation of jasmonate-deficient
and jasmonate-responsive mutants of Arabidopsis has allowed us to
make new discoveries about the involvement of jasmonate in pollen
development, insect defense and non-host resistance against fungal
pathogens. These discoveries have wide implications for plant biology
in areas ranging from hybrid breeding to crop protection.
A second research
program uses mutational analysis and molecular genetics to investigate
lipid structure and membrane function in the model nematode Caenorhabditis
elegans. Mutants deficient in many steps of polyunsaturated fatty
acid synthesis have been isolated and several of these display growth
and neurological defects. Our mutants provide new tools to understand
the roles of polyunsaturated fatty acids in membrane biology and
cell function in this animal model.
Selected
Publications
Watts, J.L. and Browse, J. 2006 Dietary Manipulation
Implicates Lipid Signaling in C. elegans Germline Stem
Cell Fate. Developmental Biology 292:381-392.
Mandaokar, A., Thines, B., Shin, B., Lange, B.M., Choi, G., Koo,
Y.J., Yoo, Y.J., Choi, Y.D., Choi, G. and Browse, J. 2006 Transcriptional
Regulators of Stamen Development in Arabidopsis Identified
by Transcriptional Profiling. Plant J. 46:9984-1008.
Barkan, L., Vijayan, P., Carlsson, A.S., Mekhedov, S. and Browse,
J. 2006 A Suppressor of fab1 Challenges Hypotheses
on the Role of Thylakoid Unsaturation in Photosynthetic Function. Plant
Physiol. 141:1012-1020.
Møller, I.M., Rasmusson, A. and Browse, J. 2006 Respiration
and Lipid Metabolism, Chapter 11. In "Plant Physiology,
Fourth Ed." Taiz, L. and Ziegler, E. (eds.), Sinauer Associates,
Sunderland, MA, 764 pp.
Brock, T.J., Browse, J. and Watts, J.L. 2006 Genetic
Regulation of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Composition in C. elegans. PLOS
Genetics 2:3108 (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0020108).
Ma, X. and Browse, J. 2006 Altered Rates of Protein
Transport in Arabidopsis Mutants Deficient in Chloroplast
Membrane Unsaturation. Phytochemistry 67:1629-1636.
Poxleitner, M., Rogers, S.W., Samuels, A.L., Browse, J. and Rogers,
J.C. 2006 A Role for Caleosin in Degradation of Oil
Body Storage Lipid During Seed Germination. Plant J. 47:917-933.
Tilton, G.B., Wedemeyer, W.J., Browse, J. and Ohlrogge, J. 2006 Plant
Coenzyme A Biosynthesis: Characterization of Two Pantothenate Kinases
from Arbidopsis thaliana. Plant Mol. Biol. 61:629-642.
Kubagawa, H.M., Watts, J.L., Corrigan, C., Edmonds, J., Sztul,
E., Browse, J. and Miller, M.A. 2006 Oocyte Signals
Derived from Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Control Sperm Recruitment in
vivo. Nature Cell Biol. 8:1143-1148.
Kumar, R., Wallis, J.G., Skidmore, C. and Browse, J. 2006 A
Mutation in Microsomal NADH:Cytochrome b5 Reductase Identified
by High-Throughput Screening of Mutant Arabidopsis Seed has Differential
Effects on Fatty Acid Hydroxylation and Desaturation. Plant
J. 48:920-932.
Costa, M.A., Bedgar, D.L., Moinuddin, S.G.A., Kim, K.-W., Cardenas,
C.L., Cochrane, F.C., Shockey, J.M., Helms, G.L., Amakura, Y.,
Takahashi, H., Milhollan, J.K., Davin, L.B., Browse, J. and Lewis,
N.G. 2005 Characterization in vitro and in vivo of the Putative
Multigene 4-Coumarate:CoA Ligase Network in Arabidopsis:
Syringyl Lignin and Sinapate/Sinapyl Alcohol Derivative Formation.
Phytochemistry 66:2071-2090.
Koo, A.J.K., Fulda, M., Browse, J. and Ohlrogge, J.B. 2005 Identification
of a Plastid Acyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthetase in Arabidopsis
and Its Role in the Activation and Elongation of Exogenous Fatty
Acids. Plant J. 44:620-632.
Browse, J. 2005 Jasmonate: An Oxylipin Signal with Many Roles
in Plants. In "Vitamins and Hormones", Vol. 72:
Plant Hormones, Litwack, G. (ed.), AP-Elsevier, New York.
Lu, C., Fulda, M., Wallis, J.G. and Browse, J. 2005 A High-Throughput
Screen for Genes from Castor that Boost Hydroxy Fatty Acid Accumulation
in Seed Oils of Transgenic Arabidopsis. Plant J. 45:847-856.
Kahn-Kirby, A.H., Dantzker, J.L.M., Apicella, A.J., Schafer, W.R.,
Browse, J., Bargmann, C.I. and Watts, J.L. 2004. Specific Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids Drive TRPV-Dependent Sensory Signaling In Vivo. Cell 119:889-900.
Schnurr, J., Shockey, J. and Browse, J. 2004. The Acyl-Coenzyme
A Synthetase Encoded by LACS2 is Essential for Normal
Cuticle Development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 16:629-642.
Tilton, G.B., Shockey, J.M. and Browse, J. 2004. Biochemical and
Molecular Characterization of ACH2, an Acyl-CoA Thioesterase from Arabidopsis
thaliana. J. Biol. Chem. 279:7487-7494.
Fulda, M., Schnurr, J., Abbadi, A., Heinz, E. and Browse, J. 2004.
Peroxisomal Acyl-CoA Synthetase Activity is Essential for Seedling
Development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 16:394-405.
Wallis,
J.G., Watts, J.L. and Browse, J. 2002. Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acid Synthesis. What Will They Think of Next? Trends
in Biochem. Sci. 27:467-473.
Watts,
J.L. and Browse, J. 2002. Genetic Dissection
of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Synthesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99:5854-5859.
Carlsson,
A.S., LaBrie, S.T., Kinney, A.J., von Wettstein-Knowles, P. and
Browse, J. 2002. A KAS2 cDNA Complements
the Phenotypes of the Arabidopsis fab1 Mutant that Differs
in a Single Residue Bordering the Substrate Binding Pocket. Plant
J. 29:761-770.
Metz,
J.G., Roessler, P., Facciotti, D., Levering, C., Dittrich, F.,
Lassner, M., Valentine, R., Lardizabal, K., Domergue, F., Yamada,
A., Yazawa, K., Knauf, V. and Browse, J. 2001. Polyketide
Synthases Produce Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Both Prokaryotes
and Eukaryotes. Science 293:290-293.
|
|
|
|
|
|
