个人简介

Ph.D. Michigan State University 1986 M.Sc. Genetics University of Alberta 1983 B.Sc. Genetics University of Alberta 1978

研究领域

Biotechnology Chemical Biology Developmental Biology Functional Genomics Genetics Molecular Biology Plant Biology Systems Biology

The general objectives of our research group are the development of genetic, genomic and chemical biology screening technologies to identify genes that control the synthesis and signaling of select plant hormones. Presently, we are focused on two hormones, abscisic acid (ABA) and strigolactones (SLs). ABA is involved in protecting plants from abiotic stresses such as drought and cold. We are developing meso-scale genetic and protein-protein interaction maps between a few hundred genes involved in the ABA response in Arabidopsis. With an understanding of these ABA networks, it will be possible to make rational improvements in crop species. Towards this end, we are presently translating information garnered from Arabidopsis to crops such as canola and soybean. Although SLs, also have many hormonal roles in Arabidopsis, these compounds are mostly known for their ability to act as germination cues in host/parasite plant interactions. These parasites have evolved strong seed dormancy, which is broken only when they sense SLs extruding from a host’s root. The use of SLs as a germination cue, which allows the parasite to coordinate its lifecycle with its host, has devastating consequences for developing world agriculture. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, parasitic plants have infested up to two-thirds of the arable land and represent one of the largest challenges to food security on that continent, affecting over 100 million people. To directly combat this major problem, we are developing high throughput chemical genomics screens to identify SL mimics that fool parasitic plants into germinating in the absence of a host.

近期论文

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50 years of Arabidopsis research: highlights and future directions.Provart NJ, Alonso J, Assmann SM, Bergmann D, Brady SM, Brkljacic J, Browse J, Chapple C, Colot V, Cutler S, Dangl J, Ehrhardt D, Friesner JD, Frommer WB, Grotewold E, Meyerowitz E, Nemhauser J, Nordborg M, Pikaard C, Shanklin J, Somerville C, Stitt M, Torii KU, Waese J, Wagner D, McCourt P.New Phytol. 2015 Oct; pubmed Structure-function analysis identifies highly sensitive strigolactone receptors in Striga.Toh S, Holbrook-Smith D, Stogios PJ, Onopriyenko O, Lumba S, Tsuchiya Y, Savchenko A, McCourt P.Science 2015 Oct;350(6257):203-7 pubmed PARASITIC PLANTS. Probing strigolactone receptors in Striga hermonthica with fluorescence.Tsuchiya Y, Yoshimura M, Sato Y, Kuwata K, Toh S, Holbrook-Smith D, Zhang H, McCourt P, Itami K, Kinoshita T, Hagihara S.Science 2015 Aug;349(6250):864-8 pubmed Towards personalized agriculture: what chemical genomics can bring to plant biotechnology.Stokes ME, McCourt P.Front Plant Sci 2014;5:344 pubmed Detection of Parasitic Plant Suicide Germination Compounds Using a High-Throughput Arabidopsis HTL/KAI2 Strigolactone Perception System.Toh S, Holbrook-Smith D, Stokes ME, Tsuchiya Y, McCourt P.Chem. Biol. 2014 Aug;21(8):988-98 pubmed A mesoscale abscisic acid hormone interactome reveals a dynamic signaling landscape in Arabidopsis.Lumba S, Toh S, Handfield LF, Swan M, Liu R, Youn JY, Cutler SR, Subramaniam R, Provart N, Moses A, Desveaux D, McCourt P.Dev. Cell 2014 May;29(3):360-72 pubmed ABI3 controls embryo degreening through Mendel's I locus.Delmas F, Sankaranarayanan S, Deb S, Widdup E, Bournonville C, Bollier N, Northey JG, McCourt P, Samuel MA.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2013 Oct;110(40):E3888-94 pubmed Characterization of a cruciferin deficient mutant of Arabidopsis and its utility for overexpression of foreign proteins in plants.Lin Y, Pajak A, Marsolais F, McCourt P, Riggs CD.PLoS ONE 2013;8(5):e64980 pubmed Forward genetic screening for the improved production of fermentable sugars from plant biomass.Stamatiou G, Vidaurre DP, Shim I, Tang X, Moeder W, Bonetta D, McCourt P.PLoS ONE 2013;8(1):e55616 pubmed HY5 is involved in strigolactone-dependent seed germination in Arabidopsis.Toh S, McCourt P, Tsuchiya Y.Plant Signal Behav 2012 May;7(5):556-8 pubmed The embryonic leaf identity gene FUSCA3 regulates vegetative phase transitions by negatively modulating ethylene-regulated gene expression in Arabidopsis.Lumba S, Tsuchiya Y, Delmas F, Hezky J, Provart NJ, Shi Lu Q, McCourt P, Gazzarrini S.BMC Biol. 2012;10:8 pubmed Thermoinhibition uncovers a role for strigolactones in Arabidopsis seed germination.Toh S, Kamiya Y, Kawakami N, Nambara E, McCourt P, Tsuchiya Y.Plant Cell Physiol. 2012 Jan;53(1):107-17 pubmed