Research

New Reporters for Plant Biology

We develop novel reporter systems that help biologists identify transgenic plants and monitor gene expression.

• An mCherry-based fluorescent reporter enables selection of transgenic and non-transgenic seeds to be used in conjunction with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing.
• The synthetic gene RUBY generates the bright red pigment betalain, providing a visual selection marker that requires no extra equipment.

Understanding the Mechanisms of Auxin Biosynthesis, Metabolism, and Signaling

• We have elucidated the main auxin biosynthesis pathway in Arabidopsis and identified YUC flavin monooxygenases as key enzymes for auxin biosynthesis
• We study the role auxin inactivation plays on plant development through the GH3-ILR1-DAO pathway

New Technologies in Plant Genome Editing

• Our Ribozyme-gRNA-Ribozyme (RGR) system allows for the expression of gRNAs for CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing from any promoter of choice, eliminating the restrictions of U3 and U6 (RNA polymerase III) promoters.
• Transgene Killer CRISPR (TKC) technology enables efficient isolation of transgene-free gene-edited plants by attaching a toxic “suicide” gene to the editing cassette.