The Barton Lab Kathy Barton, Staff Member Molecular Biology of shoot apical meristem formation Plants produce new leaf and stem segments throughout their lifetimes. They do this through the action of small clusters of undifferentiated cells, shoot apical meristems, located at the tips of growing shoots. Lab concentrates on the study of the molecular biology of shoot apical meristem formation and function in the small (but scientifically powerful) laboratory weed Arabidopsis thaliana. The Bhaya Lab Devaki Bhaya, Adj. Staff Member Phototaxis in Cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria flourish in a diverse range of environments, which is reflected in their ability to cope with wide fluctuations in temperature, nutrients and light levels. I am interested in phototaxis, a process by which cyanobacteria move towards or away from light so as to optimize photosyntheses. We are using molecular and genetic tools as well as mutants to dissect the signal transduction process and the mechanism of motility in the unicellular freshwater cyanobacterium Synechocytis. The Briggs Lab Winslow Briggs, Emeritus Photomorphogenesis Physical and chemical properties of phytochrome and blue light photoreceptors for the photomorphogenic processes. Emphasis is on interactions of the photoreceptors with membranes, physiological, biochemical, and molecular consequences of photoreceptor excitation, and plant growth hormone physiology and biochemistry. The Ehrhardt Lab David Ehrhardt, Staff Member Plant Cell Development My lab studies the cell biological basis of plant development. We utilize cell biological, genetic, and genomic approaches to explore the organization, behavior and function of plant cells. The biological problems of primary interest are mechanisms of cell-cell interaction, cytokinesis, and the role of the cytoskeleton in cortical organization and cell morphogenesis. Several projects feature the use of the green fluorescent protein to develop and apply new tools to study cell biological problems. These tools allow us to analyze living cells, often providing surprising information about cell structure and dynamic behavior. Please see my web site at deepgreen.stanford.edu for more details. The Evans Lab Matt Evans, Adj. Staff Member Gametophyte Development I am interested in genes required for development and function of the male and female gametophytes. Many basic cellular processes are required in gametophytes (e.g. tip growth of cells in the pollen tube; gamete fusion; cell-cell attraction; mitosis; cytokinesis; intracellular trafficking; cell death), resulting in gametophyte phenotypes when these processes are disrupted. Additionally, patterning of the endosperm depends on the function of genes in the female gametophyte in a manner analogous to maternal control of embryo patterning in Drosophila. We are using maize as a model system to understand gametophyte development and function, taking advantage of the genetic resources available to identify genes required for gametophyte functions. The Frommer Lab Wolf Frommer, Acting director Transport and Sensor Physiology Research in my lab focuses onto two interrelated main areas: transport physiology and nutrient sensing. Yeast mutants allowed us to identify and characterize a large number of transporters for various nutrients including sugars and amino acids. We use the genes as tools to study short and long distance transport of assimilates in plants and to study the role of plasmodesmata in macromolecular transport. Since cells must be able to regulate transport according to the requirements and in response to environmental cues, we also study the potential role of transport proteins as nutrient sensors in this context. For this purpose we developed novel tools, so called nanosensors, that allow us to image metabolites in vivo. We use these nanosensors to obtain new insights into nutrient transport and sensing in plants and animals. The Grossman Lab Arthur Grossman, Staff Member Plant Molecular Biology Molecular events at the transcriptional and translational levels during the development and acclimation in algae. Studies examine the biosynthesis of the photosynthetic apparatus, with special emphasis on the regulation of genes encoding phycobilisome polypeptides. The Rhee Lab Seung (Sue) Rhee, Staff Member Abiotic Stress Responses I am interested in studying how plants respond and acclimate to environmental challenges using Arabidopsis and cold acclimation as a model and employing a wide array of tools including bioinformatics, computational biology, functional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to address the questions. Current research in my group focuses on building and testing computational models of transcriptional regulatory, metabolic, and membrane protein-protein interaction networks in Arabidopsis and developing algorithms for discovering gene function and how they relate to other genes. The Chris Somerville Lab Chris Somerville, Director, Energy Biosciences Institute EBI, Berkeley Cell Wall Polysaccharide Synthesis The research program in my lab is largely directed toward understanding how plant cell wall polysaccharides are synthesized, how the structures relate to the functions of the cell wall, and how the system is regulated. The Shauna Somerville Lab Shauna Somerville, Staff Member on leave of absence Mechanisms of Disease Resistance Characterization of the structure and function of plant genes which confer susceptibility or resistance to bacterial and fungal pathogens of Arabidopsis and barley. Genetic methods are being used to identify genes which are known only by whole-plant phenotypes. TAIR Eva Huala, TAIR Director The Arabidopsis Information Resource TAIR maintains a database of genetic and molecular biology data for the model higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Data available from TAIR includes the complete genome sequence along with gene structure, gene product information, metabolism, gene expression, DNA and seed stocks, genome maps, genetic and physical markers, publications, and information about the Arabidopsis research community. Gene product function data is updated every two weeks from the latest published research literature and community data submissions. Arabidopsis genome releases are produced 1-2 times per year using computational and manual methods as well as community submissions of new and updated genes. The Wang Lab Zhiyong Wang, Staff Member Brassinosteroid Signal Transduction and Proteomics Research in my laboratory focuses on molecular genetic and proteomic studies of the brassinosteroid (BR) signal transduction pathways in the model plant system Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Biology Interests at Stanford University, Dept. of Biological Sciences Plant Biology at Stanford University The plant Biology program at Stanford University provides opportunities to receive graduate education in a wide range of subjects.		TAIR