Gary Stacey

MSMC Endowed Professor of Soybean Biotechnology

Email:	staceyg@missouri.edu
Phone:	(573) 884-4752
Fax:	(573) 884-9676
Office:	271E Bond Life Sciences Center
Mailing Address:	National Center for Soybean Biotechnology 271E Bond Life Sciences Center University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211
Research Areas:	Functional genomics of plant-microbe interactions and plant development.
Webpage:	http://psu.missouri.edu/staceylab/index.htm

Educational Background

Notable Honors and Service

Research Description

Host-microbe interactions. The major focus of research in the Stacey lab is the symbiosis between the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum and its host plant, soybean. The result of this interaction is the establishment of a novel organ, nodule, on the root of the host. Inside this organ, B. japonicum fixes atmospheric nitrogen, which the plant can utilize. Our work on this symbiosis focuses both on the symbiont and the plant host. With regard to the bacterium, we are largely focusing on the regulation of the nodulation genes required for plant infection and establishment of the symbiosis. Regulation of these genes is complex. For example, we recently discovered a novel quorum (population density) signal bradyoxetin that controls nodulation gene expression in planta. This work may have broader relevance to other bacteria, including animal pathogens, which have an intracellular growth habit. Plant perception of lipo-chitin nodulation signals, produced by the bacterium, is essential for induction of de novo organogenesis, leading to nodule formation. Our research is focused on plant recognition of this molecule and the signal transduction pathways leading to nodule development. This work has led us to a general interest in chitin recognition in plants. For example, chitin, released from the cell wall of pathogenic fungi, is a known elicitor of defense responses in plants. We are investigating this phenomenon utilizing DNA microarray and proteomic approaches. We are applying functional genomic tools (i.e., DNA microarray and proteomics) to our studies of both the bacterial and plant partner in the symbiosis.

Peptide transport in plants. There is a growing body of information implicating peptides as circulating hormones in plants. This is consistent with the major role that peptides play in regulating growth and development in animals. Our contribution to this area focuses on the role of peptide transporters in the growth and development of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We have identified peptide transporters in two families: PTR, which transport di- and tripeptides and OPT, which transport tetra- and pentapeptides. In both cases, disruption of peptide transporter expression (e.g., through antisense expression or mutation) results in severe defects in seed and embryo development. Our goal in this research is to define the role peptide transporters play in plant growth and development, to define their substrates and to elucidate the regulation of these interesting proteins.

Soybean genomics and biotechnology. As part of the growing family of researchers at MU who are interested in soybean biology, our laboratory is contributing to the development of soybean genomic research. The goal of this research is to identify genes and traits, which can benefit soybean agriculture. For example, at MU, we are developing, in collaboration with other laboratories, first rate facilities for high-throughput molecular breeding of soybean and transformation capabilities for creating transgenic soybean with improve agronomic and/or nutritional traits. A recent focus has been the development of a physical map of the soybean genome with the ultimate aim of obtaining the complete sequence of the genome.

Selected Publications

Libault M, Wan J, Joshi T, Zhang X, Czechowski T, Xu D, Udvardi M, Stacey G (2007) Identification of 118 Arabidopsis transcription factor and 30 ubiquitin ligase genes involved in plant defense via chitin signaling. Mol. Plant-Microbe Int. 20: 900-911.

Zhang X-C, Wu X, Findley S, Wan J, Libault M, Nguyen HT, Cannon SB, Stacey G (2007) Molecular evolution of LysM type receptor-like kinases in plants. Plant Physiol. 144: 623-636.

Subramanian S, Stacey G, Yu O (2007) Distinct, critical roles of flavonoids during determinate and indeterminate legume nodulation. Trends in Plant Science 12: 282-285.

Wan J, Patel A, Mathieu M, Kim S-Y, Xu D, Stacey G (2007) A lectin receptor-like kinase is required for pollen development in Arabidopsis. Planta (accepted, pending revisions)

Eric Giraud, Lionel Moulin, David Vallenet, Valérie Barbe, Eddie Cytrin, Jean-Christophe Avarre, Marianne Jaubert, Damien Simon, Fabienne Cartieaux, Yves Prin, Gilles Bena, Laure Hannibal, Joel Fardoux, Mila Kojadinovic, Laurie Vuillet, Aurélie Lajus, Stéphane Cruveiller, Zoe Rouy, Sophie Mangenot, Béatrice Segurens, Carole Dossat, William L. Franck, Woo-Suk Chang, Elizabeth Saunders, David Bruce, Paul Richardson, Philippe Normand, Bernard Dreyfus, David Pignol, Gary Stacey, David Emerich, André Verméglio, Claudine Medigue, and Michael Sadowsky. (2007) Rhizobial Nod factors are not universally required for legume nodulation. Science 316: 1307-1312.

Eddie J. Cytryn, Dipen P. Sangurdekar, John G. Streeter, William L. Franck, Woo-suk Chang, Gary Stacey, David W. Emerich, Trupti Joshi, Dong Xu, and M. J. Sadowsky (2007) Transcriptional and physiological responses of Bradyrhizobium japonicum to desiccation-induced stress. J. Bacteriol. (in press)