Gary Stacey

MSMC Endowed Professor of Soybean Biotechnology
Professor of Plant Sciences
Joint Professor of Biochemistry

Office: 271E Bond Life Sciences Center

Mail: National Center for Soybean Biotechnology
271E Bond Life Sciences Center
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211

Phone: 573-884-4752

Fax: 573-884-9676

Lab site: http://psu.missouri.edu/staceylab/index.htm

Educational background

Degree	School	Location	Major
BS	Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green, Ohio	Biology / Chemistry
PhD	University of Texas	Austin, Texas	Microbiology / Botany

Notable honors and service

Robert A. Welch Predoctoral Fellowship, 1977-1978
National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1979
Research Fellowship, Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung, 1988
Van der Klaauw Chair of Molecular Biology, Visiting Professorship at the Univ. of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1990
Chancellor's Award for Research and Creative Achievement, University of Tennessee, 1992
Distinguished Researcher Award, College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 2007
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2008

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 functional genomics of the symbiont and the identification of key functions necessary for the symbiosis. 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 led to a general interest in plant chitin signaling and the identification of the plant receptor for chitin recognition. We are now exploring the role of this receptor and the downstream signaling pathway and how it relates to the induction of plant innate immunity.

Extracellular ATP. Our lab is one of the few in the world exploring the role of extracellular ATP as a signal in plants. Extracellular ATP is well studied in animal system where it has been shown to be involved in a variety of processes (e.g., nerve function, muscle contraction, inflammation, etc.). Our focus is on the identification of the plant receptor for eATP and understanding the downstream signaling pathway. Our data suggests that eATP is essential for normal plant growth and development. Hence, understanding the function of this important signal is key to understanding how plants grow.

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, our lab was a key member of the consortium that recently completed the soybean genome sequence. We are currently working on tools for mutagenesis so that we can study soybean gene function.

Selected publications

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.

Jinrong Wan, Xuecheng Zhang, Katrina M. Ramonell, Steve Clough, Sung-yong Kim, Minviluz Stacey, and Gary Stacey (2008) A LysM receptor-like kinase mediates chitin perception and fungal resistance in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 20: 471-481.

Minviluz G. Stacey, Ami Patel, William E. McClain, Melanie Mathieu, Melissa Remley, Elizabeth E. Rogers, Walter Gassmann, Dale G. Blevins and Gary Stacey. (2008) The Arabidopsis AtOPT3 protein functions in metal homeostasis and movement of iron to developing seeds. Plant Physiol. 146: 589-601

Franck, William L., Woo-Suk Chang, Jing Qiu, Stephanie A. Smith, and Gary Stacey (2008) Whole-genome transcriptional profiling of Bradyrhizobium japonicum during chemoautotrophic growth. J. Bacteriol. 190: 6697-6705

Thibivilliers S, Joshi T, Campbell KB, Scheffler B, Boerma R, Xu D, Cooper B, Nguyen HT, Stacey G (2009) EST sequencing of Phaseolus vulgaris genes responsive to Uromyces appendiculatus infection also identifies soybean genes responding to Phakopsora pachyrhizi infection. BMC Plant Biology 9:46.

Govindarajulu, Manjula, Sung-Yong Kim, Marc Libault, R. Howard Berg, Kiwamu Tanaka, Gary Stacey, and Christopher G. Taylor (2009) GS52 ecto-apyrase plays a critical role during nodulation in soybean. Plant Physiology 149: 994-1004

Laurent Brechenmacher, Joohyun Lee, Sherri Sachdev, Zhao Song, Tran Hong Nha Nguyen; Joshi Trupti, Beverly Dague, Nathan Oehrle, Marc Libault, Brian Mooney, Dong Xu, Bret Cooper, and Gary Stacey (2009) Establishment of a protein reference map for soybean root hair cells. Plant Physiol. 149: 670-682

Navdeep Gill, Seth Findley, Jason G. Walling, Christian Hans, Jianxin Ma, Jeff Doyle, Gary Stacey, and Scott Jackson (2009) Molecular and chromosomal evidence for allopolyploidy in soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. Plant Physiology (in press)