MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES IN PLANT SCIENCE
July 2 - 22, 2010
Application Deadline: March 15, 2010

Instructors:
Stacey Harmer, University of California, Davis
Robert Last, Michigan State University
Julin Maloof, University of California, Davis

This course provides an intensive overview of topics in plant physiology, biochemistry and development, focusing on molecular genetic and analytical approaches to understanding plant biology. It emphasizes recent results from Arabidopsis, maize and a variety of other plants and provides an introduction to current methods used in plant molecular biology. It is designed for scientists with some experience in molecular techniques or in plant biology who wish to work with plants using the latest technologies in genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry. The course consists of a vigorous lecture series, a hands-on laboratory, and informal discussions. Discussions of important topics in plant research will be presented by the instructors and by invited speakers. These seminars will include plant morphology and anatomy; plant development (such as development of flowers, leaves, male and female gametophytes, and roots); perception of light and photomorphogenesis; cell wall biosynthesis, function and perception of hormones and application of research results to addressing current agronomic problems. Lectures describing bioinformatics tools available to the plant community, and the resources provided by plant genome projects are also included. Speakers will provide overviews of their fields, followed by in-depth discussions of their own work. The laboratory sessions will provide an introduction to important techniques currently used in plant research. These include studies of plant development, mutant analysis, histochemical staining, transient gene expression, gene silencing, applications of fluorescent protein fusions, protein interaction and detection, proteomics approaches, several different approaches for quantifying metabolites, transient transformation and techniques commonly used in genetic and physical mapping. The course also includes several short workshops on important themes in plant research.

2009 Schedule & Speakers

Lectures and Labs:
Introduction to Plant Structure (Ian Sussex, Yale University)
Introduction to Plant Structure (Ian Sussex & Nancy Kerk, Yale University)

Phylogenetics (Elizabeth "Toby" Kellogg, University of Missouri, St. Louis)
Sequence Analysis and Phylogeny Reconstruction (Toby Kellogg)

Reproductive Development (Vivian Irish, Yale University)
Visualizing Plant Gene Expression Lab (Vivian Irish)
Microscopy training

Shoot Meristem Development (Dave Jackson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Fluorescence, Confocal and Scanning EM Imaging (Dave Jackson)

Secondary Metabolites: Glucosinolates (John Celenza, Boston University)
HPLC Analysis of Arabidopsis Mutants with Altered Indole Glucosinolate Profiles (John Celenza)

Plastids (Thomas Brutnell, Boyce Thompson Institute)
In-planta Transient Expression (Thomas Brutnell)

Quantitative Genetics (Georg Jander, Boyce Thompson Institute)
Quantitative trait mapping using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system (Georg Jander)

Ethylene Receptors (Eric Schaller, Dartmouth College)
Examining Gene Expression using Protoplasts (Hyo-Jung Kim, Darmouth College)

Regulatory Networks (Erich Grotewold, Ohio State University)
ChiP and ChiP-chip Approaches to Establish Plant Regulatory Motifs (Kengo Morohashi, Ohio State Universityl)

Light Regulation (Julin Maloof, University of California, Davis)
Microarray data analysis (Julin Maloof)

Proteomics (Thomas Nuhse, University of Manchester)
Proteomics (Thomas Nuhse)

Metabolomics (Jennifer Normanly, University of Massachusetts)
Quantification if IAA by GC-MS (Jennifer Normanly)

Lectures:
Root development and physiology (Uta Paszkowski, University of Lausanne)
MicroRNA Regulation (Marja Timmermans, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Phyllotaxis (Cris Kuhlemeier, University of Bern)
Plant Pathogen Interactions (Savithramma Dinesh-Kumar, Yale University)
Lipid Signaling (Xuemin "Sam" Wang, University of Missouri, St. Louis)
Circadian Rhythms (Stacey Harmer, University of California, Davis)
Strawberry Genomics (Kevin Folta, University of Florida)
Plant Cell Wall Proteomics (Jocelyn Rose, Cornell University)
Feedstock Development for Biofuels (John Vogel, Western Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS)

Workshops:
Workshop I: Double Mutants, Genetic Maps (Vivian Irish & Toby Kellogg)
Workshop II: Separation Methods (Jennifer Normanly)
Workshop III: DNA Sequencing Technologies (Tom Brutnell)
Workshop IV: iPlant (Stacey Harmer & Toby Kellogg)
Workshop V: Transient transformation and analysis using plant protoplasts (Hyo-Jung Kim)
Workshop VI: ChiP-chip data analysis (Kengo Morohashi)

This course is supported with funds provided by the National Science Foundation

Cost (including board and lodging): $4,250
Currency converter