Host-microbe interactions.: A major focus of research in the Stacey lab is understanding the molecular basis of plant-microbe interactions. Two systems are being investigated. The first 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 utilizing functional genomic tools to understand the contribution of the symbiont to the symbiosis. We are utilizing similar approaches to understand the contribution of the plant host to the symbiosis. A key molecule essential for the establishment of the symbiosis is a lipo-chitin signal molecule. An investigation of the role of this molecule in the legume symbiosis has led us to a more general interest in the role of chitin recognition in plants. Thus, the second system under investigation is fungal-plant interactions and the role of chitin, found in fungal cell walls, as an elicitor of plant defense reactions. We recently isolated the putative plant receptor for chitin and are exploring the role of this receptor and downstream signaling processes in the plant defense to fungal pathogens

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. In addition, we are developing a transposon-tagged library of soybean mutants that can be used to explore soybean gene function. These resources will become very valuable with the expected release of the complete soybean genome sequence in 2008.

 

Tanaka K, Nguyen THN, and Stacey G. Enzymatic role for soybean ecto-apyrase in nodulation. Plant Signaling and Behavior 2011;6(7):116-118.

Wang C, Fritschi FB, Stacey G, and Yang Z. Phenology-based assessment of perennial energy crops in North American tallgrass prairie. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 2011;101(4):742-751.

Bolon YT, Haun WJ, Xu WW, Grant D, Stacey MG, Nelson RT, Gerhardt DJ, Jeddeloh JA, Muehlbauer GJ, Orf JH, Naeve SL, Stupar RM, and Vance CP. Phenotypic and genomic analyses of a fast neutron mutant population resource in soybean. Plant Physiology 2011;156(1):240-253.

Tanaka K, Nguyen CT, Libault M, Cheng J, Stacey G. Enzymatic activity of the soybean ecto-apyrase GS52 is essential for stimulation of nodulation. Plant Physiology 2011;155 (4):1988-1998.

Wang Z, Zhang XC, Le MH, Xu D, Stacey G, and Cheng J. A protein domain Co-occurrence network approach for predicting protein function and inferring species phylogeny. PLoS ONE 2011;6 (3), art. no. e17906.

Joshi T, Yao Q, Franklin LD, Brechenmacher L, Valliyodan B, Stacey G, Nguyen H, and Xu D. SoyMetDB: The Soybean Metabolome Database. Proceedings - 2010 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine, BIBM 2010, art. no. 5706563:203-208.

Libault M, Brechenmacher L, Cheng J, Xu D, Stacey G. Root hair systems biology. Trends in Plant Science 2010;15(11):641-650.

Wang Z, Libault M, Joshi T, Valliyodan B, Nguyen H, Xu D, Stacey G and Cheng J. SoyDB: A knowledge database of soybean transcription factors. BMC Plant Biology 2010;14.

Tanaka K, Swanson SJ, Gilroy S and Stacey G. Extracellular nucleotides elicit cytosolic free calcium oscillations in arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 2010;154(2):705-719.

Tanaka K, Gilroy S, Jones AM and Stacey G. Extracellular ATP signaling in plants. Trends in Cell Biology 2010;20(10):601-608.

Schmutz J, Cannon SB, Schlueter J, Ma J, Mitros T, Nelson W, Hyten DL, Song Q, Thelen JJ, Cheng J, Xu D, Hellsten U, May GD, Yu Y, Sakurai T, Umezawa T, Bhattacharyya MK, Sandhu D, Valliyodan B, Lindquist E, Peto M, Grant D, Shu S, Goodstein D, Barry K, Futrell-Griggs M, Abernathy B, Du J, Tian Z, Zhu L, Gill N, Joshi T, Libault M, Sethuraman A, Zhang XC, Shinozaki K, Nguyen HT, Wing RA, Cregan P, Specht J, Grimwood J, Rokhsar D, Stacey G, Shoemaker RC and Jackson SA. Genome sequence of the palaeopolyploid soybean. Nature 2010;463(7278):178-183.

Libault M, Zhang XC, Govindarajulu M, Qiu J, Ong YT, Brechenmacher L, Berg RH, Hurley-Sommer A, Taylor CG and Stacey G. A member of the highly conserved FWL (tomato FW2.2-like) gene family is essential for soybean nodule organogenesis. Plant Journal 2010;62(5):852-864.

Libault M and Stacey G. Evolution of FW2.2-like (FWL) and PLAC8 genes in eukaryotes. Plant Signaling and Behavior 2010;5(10):1226-1228.

Libault M, Farmer A, Joshi T, Takahashi K, Langley RJ, Franklin LD, He J, Xu D, May G and Stacey G. An integrated transcriptome atlas of the crop model Glycine max, and its use in comparative analyses in plants. Plant Journal 2010;63(1):86-99.

Libault M, Farmer A, Brechenmacher L, May GD and Stacey G. Soybean root hairs: A valuable system to investigate plant biology at the cellular level. Plant Signaling and Behavior 2010;5(4):419-421.

Libault M, Farmer A, Brechenmacher L, Drnevich J, Langley RJ, Bilgin DD, Radwan O, Neece DJ, Clough SJ, May GD and Stacey G. Complete transcriptome of the soybean root hair cell, a single-cell model, and its alteration in response to Bradyrhizobium japonicum infection. Plant Physiology 2010;152(2):541-552.

Libault M, Brechenmacher L, Cheng J, Xu D and Stacey G. Root hair systems biology. Trends in Plant Science 2010;15(11):641-650.

Joshi T, Yan Z, Libault M, Jeong DH, Park S, Green PJ, Sherrier DJ, Farmer A, May G, Meyers BC, Xu D and Stacey G. Prediction of novel miRNAs and associated target genes in Glycine max. BMC Bioinformatics 2010;11(SUPPLL.1): art. no. S14.

Findley SD, Cannon S, Varala K, Du J, Ma J, Hudson ME, Birchler JA and Stacey G. A fluorescence in situ hybridization system for karyotyping soybean. Genetics 2010;185(3):727-744.

Fang ZD, Marois JJ, Stacey G, Schoelz JE, English JT and Schmidt FJ. Combinatorial selected peptides for protection of soybean against Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Phytopathology 2010;100(10):1111-1117.

Brechenmacher L, Lei Z, Libault M, Findley S, Sugawara M, Sadowsky MJ, Sumner LW and Stacey G. Soybean metabolites regulated in root hairs in response to the symbiotic bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Plant Physiology 2010;153(4):1808-1822.

Zhang XC, Cannon SB and Stacey G. Evolutionary genomics of LysM genes in land plants. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2009;9(1): art. no. 183.

Zhang J, Subramanian S, Stacey G and Yu O. Flavones and flavonols play distinct critical roles during nodulation of Medicago truncatula by Sinorhizobium meliloti. Plant Journal 2009;57(1):171-183.

Weerasinghe RR, Swanson SJ, Okada SF, Garrett MB, Kim SY, Stacey G, Boucher RC, Gilroy S and Jones AM. Touch induces ATP release in Arabidopsis roots that is modulated by the heterotrimeric G-protein complex. FEBS Letters 2009;583(15):2521-2526.

Thibivilliers S, Joshi T, Campbell KB, Scheffler B, Xu D, Cooper B, Nguyen HT and Stacey G. Generation of Phaseolus vulgaris ESTs and investigation of their regulation upon Uromyces appendiculatus infection. BMC Plant Biology 2009;9: art. no. 46.

Rogers EE, Wu X, Stacey G and Nguyen HT. Two MATE proteins play a role in iron efficiency in soybean. Journal of Plant Physiology 2009;166(13):1453-1459.

Pike S, Patel A, Stacey G and Gassmann W. Arabidopsis OPT6 is an oligopeptide transporter with exceptionally broad substrate specificity. Plant and Cell Physiology 2009;50(11):1923-1932.

Mathieu M, Winters EK, Kong F, Wan J, Wang S, Eckert H, Luth D, Paz M, Donovan C, Zhang Z, Somers D, Wang K, Nguyen H, Shoemaker RC, Stacey G and Clemente T. Establishment of a soybean (Glycine max Merr. L) transposon-based mutagenesis repository. Planta 2009;229(2):279-289.

Lohar D, Stiller J, Kam J, Stacey G and Gresshoff PM. Ethylene insensitivity conferred by a mutated arabidopsis ethylene receptor gene alters nodulation in transgenic Lotus japonicus. Annals of Botany 2009;104(2):277-285.

Libault M, Joshi T, Takahashi K, Hurley-Sommer A, Puricelli K, Blake S, Finger RE, Taylor CG, Xu D, Nguyen HT and Stacey G. Large-scale analysis of putative soybean regulatory gene expression identifies a Myb gene involved in soybean nodule development. Plant Physiology 2009;151(3):1207-1220.

Libault M, Joshi T, Benedito VA, Xu D, Udvardi MK and Stacey G. Legume transcription factor genes: What makes legumes so special? Plant Physiology 2009;151(3):991-1001.

Lee J, Feng J, Campbell KB, Scheffler BE, Garrett WM, Thibivilliers S, Stacey G, Naiman DQ, Tucker ML, Pastor-Corrales MA and Cooper B. Quantitative proteomic analysis of bean plants infected by a virulent and avirulent obligate rust fungus. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics 2009;8(1):19-31.

Gresshoff PM, Lohar D, Chan PK, Biswas B, Jiang Q, Reid D, Ferguson B and Stacey G. Genetic analysis of ethylene regulation of legume nodulation. Plant Signaling and Behavior 2009;4(9):818-823.

Govindarajulu M, Kim SY, Libault M, Berg RH, Tanaka K, Stacey G and Taylor CG. GS52 ecto-apyrase plays a critical role during soybean nodulation. Plant Physiology 2009;149(2):994-1004.

Gill N, Findley S, Walling JG, Hans C, Ma J, Doyle J, Stacey G and Jackson SA. Molecular and chromosomal evidence for allopolyploidy in soybean. Plant Physiology 2009;151(3):1167-1174.

Brechenmacher L, Lee J, Sachdev S, Song Z, Nguyen THN, Joshi T, Oehrle N, Libault M, Mooney B, Xu D, Cooper B and Stacey G. Establishment of a protein reference map for soybean root hair cells. Plant Physiology 2009;149(2):670-682.

Wu X, Zhong G, Findley SD, Cregan P, Stacey G and Nguyen HT. Genetic marker anchoring by six-dimensional pools for development of a soybean physical map. BMC Genomics 2008;9: art. no. 28.

Wan J, Zhang XC and Stacey G. Chitin signaling and plant disease resistance. Plant Signaling and Behavior 2008;3(10):831-833.

Wan J, Zhang XC, Neece D, Ramonell KM, Clough S, Kim SY, Stacey MG and Stacey G. A LysM receptor-like kinase plays a critical role in chitin signaling and fungal resistance in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 2008;20(2):471-481.

Wan J, Patel A, Mathieu M, Kim SY, Xu D and Stacey G. A lectin receptor-like kinase is required for pollen development in Arabidopsis. Plant Molecular Biology 2008;67(5):469-482.

Stacey MG, Patel A, McClain WE, Mathieu M, Remley M, Rogers EE, Gassmann W, Blevins DG and Stacey G. The arabidopsis AtOPT3 protein functions in metal homeostasis and movement of iron to developing seeds. Plant Physiology 2008;146(2):589-601.

Shoemaker RC, Grant D, Olson T, Warren WC, Wing R, Yu Y, Kim H, Cregan P, Joseph B, Futrell-Griggs M, Nelson W, Davito J, Walker J, Wallis J, Kremitski C, Scheer D, Clifton SW, Graves T, Nguyen H, Wu X, Luo M, Dvorak J, Nelson R, Cannon S, Tomkins J, Schmutz J, Stacey G and Jackson S. Microsatellite discovery from BAC end sequences and genetic mapping to anchor the soybean physical and genetic maps. Genome 2008;51(4):294-302.

Franck WL, Chang WS, Qiu J, Sugawara M, Sadowsky MJ, Smith SA and Stacey G. Whole-genome transcriptional profiling of Bradyrhizobium japonicum during chemoautotrophic growth. Journal of Bacteriology 2008;190(20):6697-6705.

Brechenmacher L, Kim MY, Benitez M, Li M, Joshi T, Calla B, Mei PL, Libault M, Vodkin LO, Xu D, Lee SH, Clough SJ and Stacey G. Transcription profiling of soybean nodulation by Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 2008;21(5):631-645.

Zhao S, Chen L, Ganapathy A, Wan XF, Brechenmacher L, Tao N, Emerich D, Stacey G and Xu D. Development and assessment of scoring functions for protein identification using PMF data. Electrophoresis 2007;28(5):864-870.

Zhang XC, Wu X, Findley S, Wan J, Libault M, Nguyen HT, Cannon SB and Stacey G. Molecular evolution of lysin motif-type receptor-like kinases in plants. Plant Physiology 2007;144(2):623-636.

Libault M, Wan J, Czechowski T, Udvardi M and Stacey G. Identification of 118 Arabidopsis transcription factor and 30 ubiquitin-ligase genes responding to chitin, a plant-defense elicitor. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 2007;20(8):900-911.

Giraud E, Moulin L, Vallenet D, Barbe V, Cytryn E, Avarre JC, Jaubert M, Simon D, Cartieaux F, Prin Y, Bena G, Hannibal L, Fardoux J, Kojadinovic M, Vuillet L, Lajus A, Cruveiller S, Rouy Z, Mangenot S, Segurens B, Dossat C, Franck WL, Chang WS, Saunders E, Bruce D, Richardson P, Normand P, Dreyfus B, Pignol D, Stacey G, Emerich D, Vermeglio A, Medigue C and Sadowsky M. Legumes symbioses: Absence of Nod genes in photosynthetic bradyrhizobia. Science 2007;316(5829):1307-1312.

Cytryn EJ, Sangurdekar DP, Streeter JG, Franck WL, Chang WS, Stacey G, Emerich DW, Joshi T, Xu D and Sadowsky MJ. Transcriptional and physiological responses of Bradyrhizobium japonicum to desiccation-induced stress. Journal of Bacteriology 2007;189(19):6751-6762.

Chang WS, Franck WL, Cytryn E, Jeong S, Joshi T, Emerich DW, Sadowsky MJ, Xu D and Stacey G. An oligonucleotide microarray resource for transcriptional profiling of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 2007;20(10):1298-1307.

Subramanian S, Stacey G and Yu O. Endogenous isoflavones are essential for the establishment of symbiosis between soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Plant Journal 2006;48(2):261-273.

Stacey MG, Osawa H, Patel A, Gassmann W and Stacey G. Expression analyses of Arabidopsis oligopeptide transporters during seed germination, vegetative growth and reproduction. Planta 2006;223(2):291-305.

Stacey G, McAlvin CB, Kim SY, Olivares J and Soto MJ. Effects of endogenous salicylic acid on nodulation in the model legumes Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula. Plant Physiology 2006;141(4):1473-1481.

Stacey G, Libault M, Brechenmacher L, Wan J and May GD. Genetics and functional genomics of legume nodulation. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 2006;9(2):110-121.

Nunberg A, Bedell JA, Budiman MA, Citek RW, Clifton SW, Fulton L, Pape D, Cai Z, Joshi T, Nguyen H, Xu D and Stacey G. Survey sequencing of soybean elucidates the genome structure, composition and identifies novel repeats. Functional Plant Biology 2006;33(8):765-773.

Kim SY, Sivaguru M and Stacey G. Extracellular ATP in plants. Visualization, localization, and analysis of physiological significance in growth and signaling. Plant Physiology 2006;142(3):984-992.

Jackson SA, Rokhsar D, Stacey G, Shoemaker RC, Schmutz J and Grimwood J. Toward a reference sequence of the soybean genome: A multiagency effort. Crop Science 2006;46(SUPPL. 1):S-55-S-61.

Wan J, Torres M, Ganapathy A, Thelen J, DaGue BB, Mooney B, Xu D and Stacey G. Proteomic analysis of soybean root hairs after infection by Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 2005;18(5):458-467.

Sreevidya VS, Hernandez-Oane RJ, So RB, Sullia SB, Stacey G, Ladha JK and Reddy PM. Expression of the legume symbiotic lectin genes psl and gs52 promotes rhizobial colonization of roots in rice. Plant Science 2005;169(4):726-736.

Ramonell K, Berrocal-Lobo M, Koh S, Wan J, Edwards H, Stacey G and Somerville S. Loss-of-function mutations in chitin responsive genes show increased susceptibility to the powdery mildew pathogen Erysiphe cichoracearum. Plant Physiology 2005;138(2):1027-1036.

McAlvin CB and Stacey G. Transgenic expression of the soybean apyrase in Lotus japonicus enhances nodulation. Plant Physiology 2005;137(4):1456-1462.

 

• MU plant genome research receives $3 million boost from National Science Foundation (Nov 2010)
• ASPB members lead new plant genome research program awards (Nov 2010)
• The root impact of climate change: MU researchers go underground to study how plant roots respond to climate change (Sep 2010)
• Plant biologists lead biobased-fuel research projects (Sep 2010)
• Q&A with Gary Stacey: The American Academy of Microbiology interviews biotechnology professor (Sep 2010)
• Stacey appointed chair of DOE Biology and Environmental Committee (Jul 2010)
• Bean breakthrough. Illumination (Spr 2010)
• Gary Stacey elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (Apr 2010)
• Hodder V. Center for Sustainable Energy launched (Jan 2009)
• Soybean genome analysis reveals pathways for improving biodiesel (Jan 2010)
• A big advance for the little soybean: mapping the plant's genetic code could yield healthier and more plentiful food (Jan 2010)
• Genome sequencing shows past genetic events made soybeans rich in versatile gene families (Jan 2010)
• Renewable energy brings modern-day gold rush (May 2009)
• MU Center provides opportunity for economic growth in MO (Mar 2009)
• DOE Joint Genome Institute completes soybean genome (Dec 2008)
• Tools help identify gene function in soybeans (Dec 2008)
• Soybean database will help breeders engineer better-performing plants (Dec 2008)
• DOE JGI releases soybean genome assembly to enable worldwide bioenergy research efforts (Jan 2008)

 

• Fellow, American Society of Plant Biologists (2010)
• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology (2010)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009)
• Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, University of Missouri (2007)
• Chancellor's Award for Research and Creative Achievement, Univ. of Tennessee (1992)
• van der Klaauw Chair of Molecular Biology, Visiting Professorship at the Univ. of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands (1990)
• Research Fellowship, Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung (1988)
• National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (1979)
• Robert A. Welch Predoctoral Fellowship (1977-1978)