Professor of Weed Genetics

Purdue University
Botany and Plant Pathology, Lilly Hall
915 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054

Office:  WSLR 232
Phone:  (765) 496-6794
FAX:      (765) 494-5896
E-mail:   

Area: Plant Molecular Biology - molecular and genetic regulation of growth and development of plants; fertilization and epidermal cell interactions.

Education

B.S., University of Minnesota, Biochemistry

Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Molecular Biology

Background

July 2000 - present

Associate Professor of Weed Genetics, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University.

July 1997 - June 2000

Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

August 1992 - June 1997

Assistant Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

January 1988 - July 1992

Assistant Professor of Genetics, Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Minnesota

Research Interests

Although plant cells are encased in rigid cell walls and are therefore incapable of the types of developmental migrations which take place in animal systems, it is clear from genetic studies that the fate of individual plant cells is dependent on cell-cell communication rather than being the product of an invariant cell lineage. We are interested in determining what sorts of molecular mechanisms are used in these cellular interactions and how they are used to regulate the developmental process. We are using two different experimental systems in the small weed Arabidopsis thaliana to address these questions.

During reproduction in Arabidopsis, pollen grains land on the stigma, germinate and grow pollen tubes which penetrate the stigma surface and are guided to the ovules. This growth and development of the male gametophyte is controlled by cellular interactions with the female reproductive system. We are interested in identifying genes which are essential to these communication processes by isolating mutations which disrupt the growth and development of the male gametophyte. Using this approach it has been possible to identify a number of different genes involved in various cellular interactions which we are characterizing further.

The second system which we are studying is a family of genes which control the cellular interactions which take place between epidermal cells in Arabidopsis. These genes have been identified by mutations which result in fusion events taking place between the surfaces of organs which in wild-type plants would remain distinct. These genes normally act to regulate this fusion process, in part by controlling the ability of signaling molecules to cross the cuticle found on the outer surface of the plant. Experiments in the lab are directed toward better characterization of these genes and their phenotypes, including cloning and molecular characterization of the genes themselves.

Assistantships and Positions

Please contact me directly for information on assistantships and openings in my program. Follow these links for general information on graduate programs or employment announcements.

Selected Publications

Hülskamp, M., K. Schneitz and R.E. Pruitt. 1995. Genetic evidence for a long range activity that directs pollen tube guidance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 7: 57-64.

Schneitz, K., M. Hülskamp and R.E. Pruitt. 1995. Wild-type ovule development in Arabidopsis thaliana: a light microscope study of cleared whole-mount tissue. Plant J. 7: 731-749.

Hülskamp, M., S.D. Kopczak, T.F. Horejsi, B.K. Kihl and R.E. Pruitt. 1995. Identification of genes required for pollen-stigma recognition in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J. 8: 703-714.

Schneitz, K., M. Hülskamp, S.D. Kopczak and R.E. Pruitt. 1997. Dissection of sexual organ ontogenesis: a genetic analysis of ovule development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Development 124: 1367-1376.

Hülskamp, M., N. Parekh, P. Grini, K. Schneitz, I. Zimmerman, S.J. Lolle and R.E. Pruitt. 1997. The STUD gene is required for male specific cytokinesis after telophase II of meiosis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Devel. Biol. 187: 114-124.

Lolle, S.J., G.P. Berlyn, E.M. Engstrom, K.A. Krolikowski, W.-D. Reiter and R.E. Pruitt. 1997. Developmental regulation of cell interactions in the Arabidopsis fiddlehead-1 mutant: A role for the epidermal cell wall and cuticle. Devel. Biol. 189: 311-321.

Pruitt, R.E. 1997. Molecular mechanics of smart stigmas. Trends Plant Sci. 2: 328-329.

Lolle, S.J., W. Hsu and R.E. Pruitt. 1998. Genetic analysis of organ fusion in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetics 149: 607-619.

Lolle, S.J. and R.E. Pruitt. 1999. Epidermal cell interactions: a case for local talk. Trends Plant Sci. 4: 14-20.

Pruitt, R.E. 1999. Complex sexual signals for the male gametophyte. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 2: 419-422.

Pruitt, R.E., J.-P. Vielle-Calzada, S.E. Ploense, U. Grossniklaus and S.J. Lolle. 2000. FIDDLEHEAD, a gene required to suppress epidermal cell interactions in Arabidopsis, encodes a putative lipid biosynthetic enzyme. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 1311-1316.

Pruitt, R.E., J.L. Bowman and U. Grossniklaus (2003) Plant genetics: a decade of integration. Nature Genetics, 33, 294-304.

Krolikowski, K.A., J.L. Victor, T. Nussbaum Wagler, S.J. Lolle, and R.E. Pruitt (2003) Isolation and Characterization of the Arabidopsis Organ Fusion Gene HOTHEAD. Plant J., 35, 501-511.

Web Links of Interest

• The Arabidopsis Information Resource