Department Head and Professor

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

Office:  LILY 1-422
Phone:  (765) 494-4615
FAX:      (765) 494-0363
E-mail:   

Area: Plant Molecular Biology - physiology and genetics of adaptation to environmental stress.

Background

B.S., Edinburgh University, Scotland
Ph.D., University of East Anglia, England

In his research, Goldsbrough examines how plants react to their environment and defend themselves against damaging chemicals and drought. He studies a family of enzymes involved in plants' abilities to provide protection against a variety of compounds, including herbicides. He also studies how plants handle heavy metals that they acquire from the soil.

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Research Interests

Our research is focused on understanding how plants respond and adapt to a variety of environmental stresses, including heavy metals and xenobiotics such as herbicides.

Some heavy metals, such as copper and zinc, are required for normal metabolic function while others, including cadmium and lead, are toxic. Plants use a variety of methods to prevent heavy metals from affecting their growth. Ligands such as phytochelatins and metallothioneins bind heavy metals within the cell thereby reducing the damage these metals would otherwise cause. We are currently examining the functions of phytochelatins and metallothioneins, in both metal tolerance and normal metal ion homeostasis. We are also using a genetic approach to understand how plants acquire heavy metals from the soil and regulate the distribution of metals among different tissues.

Plants are exposed to a wide variety of toxic chemicals, either from other organisms (e.g. allelochemicals) or by man (such as herbicides). Plants are equipped with a variety of mechanisms to detoxify these compounds and prevent damage. One mechanism involves conjugation to glutathione (GSH) and this is catalyzed by a family of enzymes knows as glutathiane S. transfereses (GSTs). In plants GSTs are encoded by a family of approximately 50 genes. We are interested in learning about the functions of these genes. Their regulation by various environmental factors, and how their genetic manipulation might be used to improve crop plants.

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Teaching

HORT 350, Biotechnology in Agriculture

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.

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Selected Publications

DeRidder, B.P., and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2006. Organ-specific expression of glutathione S-transferase and the efficacy of herbicide safeners in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 140:167-175.

Schor-Fumbarov, T., P.B. Goldsbrough, Z. Adam, and E. Tel-Or. 2005. Characterization and expression of a metallothionein gene in the aquatic fern Azolla filiculoides under heavy metal stress. Planta 223:69-76.

Vázquez Reina S., E. Estaban, and P. Goldsbrough. 2005. Arsenate-induced phytochelatins in white lupin. Influence of phosphate status. Physiologia Plantarum 142:41-49.

Shupert, D., A.P. Smith, J. Janick, P.B. Goldsbrough, and P.M. Hirst. 2004. Segregation of scab resistance in three apple populations: molecular marker and phenotypic analysis. HortScience 39:1183-1184.

Smith A.P., B.P. DeRidder, W.-J. Guo, E.H. Seeley, F.E. Regnier, and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2004. Proteomic analysis of Arabidopsis glutathione S-transferases from benoxacor- and copper-treated seedlings. J. Biol. Chem. 279:26098-26104.

Mir G., J. Domènech, G. Huguet, W.-J. Guo, P. Goldsbrough, S. Atrian, and M. Molinas. 2004. A plant type 2 metallothionein (MT) from cork tissue responds to oxidative stress. Journal of Experimental Botany 55:2483-2493.

Vieira, R.F., P.B. Goldsbrough and J.E. Simon. 2003. Genetic diversity of basil based on RAPD markers. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 128:94-99.

Lee, S., J.S. Moon, T.S. Ko, D. Petros, P.B. Goldsbrough and S.S. Korban. 2003. Overexpression of Arabidopsis phytochelatin synthase paradoxically leads to hypersensitivity to cadmium stress. Plant Physiology 131:656-663.

Mickelbart, M.V., G. Peel, R.J. Joly, D. Rhodes, G. Ejeta and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2003. Development and characterization of near-isogenic lines of sorghum segregating for glycinebetaine accumulation. Physiologia Plantarum 118:253-261.

Lee, S., D. Petros, J.S. Moon, T-S. Ko, P.B. Goldsbrough and S.S. Korban. 2003. Higher levels of ectopic expression of Arabidopsis phytochelatin synthase do not lead to increased cadmium tolerance and accumulation. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 41:903-910.

Guo, W-J., W. Bundithya and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2003. Characterization of the Arabidopsis metallothionein gene family: tissue-specific expression and induction during senescence and in response to copper. New Phytologist 159:369-381.

Smith, A.P., S.D. Nourizadeh, W.A. Peer, J. Xu, A. Bandyopadhyay, A.S. Murphy and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2003. Arabidopsis AtGSTF2 is regulated by ethylene and auxin, and encodes a glutathione S-transferase that interacts with flavonoids. The Plant Journal 36:433-442.

Cobbett, C.S. and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2002. Phytochelatins and metallothioneins: roles in heavy metal detoxification and homeostasis. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 53:159-182.

DeRidder, B.P., D.P. Dixon, D.J. Beussman, R. Edwards and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2002. Induction of glutathione S-transferases in Arabidopsis by herbicide safeners. Plant Physiology 130:1497-1505.

Kapteyn, J., P. B. Goldsbrough and J. E. Simon. 2002. Genetic relationships and diversity of commercially relevant Echinacea species. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 105:369-376.

Ha, S.-B., A.P. Smith, R. Howden, W.M. Dietrich, S. Bugg, M.J. O'Connell, P.B. Goldsbrough, and C.S. Cobbett. 1999. Phytochelatin synthase genes from Arabidopsis and the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Plant Cell 11:1153-1164.

Tuinstra, M.R., G. Ejeta and P. Goldsbrough. 1998. Evaluation of near-isogenic sorghum lines contrasting for QTL associated with drought tolerance. Crop Science 38:835-842.

Wood, A.J. and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1997. Characterization and expression of dehydrins in water-stressed Sorghum bicolor. Physiologia Plantarum. 99:144-152.

Menkir, A., P.B. Goldsbrough and G. Ejeta. 1997. RAPD based assessment of genetic diversity in cultivated races of sorghum. Crop Science 37:564-569.

Chen, J., J. Zhou and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1997. Characterization of phytochelatin synthase from tomato. Physiologia Plantarum. 101:165-172.

Murphy, A., J. Zhou, P.B. Goldsbrough and L. Taiz. 1997. Purification and immunological identification of metallothioneins 1 and 2 from Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiology. 113:1293-1301.

Tuinstra, M.R., E.M. Grote, P.B. Goldsbrough and G. Ejeta. 1997. Genetic analysis of post-flowering drought tolerance and components of grain development in Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Molecular Breeding 3:439-448.

Tuinstra, M.R., G. Ejeta and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1997. Heterogeneous inbred family (HIF) analysis: An approach for developing near-isogenic lines that differ at quantitative trait loci. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 95:1005-1011.

Jones, J.D., P.B. Goldsbrough, and S.C. Weller. 1996. Stability and expression of amplified EPSPS genes in glyphosate resistant tobacco cells and plantlets. Plant Cell Reports 15:431-436.

Orczyk, W., J.D. Hipskind, E. de Neergaard, P. Goldsbrough and R.L. Nicholson. 1996. Stimulation of phenylalanine ammonia lyase in sorghum in response to inoculation with Bipolaris maydis. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology. 48:55-64.

Tuinstra, M.R., E.M. Grote, P.B. Goldsbrough and G. Ejeta. 1996. Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with pre-flowering drought tolerance in sorghum. Crop Science 36:1337-1344.

Wood, A.J., H. Saneoka, D. Rhodes, R.J. Joly and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1996. Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase in Sorghum bicolor: molecular cloning and expression of two related genes. Plant Physiology 110:1301-1308.

Howden, R., P.B. Goldsbrough, C.R. Andersen, and C.S. Cobbett. 1995. Cadmium-sensitive, cad1 mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana are phytochelatin-deficient. Plant Physiol. 107:1059-1066.

Howden, R., C.R. Andersen, P.B. Goldsbrough, and C.S. Cobbett. 1995. Cadmium-sensitive, glutathione deficient mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol. 107:1067-1073.

Zhou, J. and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1995. Structure, organization and expression of the metallothionein gene family in Arabidopsis. Mol. Gen. Genetics 248:318-328.

Kaplan, D., Y.M. Heimer, A. Abeliovich, and P.B. Goldsbrough. 1995. Cadmium toxicity and resistance in Chlorella sp. Plant Science 109:129-137.