Sarah Wyatt
Associate Professor
Associate ChairPh.D., Purdue University, 1995
Molecular Biology/GenomicsPorter Hall 508
740 593 1133Other Websites
The Wyatt Lab
Ohio University Genomics Faculty
Ohio University Bioinformatics Initiative
Faculty Research Focus Areas
Plant Cell Wall Biotechnology
Evolutionary Development in Plant Biology
Courses
PBIO 103 (Plants and People) [online resource]
PBIO 114 (Foundations of Plant Biology)
PBIO 214 (Exploring Bioinformatics)
PBIO 3/530 (Plant Genetics)
PBIO 418J (Writing for the Science Researcher)
PBIO 416/516 (Problem Solving Using Bioinformatic Tools)
PBIO 518 (Writing in the Life Sciences)
Departmental Service
Q2S Coordinator
Curriculum Committee, PBIO (chair)
Recruitment and Retention Committee
Curriculum Committee, MCB (Chair)
Faculty Advisor, Ohio University Genomics Facility
Professional Service
Education Foundation, American Society of Plant Biologists
Executive Committee, American Society of Plant Biologists
Editorial Board, Gravitational and Space Biology
Research Program Summary
Plant growth and development with an emphasis on the use of molecular, genetic and genomics tools to study plant responses to environmental stimuli.
Gravity is a constant stimulus governing the orientation of plant growth. In response to changes in the gravity vector, plant stems and roots bend by differential growth. The gravitropic response can be separated into three steps: stimulus perception, signal transduction and asymmetric growth of the responding tissue. We took advantage of a cold effect on the gravity response pathway to select for mutants of Arabidopsis with altered signal transduction. We have identified several gps (gravity persistent signal) mutants at seven independent loci (GPS1 - 7). Physiological and molecular characterization of these mutants is ongoing as is the genomic and proteomic characterization of the GPS response.
Additional projects include collaborative efforts to identify genes involved in the mixed breeding system in Viola and to study evolution using physiological/molecular fingerprints in extinct and extant plants.
Selected References
Luesse, DR, Schenck, CA, Berner, BK, Justus, B, Wyatt, SE (2010) GPS4 is allelic to ARL2: Implications for gravitropic signal transduction. Gravitational and Space Biology 23: 95-97.
Lev-Yadun, S., Wyatt, S.E. and Flaishman, M.A. (2010) “Unconscious Selection and Domestication in “Wild-type” Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae)” Int. J. of Plant Breeding (in press)
Liang, X., Shen, K., Lichtenberg, J., Wyatt, S.E., Welch,, L.R. (2010) An integrated bioinformatics approach to the discovery of cis-regulatory elements involved in plant gravitropic signal transduction. International Journal of Computational Bioscience 1:33-54.
Wyatt, S.E., Sederoff, R., Flaishman, M., and Lev-Yadun, S. (2010) Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for gelatinous fiber formation. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology 57:384-388.
Sanders, H.L., Rothwell, G.W., Wyatt, S.E. (2009) Key Morphological Alterations in the Evolution of Leaves. Int. J. Plant Sci. 170:860-868
Lichtenberg, J., Alam,M., Bitterman,T., Drews,F., Ecker,K., Elnitski, L., Evans,S., Grotewold,E., Gu,G., Jacox,E., Kurz, K., Lee,S.L., Liang,X., Majmudar,P.M., Morris, P., Nelson, C., Stockinger, E., Welch, J.D., Wyatt,S.E., Yilmaz, A. and Welch,L.R. (2009) Construction of Genomic Regulatory Encyclopedias: Strategies and Case Studies. Proceedings of the Ohio Collaborative Conference on Bioinformatics, IEEE Computer Society Press 67-70.
Sanders, H.L. and Wyatt, S.E. (2009) Leaf Evolution and Development: Advancing Technologies, Advancing Understanding. BioScience 59: 17-26
Rothwell, G.W., Sanders, H.L., Wyatt, S.E., Lev-Yadun, S. (2008) A fossil record for growth regulations: the role of auxin in wood evolution. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 95, 121-134.
Roberts, D.R., V. Nadella, and S.E. Wyatt. 2007. ARF9 and the Gravitropic Persistence Signal Response. Gravitational and Space Biology 20:103-104.
H. L. Sanders, G.W. Rothwell, and S.E. Wyatt. 2007. A paleontological context for the developmental mechanisms of evolution. International Journal of Plant Sciences 168:719-728.
Nadella, V., C.D. Hildenbrand, and S. E. Wyatt. 2006. Transcription profiling of the gps1 mutant of Arabidopsis provides insights into gravitropic signal transduction. Invited submission: Gravitational and Space Biology 20:155-156.
Lev-Yadun, S., S.E. Wyatt, and M.A. Flaishman. 2005. The inflorescence stem fibers of Arabidopsis thaliana revoluta (ifl1) mutant. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 23:301-306. (Cover)
Nadella, V., Shipp, M.J., Muday, G. K. and Wyatt, S.E. 2005 Evidence for altered polar and lateral auxin transport in the gravity persistent signal (gps) mutants of Arabidopsis. Plant Cell and Environment 29:682-690. (cover)
Wyatt, S.E., Rashotte, A., Shipp, M.J., Muday, G.K., and Robertson, D. 2002 Mutations in the GPS loci in Arabidopsis disrupt the perception and/or signal transduction of gravitropic stimuli. Plant Physiology 130, 1426-1435.
Wyatt, S.E. 2002 The ups and downs of gravity. Pages 45-55 In A.J. Wood [ed.], Biochemical and molecular responses of plants to the environment. Research Signpost, Trivandrum, India.