Research Interests

The research in my laboratory attempts to employ the tools of functional genomics to understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate gene pathways in maize. Our current focus is determining regulatory networks of transcriptional activity that are associated with changes in metabolism and cellular differentiation. The major approaches that are being employed include mRNA expression profiling, mutagenesis, comparative sequence analyses, and the functional testing of gene activity in transgenic plants. Three different experimental systems are currently being explored to associate changes in gene expression with different genotypes, developmental stages, and environmental conditions.

Molecular Genetic Characterization of the Illinois Protein Strains

Representative ears from generation 94 of the Illinois Protein Selection Strains

Molecular Genetic Characterization of the Illinois Protein Strains

The University of Illinois has been conducting since 1896 long term selection experiments for changes in the relative concentrations grain protein. These selection experiments are now in their 100th generation and have resulted in the creation of four strains, all derived from the same source population, that span the extremes for grain protein composition:
· Illinois High Protein (IHP, ~35% grain protein)
· Illinois Low Protein (ILP, ~4% grain protein)
· Illinois Reverse High Protein (IRHP, ~5% grain protein)
· Illinois Reverse Low Protein (IRLP, ~18% grain protein)
The Reverse strains were created by reversing the direction of selection after generation 48, e.g. Illinois Reverse Low Protein was created by selecting Illinois Low Protein for high grain protein.

 

These Illinois Protein Strains represent a unique genetic resource to investigate questions related to the physiological and molecular mechanisms that influence the ability of corn plants to assimilate, translocate, partition, and store carbon and nitrogen, especially within the seed.
In collaboration with Dr. Fred Below's laboratory in the Department of Crop Sciences, we have initiated a project to characterize differences in gene expression among the Illinois Protein Strains and correlate these to changes in grain composition and physiological responses to different rates of supplemental nitrogen under replicated field plot conditions. Our initial research focus is on genes known to participate in seed storage protein deposition and nitrogen metabolism in both seed and vegetative tissues. This research promises to reveal novel approaches for improving nitrogen use efficiency and modifying grain composition in commercial maize hybrids.

Leaf epidermal peel of maize stained with toluidine blue-O. The violet-staining tissue on the left is expressing Glossy15 and is composed of a single cell type, whereas the aqua staining tissue on the right does not express Glossy15 and contains a number of different cell types, including the large hair.

Maize Leaf Epidermal Cell Differentiation

Maize seedling leaves differ from the adult leaves that are produced later in development for a variety of leaf epidermal traits, including wax deposition, the formation of specialized cell types such as leaf hairs, and the biochemical composition of the cell wall. The maize Glossy15 gene encodes a DNA-binding protein that coordinately regulates this diverse set of leaf epidermal traits. I am using functional genomics approaches to dissect the regulatory networks through which Glossy15 acts to control leaf epidermal cell differentiation. My laboratory has generated transgenic maize plants that overexpress the Glossy15 gene. We are performing mRNA expression profiling between normal and glossy15 mutant plants to determine those genes whose expression is regulated by Glossy15. We have also used genetic screens to identify mutations that represent candidate targets of Glossy15 regulation in wax synthesis, hair formation, and cell wall composition.

Comparative Genomics of Cereal Gene Promoters

Once changes in mRNA expression are identified between genotypes or environmental treatments, the question of how these changes are mediated becomes important. Our laboratory is developing an integrated functional approach to address this question. We begin by cloning and sequencing maize promoters. The maize promoter sequences are then compared to promoters from orthologous genes in rice and other cereals by computational methods to identify putative cis-acting promoter regulatory sequences conserved during cereal evolution. The functional significance of these putative regulatory sequence elements are then tested by determining whether these sequences interact with DNA binding proteins and by the introduction of promoter-reporter genes into transgenic maize or rice. We are initially applying these methods to the study of promoters from genes that are expressed in seeds. A more detailed understanding of promoter structure and promoter activities during seed development will lead to the more efficient modification of cereal grain through biotechnology for feed and processing traits.

Teaching and Public Outreach

My research career has focused on maize molecular genetics, where I have gained extensive training that includes experience in the agricultural biotechnology industry. This background provides me with a uniquely broad perspective on the vast potential and significant challenges that exist in applying genomics tools to crop improvement. One of the most important of these challenges is the rapidly widening technological and information gap between the agricultural biotechnology industry, academic research, and public consumers of biotechnology products. The full value of recent investments in plant genomics will only be realized if researchers are trained in the application of genomics tools to crop plant species and the benefits of plant biotechnology are effectively communicated to the public. My firm belief in the above statement is reflected in the courses that I teach and my efforts to present to the public balanced information about plant biotechnology.

Information About Agricultural Biotechnology

I respond to a number of requests to provide information about agricultural biotechnology to a wide variety of audiences. These have included agricultural producers, food scientists, and the general public. The following two links are to short Power Point presentations that focus on key aspects of plant biotechnology.

GMOs. An overview of how transgenic crops are produced, from the laboratory to seed sold to farmers, as well as a brief consideration of the major issues surrounding transgenic crops.
GMO Presentation

StarLink Corn: Fallout from a Biotech Shooting Star (presented at University of Illinois Agronomy Day, August 23, 2001.
StarLink Presentation

Education

• Case Western Reserve University Biology B.S., 1990
• North Carolina State University Genetics & Crop Science (co-major) Ph.D., 1995
• University of California-San Diego Maize molecular genetics post-doc 1995 - 1998

  Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Illinois, I worked for two years with DEKALB Genetics Corporation in the area of improving the nutritional properties of corn through biotechnology and breeding.

Recent Publications

1. Uribelarrea, M., Moose, S.P., and Below, F.E. (2007)  Divergent selection for grain protein affects nitrogen use efficiency in maize hybrids.  Field Crops Res. 100: 82-90
2. Lauter, N., Kampani, A., Carlson, S., Goebel, M. and Moose, S.P. (2005) microRNA172 downregulates glossy15 to promote vegetative phase change in maize. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 102: 9412-9417.
3. Seebauer, J., Moose, S.P., Fabbri, B., Crossland, L. and Below, F.E. (2004)  Amino acid metabolism in young maize earshoots: implications for assimilate movement and nitrogen signaling.  Plant Physiol. 136: 4326-4334
4. Hwang, Y.S., Ciceri, P., Parsons, R., Moose, S.P., Schmidt, R.J. and Huang, N. (2004)  The maize O2 and PBF proteins act additively to promote transcription of storage protein gene promoters in rice endosperm cells.  Plant and Cell Physiology 45: 1509-1518.
5. Moose, S.P., Rocheford, T.R. and Dudley, J.W. (2004).  Maize selection turns 100: a 21st century genomics tool.  Trends in Plant Science 9: 358-364.  doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2004.05.005
6. Uribelarrea, M., Below, F.E. and Moose, S.P.  (2004).  Grain composition and productivity of maize hybrids derived from the Illinois Protein Strains in response to variable nitrogen supply. Crop Science 44: 1593-1600.
7. Moose, S.P., Lauter, N.L., and Carlson, S.R. (2004). The maize macrohairless1 locus specifically promotes leaf blade macrohair initiation and responds to factors regulating leaf identity. Genetics 166: 1451-1461.
8. Below, F.E., Seebauer, J.R, Uribelerrea, M., Schneerman, M.C. and Moose, S.P. (2004)  Accompanying changes in crop physiology from long-term selection for grain protein in maize.  Plant Breeding Reviews 24(1): 133-151.
9. Guo, H. and Moose, S.P. (2003)  Conserved noncoding sequences among cultivated cereal genomes identify candidate regulatory sequence elements and patterns of promoter evolution. Plant Cell 15: 1143-1158.
10. Naidu, S.L., Al-Shoabi, K.A., Raines, C.A., Moose, S.P., and Long, S.P. (2003)  Cold-tolerant C4 photosynthesis in Miscanthus x giganteus.  Plant Physiology 132: 1688-1697.
11. Xu, F.-X., Laguda, E., Moose, S.P., and Riechers, D.  (2002)  Tandemly duplicated safener-induced glutathione S-transferase genes from Triticum tauschii contribute to genome- and organ-specific expression in hexaploid wheat.  Plant Physiology 130: 362-373.
12. Salvador, R., Moose, S. Chassy, B. and Hodge, K. (2002)  Magnanimous Iowans – a case study in bioethics, in Life Science Ethics, G.L. Comstock, ed.  Iowa State Press.
13. Vicente-Carbajosa, J., Moose, S. P., Parson, R.L., and R. J. Schmidt (1997).  A maize zinc-finger protein binds the prolamin box in zein gene promoters and interacts with the basic leucine zipper transcriptional activator Opaque2.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94: 7685-7690.
14. Moose, S. P. and P.H. Sisco (1996).  Glossy15, an APETALA2-like gene from maize that regulates leaf epidermal cell identity.  Genes and Development 10: 3018-3027.
15. Moose, S. P. and P. H. Sisco (1994). Glossy15 controls the epidermal juvenile-to-adult phase transition in maize.  The Plant Cell 6: 1343-1355.
16. Fontes, E.B.P, Chank, B.B., Wrobel, R.L., Moose, S.P., O’Brian, G.R., Wurtzel, E.T., and R.S. Boston (1991).  Characterization of an immunoglobulin binding protein homolog in the maize floury-2 endosperm mutant.  The Plant Cell 3: 483-496.
    

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