Wendy Boss

Research Interests

Research in my lab in collaboration with Dr. Imara Perera focused on the role of inositol phospholipids in regulating plant sensing and response to environmental stimuli including osmotic stress and gravity. We took a combinatorial approach that includes biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology to characterize the enzymes involved in inositol lipid biosynthesis, to study their subcellular distribution and to genetically alter the flux through the PI signaling pathway. In addition, in collaboration with Dr. Amy Grunden, we took a molecular genetics approach to reduce the presence or reactive oxygen species in plants by expressing genes from Pyrococcus furiosus.

Teaching Interests

Plant Physiology and lipid-mediated signal transduction.

Selected Publications

Ma, X., O. Shor, S. Diminstein, L. Yu, Y.J. Im, I.Y. Perera, A. Lomax, , W.F. Boss, M. Nava Moran, 2009. Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate inhibits K+-efflux channel activity in NT1 tobacco cultured cells. Plant Physiology 149:1127-1140.

Perera, I.Y., C.-Y. Hung, C.D. Moore, J. Stevenson-Paulik, W. F. Boss, 2008. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing the type 1 inositol 5-phosphatase exhibit increased drought tolerance and altered ABA signaling. The Plant Cell 20:2876-2893.

Galvão, R.M., U. Kota, E. J. Soderblom, M. B. Goshe, W. F. Boss, 2008. Characterization of a new family of protein kinases containing phosphoinositide 3/4-kinase and ubiquitin-like domains. Biochemistry Journal. 409:117-127.

Im, Y.J., I.Y. Perera,, I. Brglez, A.J. Davis, J. Stevenson-Paulik, B.Q. Phillippy, E. Johannes, N.S. Allen, W. F. Boss, 2007. Increasing plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate biosynthesis increases phosphoinositide metabolism. The Plant Cell, 19: 1603-1616.

Im, Y.J., A.J. Davis, I.Y. Perera, E. Johannes, N.S. Allen, W. F. Boss. 2007. The N-terminal membrane occupation and recognition nexus domain of Arabidopsis phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase 1 regulates enzyme activity. J. Biological Chemistry. 282: 5443-5452

Perera, I.Y., C.Y. Hung, S. Brady, G. K. Muday,W. F. Boss. 2006.A Universal Role for Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate-Mediated Signaling in Plant Gravitropism Plant Physiol., 140: 746-760.

Im, Y.J., M. Ji, A.M. Lee, W. F. Boss, A.M. Grunden, 2005. Production of a thermostable archaeal superoxide reductase in plant cells. FEBS Letters. 579:5521-5526.

Perera, I.Y., A.J. Davis, D.Galanopoulou, Y.J. Im, W.F. Boss. 2005.Characterization and comparative analysis of Arabidopsis phosphatidylinositol phosphate 5-kinase 10 reveals differences in Arabidopsis and human phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases. FEBS Letters. 579:3427-3432.

Akesson, A., Staffan, P. Love, J., Boss, W.F., Widell, S. Sommarin,M. 2005.Overexpression of the Ca2+-binding protein calreticulin in the endoplasmic reticulum improves growth of tobacco cell suspensions (Nicotiana tabacum) in high-Ca2+ medium Physiologia Plantarum 123:92-99.

Kimbrough, J., R. Salinas-Mondragon, W.F. Boss, C.S. Brown, H. Winter Sederoff. 2004. The fast and transient transcriptional network of gravity and mechanical stimulation in the Arabidopsis root apex. Plant Physiol. 136: 2790-2805.