Dominique Bergmann
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Biology (School of Humanities and Sciences)
- Member, Bio-X
Contact Information
- Academic
Offices
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Professional Snapshot
Professional Education
| PhD: | University of Colorado, Boulder, Molecular Biology (2000) |
| Postdoctoral: | Carnegie Institution, Plant Development |
Postdoctoral Advisees
Juan Dong , Charles Hachez , Marta Paciorek , Tomasz Paciorek
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
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Scientific Focus
Research Interests
Generating the full complement of functional cell types requires coordinating the production of cells with the specification programs that distinguish one cell type from another. Asymmetric cell division, in which one cell divides to create daughter cells that differ in size, location, cellular components or fate, is extensively used in the development of animals. In development of the epidermis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the specification and distribution of stomatal guard cells also requires oriented cell divisions. By studying stomatal development, one can explore how cells choose to initiate asymmetric divisions, how cells establish an internal polarity that can be translated into an asymmetric cell division, and how cells interpret external cues to align their divisions relative to the polarity of the whole tissue. Moreover, approaching these questions in a plant system is likely to reveal new solutions to the problem of balancing the robust specification of cell types with the ability to change development in the face of injury or environmental change.
Themes of current research include:
I.Cell fate specification
(a)Regulation of cell fate by MAPKs and generating specificity in MAPK cascades
(b) transcriptional networks involved in cell fate decisions
II.Control of asymmetric cell divisions
(a) How are cells initially chosen to undergo asymmetric divisions
(b) What are the conserved and unique
feature of asymmetric divisions in plants
(c) what are the connections between asymmetric divisions and self-renewal?
III.The interplay of environment and intrinsic developmental programs
Publications
- Novel and Expanded Roles for MAPK Signaling in Arabidopsis Stomatal Cell Fate Revealed by Cell Type-Specific Manipulations. Plant Cell. 2009
- Asymmetric cell divisions: a view from plant development. Dev Cell. 2009; (6): 783-96
- BASL controls asymmetric cell division in Arabidopsis. Cell. 2009; (7): 1320-30
- Orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana stomatal bHLH genes and regulation of stomatal development in grasses. Development. 2009; (13): 2265-76
- Arabidopsis stomatal initiation is controlled by MAPK-mediated regulation of the bHLH SPEECHLESS. Science. 2008; (5904): 1113-6
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