Peter Goldsbrough Professor Ph.D. Area of Interest: Environmental Stress Physiology E-mail: CV

Teaching Responsibilities

• HORT 101, Fundamentals of Horticulture
• HORT 350, Biotechnology in Agriculture

PULSe - Interdisciplinary Life Science Training Group

Physiology and Genetics of Adaptation to Environmental Stress

Our research is focused on understanding how plants respond and adapt to a variety of environmental stresses, including heavy metals, drought and general oxidative stress.

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.

Drought is a major cause of crop yield reduction. We are studying the genetics and physiology of drought tolerance in sorghum, one of the most drought tolerant grain crops. We have identified a number of quantitative trait loci thar influence this complex trait. To further understand the physiological basis of drought tolerance we are analyzing near-isogenic lines that differ only at specific loci. We are also examining the genetics of glycinebetaine accumulation in sorghum to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway in sorghum and understand the contribution of this osmotic solute to drought tolerance.

Plants are exposed to many stresses that share a common feature - they result in oxidative damage at the cellular leved. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) provide one mechanism to deal with the products of such damage. We are examining the structure, function and regulation of GSTs in Arabidopsis using a variety of molecular and genetic approaches. Mutants with altered expression of one GST are being characterized in order to understand the pathway that leads from stress perception to gene activation. We are also studying the role of GSTs in herbicide detoxification and tolerance.

Selected Publications   

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

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

DeRidder, B.P., and P.B. Goldsbrough. 2005 Organ-specific expression of glutathione S-transferase and the efficacy of herbicide safeners in Arabidopsis. Submitted to Plant Physiology.

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.