About Our Lab

We study the Mutator transposon family of maize.  Our focus is developmental regulation of transposition.  By what mechanism(s) are transposition activities restricted to terminal cell divisions?  How does cellular differentiation result in alternative transposition activities – in somatic cells Mu elements use “cut & paste” transposition, while in germinal cells and gametophytes Mu elements seem to move by replicative transposition. 

Bronze2 (Bz2) is our reporter gene for Mutator activity.   This gene encodes a glutathione S-transferase (GST) that performs the last cytoplasmic step in anthocyanin (purple pigment) synthesis.  Our current model is that BZ2 is a cytoplasmic carrier protein for anthocyanin.   We propose that BZ2 docks at an ABC transporter located in the tonoplast, delivering its cargo to the pump required to move anthocyanin into the vacuole.  Anthocyanin sequestration is a model for how reactive natural products may be “detoxified” by the cell. 

Purple spots on aleurone caused by particle
bombardment of Bz2 into bz2 aleurone.