Plant Genetics and Development;
Flower Patterning and Cell Separation

Telephone: (919) 962-3216

E-mail: liljegren@unc.edu

Office: 402 Coker Hall

Mailing Address:
CB# 3280, Coker Hall
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280

Assistant Professor (Initial Appointment: 2003)
Postdoctoral Research, The Salk Institute & UCSD
Ph.D.: University of California, San Diego (1999)
B.S., University of Washington (1993)

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Synopsis

          Specialized cell types allow plants to shed their structures—such as leaves, flowers and fruit—through the carefully orchestrated process of cell separation. The research focus of the Liljegren lab is to investigate the molecular mechanisms that control cell separation using the Arabidopsis flower as a model system. As in many other higher plants, Arabidopsis flowers contain pattern elements which allow distinct separation events such as floral organ shedding, fruit opening, pollen dehiscence, and seed dispersal to take place during their life cycle. Currently, we are characterizing the functions of key regulators of floral organ separation, including NEVERSHED, LOVES-ME-NOT and STAMENSTAY. We have discovered that NEVERSHED regulates vesicle trafficking during flower development and are using sensitized genetic screens to identify additional signaling factors that likely control the movement and secretion of specific molecules during the shedding process.

Floral organ shedding in Arabidopsis.
NEVERSHED regulates vesicle trafficking during plant development.