PhD Candidate
Topic: Sex determination in Black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)
Contact: ac.cbu.egnahcretni|lemmetn#ac.cbu.egnahcretni|lemmetn
Research Interests
Genetics of floral morphology
Gender regulation in plants
Epistasis and gene-environment interactions
Research Project
While the majority of angiosperm plants have hermaphroditic flowers, approximately 6% of these species are dioecious. This sexual system has been described from a morphological and physiological stand point, though not much is known about how gender is determined at the molecular level, or how dioecy has evolved. Most studies on the subject of gender determination in dioecious plants have focused on species that have well-developed sex chromosomes, such as those found in Rumex or Silene. The recently sequenced genome of the dioecious tree Populus trichocarpa provides a unique tool for studying the evolution of gender dimorphism. Because P. trichocarpa does not have sex chromosomes, I am using a microarray approach to identify genes that are differentially expressed between males and females, and then place these genes on the physical context of the genome, and study specific sets of candidate genes in order to map the genomic architecture of gender.
Education
BSc. (Hons.) with distinction University of Victoria, 2002. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Publications
- Congote, L.F., Temmel, N., Sadvakassova, G., and Dobocan, M.C. 2008. Comparison of the effects of serpin A1, a recombinant serpin 1-IGF chimera and serpin A1 C-terminal peptide on wound healing. Peptides 29:39-46
- Temmel N.A., Rai H.S., and Cronk Q.C.B. 2007. Sequence characterization of the putatively sex-linked Ssu72-like locus in willow and its homologue in poplar. Canadian Journal of Botany 85(11):1092-1097
- Esson, H., Heiss, A., Sears, C. and Temmel, N. 2006. Comparison of two Garry Oak sites undergoing restoration on southeastern Vancouver Island: a preliminary Study. Davidsonia 17(3): 87-97
- von Aderkas P., Coulter A., White L., Wagner R., Robb J., Rise M., Temmel N., MacEacheron I., Park Y.S., and Bonga J. 2005. Somatic embryogenesis via nodules in Pinus strobus L. and Pinus banksiana Lamb. - Dead ends and new beginnings. Propagation of Ornamental Plants 5(1): 3-13
- Congote L.F., Temmel N. 2004. The C-terminal 26-residue peptide of serpin A1 stimulates proliferation of breast and liver cancer cells: role of protein kinase C and CD47. FEBS Letters 576(3): 343-347
- Temmel, N. 1999. Victoria native plant symposium. Menziesia 4(2):4