James (Jack) Satterlee
Credentials: Botany Department
Position title: Molecular biology of plant evolution
Email: satterl@cshl.edu
Address:
Birge Hall
Office: B139
Lab: B136
430 Lincoln Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
Dr. Satterlee will be joining the Botany Department January 1, 2025.
His lab will be accepting graduate students wishing to start their studies in Fall 2025.
LAB WEBSITE:
FOCUS GROUPS:
Plant Biology, Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Physiology
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Work in my lab will focus on understanding the molecular genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying plant morphological evolution. Numerous adaptive plant morphologies, such as prickles, thorns, and tubers have convergently evolved across land plants. My previous work has shown that similar molecular networks may underlie these adaptations. A key component of these networks appears to be repeated deployment of spatiotemporally localized expression of enzymes predicted to catalyze activation of the plant hormone cytokinin, which has been canonically implicated in mediating cell proliferation and differentiation. For the next several years, my group will aim to understand how these enzymes are re-deployed or co-opted in different developmental contexts to yield adaptive and agriculturally important plant phenotypes. We will use the genetically tractable plant genus Solanum (including the eggplants, tomato, and potato) as well as other plant lineages as model systems. Work in the lab will make use of comparative developmental, genetic, molecular biological, and biochemical approaches to address this question. An ultimate goal is the engineering of plant morphology using cytokinin pathway components as well as other identified developmental regulators.