Dr. Stuart Casson
Academic History
I did my first degree at the University of Leicester, where I graduated with a Bsc (Hons) in Genetics in 1996. It was here that I first became interested in understanding the mechanisms that regulate plant development. This led me to join the laboratory of Prof. Keith Lindsey at Durham University. During my PhD I investigated the role of the POLARIS gene in regulating root development in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. In a follow up study to identify regulators of POLARIS I identified the turnip mutant, which I showed to be defective in regulating the transition from embryogenic to post-embryogenic development. I followed this with a technically challenging post-doc in which I developed laser capture microdissection (LCM) to study global changes in gene expression during embryogenesis in Arabidopsis. This led to my work on the MERISTEM DEFECTIVE gene, which regulates meristem patterning. My work with LCM showed me the advantages of working with a single type of specialized cell in order to understand plant development. I therefore took up my current position with Prof. Alistair Hetherington in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol in order to study stomatal development.
Research Interests
I am interested in understanding the mechanisms that regulate plant development. In particular, my work focuses on how environmental signals regulate core developmental pathways. For this purpose I am using stomatal development as a model. Stomata are microscopic pores on the surface of leaves that regulate gas exchange between the plants and their environment. Significant advances have been made in identifying the genes that regulate stomatal differentiation and patterning. The number of stomata that develop on a leaf is not fixed and it has been shown that plants modulate stomatal numbers in response to changes in their environment, in particular light signals and carbon dioxide. My current research interests are:
- - Identifying components required for the correct regulation of stomatal development in response to light signals.
- - Determining how light signals integrate and modulate the core stomatal developmental pathway.
- - Determining the functional significance of these changes in stomatal number.
For more information on the environmental regulation of stomatal development please see one of my recent reviews.
Publications:
1. Casson SA, Hetherington AM. Environmental regulation of stomatal development. Curr. Op. Plant. Biol. (accepted).
2. Portillo M, Lindsey K, Casson S, García-Casado G, Solano R, Fenoll C, Escobar C. (2009) Isolation of RNA from laser-capture-microdissected giant cells at early differentiation stages suitable for differential transcriptome analysis. Mol. Plant Pathol. 10: 523-535.
3. Casson SA, Franklin KA, Gray JE, Grierson CS, Whitelam GC, Hetherington AM. (2009) phytochrome B and PIF4 regulate stomatal development in response to light quantity. Curr Biol. 19: 229-234.
4. Gray JE, Casson S, Hunt L (2008) Intercellular Peptide Signals Regulate Plant Meristematic Cell Fate Decisions. Sci. Signal. 1: pe53.
5. Casson SA, Topping JF, Lindsey K. (2008) MERISTEM-DEFECTIVE, an RS domain protein, is required for the correct meristem patterning and function in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 57:857-869.
6. Casson S, Gray JE. (2008) The Influence of Environmental Factors on Stomatal Development. New Phytologist.178: 9-23.
7. Spencer MW, Casson SA, Lindsey K. (2007) Transcriptional profiling of the Arabidopsis embryo. Plant Physiol.143:924-940.
8. Chilley PM, Casson SA, Tarkowski P, Hawkins N, Wang KL, Hussey PJ, Beale M, Ecker JR, Sandberg GK, Lindsey K. (2006) The POLARIS peptide of Arabidopsis regulates auxin transport and root growth via effects on ethylene signaling. Plant Cell. 11:3058-3072.
9. Casson SA, Lindsey K. (2006) The turnip mutant of Arabidopsis reveals that LEC1 expression mediates the effects of auxin and sugars to promote embryonic cell identity. Plant Physiol. 142: 526-541.
10. Casson S, Spencer M, Walker K, Lindsey K. (2005) Laser capture microdissection for the analysis of gene expression during embryogenesis of Arabidopsis. Plant J. 42:111-123.
11. Mur LAJ, Xu RL, Casson SA, Stoddart WM, Routledge APM, Draper J. (2004) Characterization of a proteinase inhibitor from Brachypodium distachyon suggests the conservation of defence signalling pathways between dicotyledonous plants and grasses. Molecular Plant Pathology 5:267-280.
12. Dean G, Casson S, Lindsey K. (2004) KNAT6 gene of Arabidopsis is expressed in roots and is required for correct lateral root formation.
Plant Mol Biol. 54:71-84.
13. Casson SA, Lindsey K. (2003) Tansley Review: Genes and signalling in root development. New Phytologist 158:11-38.
14. Casson SA, Chilley PM, Topping JF, Evans IM, Souter MA, Lindsey K. (2002) The POLARIS gene of Arabidopsis encodes a predicted peptide required for correct root growth and leaf vascular patterning. Plant Cell 14:1705-21.
Contributions to symposia and compiled volumes
1. Casson SA, Spencer MW, Lindsey K (2008) Laser-capture microdissection to study global transcriptional changes during plant embryogenesis. Methods Mol Biol. 427:111-20.
2. K Lindsey, SA Casson, PM Chilley (2006) The POLARIS peptide. In: The
Handbook Of Biologically Active Peptides, ed. AJ Kastin (Academic Press).
3. Lindsey K, Casson S, Chilley P. (2002) Peptides: new signalling molecules in plants. Trends Plant Sci. 7:78-83.