Biography:Paula McSteen

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Short description: Plant geneticist


Paula McSteen
Paula McSteen.jpg
Alma materUniversity of East Anglia
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Missouri
ThesisGenetic interactions controlling perianth development in Antirrhinum majus (1996)

Paula McSteen is a scientist known for her research on plant genetics. In 2020 she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Education and career

McSteen received her B.A. from the University of Dublin Trinity College and earned her Ph.D. in Plant Developmental Genetics in 1996 from the University of East Anglia.[1] In 2010 she joined the faculty of the University of Missouri as an associate professor,[2] having previously worked as an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University. As of 2021 she is a professor at the University of Missouri.[1]

Research

McSteen is known for her research on plant genetics, particularly on the role of hormones that influence the actions of plant meristems. Her graduate research defined the genes required to control the development of reproductive organs in Antirrhinum, flowers commonly known as snapdragons.[3][4] She then moved to using corn as a genetic model. She has examined the role of multiple genes by corn, including research into bif2 barren inflorescence2 which plays a role in regulation of hormones needed during the development of corn.[5][6] Through examination of corn that produced malformed ears, McSteen determined that the gene vt2, short for vanishing tassel2, was absent,[7] which means reduced levels of the hormone auxin and leads to malformed ears of corn.[8] In 2019, McSteen found the barren stalk2 gene, ba2, which impacts the development of the cells that give rise to ears of corn.[9][10] In the course of learning about this gene, she found that this mutation had first been found in the 1930s, but then knowledge about its role was lost.[11]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

  • McSteen is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who cited her for "distinguished contributions to the field of plant genetics, particularly the role of the hormone, auxin, in maize reproductive development".[12][13] In 2017 she received the L. Stadler Mid-Career Award from the Maize Genetics Corporation.[14]
  • In 2017 McSteen received the L. Stadler Mid-Career Maize Genetics Award.[15]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Paula McSteen - Biological Sciences". https://biology.missouri.edu/people/mcsteen. 
  2. https://ipg.missouri.edu/annual_report/IPG_Annual_Report_2010.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. McSteen, P.C.; Vincent, C.A.; Doyle, S.; Carpenter, R.; Coen, E.S. (1998-07-01). "Control of floral homeotic gene expression and organ morphogenesis in Antirrhinum". Development 125 (13): 2359–2369. doi:10.1242/dev.125.13.2359. ISSN 0950-1991. PMID 9609819. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.125.13.2359. 
  4. Keck, Emma; McSteen, Paula; Carpenter, Rosemary; Coen, Enrico (3 March 2003). "Separation of genetic functions controlling organ identity in flowers". The EMBO Journal 22 (5): 1058–1066. doi:10.1093/emboj/cdg097. PMID 12606571. 
  5. McSteen, Paula; Hake, Sarah (2001-08-01). "barren inflorescence2 regulates axillary meristem development in the maize inflorescence" (in en). Development 128 (15): 2881–2891. doi:10.1242/dev.128.15.2881. ISSN 1477-9129. PMID 11532912. https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/128/15/2881/41245/barren-inflorescence2-regulates-axillary-meristem. 
  6. McSteen, Paula; Malcomber, Simon; Skirpan, Andrea; Lunde, China; Wu, Xianting; Kellogg, Elizabeth; Hake, Sarah (2007-06-07). "barren inflorescence2 Encodes a Co-Ortholog of the PINOID Serine/Threonine Kinase and Is Required for Organogenesis during Inflorescence and Vegetative Development in Maize" (in en). Plant Physiology 144 (2): 1000–1011. doi:10.1104/pp.107.098558. ISSN 1532-2548. PMID 17449648. 
  7. Phillips, Kimberly A.; Skirpan, Andrea L.; Liu, Xing; Christensen, Ashley; Slewinski, Thomas L.; Hudson, Christopher; Barazesh, Solmaz; Cohen, Jerry D. et al. (2011-02-01). "vanishing tassel2 Encodes a Grass-Specific Tryptophan Aminotransferase Required for Vegetative and Reproductive Development in Maize" (in en). The Plant Cell 23 (2): 550–566. doi:10.1105/tpc.110.075267. ISSN 1532-298X. PMID 21335375. 
  8. "Odd corn plant provides insight into how corn makes hormones" (in en). April 11, 2011. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110307125001.htm. 
  9. Yao, Hong; Skirpan, Andrea; Wardell, Brian; Matthes, Michaela S.; Best, Norman B.; McCubbin, Tyler; Durbak, Amanda; Smith, Taylor et al. (2019). "The barren stalk2 Gene Is Required for Axillary Meristem Development in Maize" (in en). Molecular Plant 12 (3): 374–389. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2018.12.024. PMID 30690173. 
  10. Matthes, Michaela Sylvia; Best, Norman Bradley; Robil, Janlo M.; Malcomber, Simon; Gallavotti, Andrea; McSteen, Paula (2019). "Auxin EvoDevo: Conservation and Diversification of Genes Regulating Auxin Biosynthesis, Transport, and Signaling". Molecular Plant 12 (3): 298–320. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2018.12.012. ISSN 1674-2052. PMID 30590136. 
  11. "Ear, ear, corn science advances" (in en). June 12, 2019. https://www.foodprocessing.com.au/content/food-design-research/article/,%20http://foodprocessing.com.au/content/food-design-research/article/ear-ear-corn-science-advances-1180445177. 
  12. Cohen, Adam D. (November 24, 2020). "AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2020 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science" (in en). https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-announces-leading-scientists-elected-2020-fellows. 
  13. "McSteen elected a AAAS Fellow - Biological Sciences". November 24, 2020. https://biology.missouri.edu/news/mcsteen-elected-aaas-fellow. 
  14. "The Maize Genetics Awards". https://www.maizegdb.org/mgc/awards/winners.php. 
  15. "The Maize Genetics Awards". https://www.maizegdb.org/mgc/awards/winners.php. 

External links