Download Frank Wellmer Short CV 1998

Frank Wellmer
Short CV
1998
Ph.D. University of Freiburg (Germany)
1999-2005
Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology (USA)
2005-2006
Senior Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology (USA)
2006-2012
Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin
Since 2012
Associate Professor, Trinity College Dublin
Research
In our laboratory, we are trying to answer fundamental questions in developmental biology: how are complex
organs formed from small sets of undifferentiated precursor cells and what are the genes and molecular mechanims
that contribute to the regulation of development?
We are especially interested in understanding the architecture and composition of the gene regulatory networks
underlying flower formation in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Flower development is an excellent system for
studying the molecular mechanisms underlying organogenesis in plants. Extensive genetic analyses have led to the
identification of several key regulatory genes of this important biological process. Most of these genes encode
transcription factors or other proteins involved in the regulation of transcription, indicating the existence of a
complex gene regulatory network that underlies flower development. However, the target genes of these
transcriptional regulators, the cis-regulatory elements to which they bind, and their regulatory interactions are still
largely unknown. What is more, the vast majority of the known floral regulators act during very early stages of
flower development, before floral organs are initiated, and comparatively few genes controlling organ
differentiation have been identified so far. Thus, new experimental approaches are needed to obtain a
comprehensive view of the developmental mechanisms that control flower formation.
Selected Publications
Wuest, S.E., O’Maoileidigh, D.S., Rae, L., Kwasniewska, K., Raganelli, A., Hanczaryk, K., Lohan, A.J., Loftus, B., Graciet,
E., and Wellmer, F. (2012) Molecular basis for the specification of floral organs by APETALA3 and PISTILLATA.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109, 13452-13457.
O’Maoileidigh, D.S., Wuest, S.E., Rae, L., Raganelli, A., Ryan, P.T., Kwasniewska, K., Das, P., Lohan, A.J., Loftus, B.,
Graciet, E., and Wellmer, F. (2013) Control of reproductive floral organ identity specification in Arabidopsis by the C
function regulator AGAMOUS. Plant Cell 25, 2482-2503.
Address
Smurfit Institute of Genetics
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2, Ireland
[email protected]
http://www.tcd.ie/Genetics/wellmer-2/