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Plant Biology Home

Phone: (612) 625-1234
Fax: (612) 625-1738

Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

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Kathryn A. VandenBosch

Professor and Head, Department of Plant Biology
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 1984

Cell biology of plant/microbe symbioses; functional genomics of legumes

Contact Information

Mailing Address:

Professor Kathryn VandenBosch
Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

Office: 222A Bio Sci Center
Phone: (612) 625-1234
Fax: (612) 625-1738
E-mail: vande102@umn.edu

Research Interests

The legume family includes many crop species that provide protein in human and animal diets, and that are sources of vegetable oils and nutritionally important natural products, such as flavonoids. Legumes, by virtue of their symbiosis with soil bacteria in the Rhizobiaceae, also supply nitrogen in a biologically available form to both natural and agricultural ecosystems. The emphasis of my research group is to understand how the plant host's cells respond to bacterial signals to initiate development of a nitrogen-fixing root nodule. Specifically, we are investigating how the plant alters the regulation of its cell cycle, induces expression of specific genes, and changes cellular architecture to support infection by rhizobia and formation of a nodule meristem.

To answer these questions we have chosen Medicago truncatula, a close relative of alfalfa, for study. Because of this plant's relatively small and simple genome, it is suitable for genetic and genomic analysis, and has been selected as a model species by a growing number of researchers. Together with many collaborators, we are investigating how the Medicago genome functions in a wide variety of developmental conditions. We are creating DNA microarrays to learn how microbial interactions affect global patterns of host gene expression, and to produce a valuable resource for other aspects of legume biology.

Useful Links

Medicago Consortium
Medicago Gene Index

Selected Publications

Silverstein KA, Graham MA, VandenBosch KA. Novel paralogous gene families with potential function in legume nodules and seeds. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2006 Apr;9(2):142-6. Epub 2006 Feb 3. Review.

Lohar DP, Sharopova N, Endre G, Penuela S, Samac D, Town C, Silverstein KA, VandenBosch KA. Transcript analysis of early nodulation events in Medicago truncatula. Plant Physiol. 2006 Jan;140(1):221-34. Epub 2005 Dec 23.

Ivashuta S, Liu J, Liu J, Lohar DP, Haridas S, Bucciarelli B, VandenBosch KA , Vance CP, Harrison MJ, Gantt JS.   RNA interference identifies a calcium-dependent protein kinase involved in Medicago truncatula root development. Plant Cell. 2005 Nov;17(11):2911-21. Epub 2005 Sep 30.

Silverstein KA, Graham MA, Paape TD, VandenBosch KA .   Genome organization of more than 300 defensin-like genes in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 2005 Jun;138(2):600-10.

Sherrier, D.J., Taylor, G.S., Silverstein, K.A., Gonzales, M.B., VandenBosch KA .   A ccumulation of extracellular proteins bearing unique proline-rich motifs in intercellular spaces of the legume nodule parenchyma. Protoplasma. 2005 Apr;225(1-2):43-55. Epub 2005 May 4.

Lohar DP, VandenBosch KA. Grafting between model legumes demonstrates roles for roots and shoots in determining nodule type and host/rhizobia specificity. J Exp Bot. 2005 Jun;56(416):1643-50. Epub 2005 Apr 11.

Kuppusamy KT, Endre G, Prabhu R, Penmetsa RV, Veereshlingam H, Cook DR, Dickstein R, Vandenbosch KA. LIN, a Medicago truncatula gene required for nodule differentiation and persistence of rhizobial infections.   Plant Physiol. 2004 Nov;136(3):3682-91. Epub 2004 Oct 29.

Graham MA, Silverstein KA, Cannon SB, VandenBosch KA. Computational identification and characterization of novel genes from legumes. Plant Physiol. 2004 Jul;135(3):1179-97.

Liu J, Blaylock LA, Endre G, Cho J, Town CD, VandenBosch KA , Harrison MJ. Transcript profiling coupled with spatial expression analyses reveals genes involved in distinct developmental stages of an arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.   Plant Cell. 2003 Sep;15(9):2106-23.

Lamblin, A.F., Crow, J.A., Johnson, J.E., Silverstein, K.A., Kunau, T.M., Kilian, A., Benz, D., Stromvik, M., Endre, G., VandenBosch, K.A., Cook, D. R., Young, N.D., Retzel, E.F. MtDB: a database for personalized data mining of the model legume Medicago truncatula transcriptome. Nucleic Acids Res. 2003 Jan 1;31(1):196-201.

Fedorova M, van de Mortel J, Matsumoto PA, Cho J, Town CD, VandenBosch KA, Gantt JS, Vance CP.   Genome-wide identification of nodule-specific transcripts in the model legume Medicago truncatula.   Plant Physiol. 2002 Oct;130(2):519-37.

VandenBosch, K.A., and J. Frugoli. 2001. Guidelines for genetic nomenclature and community governance for the model legume Medicago truncatula. Mol. Plant-Microbe Int. 14(12):1364-1367.