Research Interests

The Braybrook Group at UCLA studies the generation of form in walled organisms.

In all organisms, the growing of a shape is a complex process requiring specific gene products, signalling, mechanical alterations, and coordination of cell growth. Our Team addresses this fundamental process in biology using a multidisciplinary approach including plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, materials science, and physics. We focus on understanding how shapes are generated in walled organisms: plants and algae.

For a plant and algal cells, the cell wall is the main structural element, controlling shape and growth of the cell and therefore tissue as a whole. Recent work has correlated key aspects of organ growth and shape generation, in plants, with mechanical properties of tissues and cell walls. Our Team has two main goals: 1) to understand the mechanics of shape growth in plants and algae, and 2) to understand the cell wall as a dynamic composite material.

Selected Publications

Braybrook, SA, "Auxin and Organogenesis: Initiation of Organs and Nurturing a Scientific Spirit", The Plant Cell (2019). [link]

G Arsuffi, SA Braybrook, "Acid growth: an ongoing trip", Journal of Experimental Botany 69 (2): 137-146 (2018). [link]

Bou Daher, F., Chen, Y., Bozorg, B., Clough, J.H., Jonsson, H., Braybrook, S.A., "Anisotropic growth is achieved through the additive mechanical effect of material anisotropy and elastic asymmetry", eLIFE 7 (e38161): (2018). [link]

Vofeley, R.V., Gallagher, J., Pisano, G.P., Bartlett, M., Braybrook, S.A., "Of puzzles and pavement: exploring diversity in leaf epidermal cell shape", New Phytologist (2018). [link]

Torode, T.A., Linardic, M., Kaplan, J.L., Braybrook, S.A., "Atomic force microscopy based analysis of cell-wall elasticity in macroalgae", In: Protocols for Macroalgae Research 335-347 (2018). [link]

TA Torode, RE O'Neill, SE Marcus, V Cornuault, S Pose-Albacete, RP Lauder, SK Kracun, MG Rydahl, MCF Andersen, WGT Willats, SA Braybrook, BJ Townsend, MH Clausen, JP Knox, "Branched pectic galactan in phloem-sieve-element cell walls: implications for cell mechanics", Plant Physiology (2017). [link]

M Linardic SA Braybrook, "Towards an understanding of spiral patterning in the Sargassum muticum shoot apex", Scientific Reports 7: (2017). [link]

R Carter, H Woolfenden, A Baillie, S Amsbury, S Carroll, E Healicon, S Sovatzoglou, SA Braybrook, JE Gray, J Hobbs, RJ Morris, AJ Fleming, "Stomatal Opening Involves Polar, Not Radial, Stiffening Of Guard Cells", Current Biology 27 (19): 2974-2983.e2 (2017). [link]

SA Braybrook, "Plant Development: Lessons from Getting It Twisted", Current Biology 27 (15): R758-R760 (2017). [link]

A Bucksch, A Atta-Boateng, A F Azihou, D Battogtokh, A Baumgartner, B M Binder, S Braybrook, C Chang, V Coneva, T DeWitt, A Fletcher, M Gehan, D H Diaz Martinez, L Hong, A Iyer-Pascuzzi, LL Klein, S A Leiboff, M Li, J Lynch, A Maizel, J N Maloof, RJ C Markelz, C Martinez, L A Miller, W Mio, W Palubicki, H Poorter, C Pradal, C Price, E Puttonen, J Reese, R Rellan-Alvarez, E P Spalding, E E. Sparks, C N Topp, J H Williams, D H Chitwood, "Morphological plant modeling: Unleashing geometric and topological potential within the plant sciences", Frontiers in Plant Science (2017). [link]

SA Braybrook, "Analysing cell wall elasticity after hormone treatment: an example using tobacco BY-2 cells and auxin", In: Methods in Molecular Biology: Plant Hormones 1497: 125-133 (2016). [link]

SA Braybrook, H Jonsson, "Shifting foundations: the mechanical cell wall and development", Current Opinion in Plant Biology 29: 115-120 (2016). [link]

F Bou Daher, SA Braybrook, "How to let go: pectin and plant cell adhesion", Frontiers in Plant Science 6: (2015). [link]

K Mueller, G Levesque-Tremblay, SA Braybrook, J Pelloux, "Tuning of pectin methylesterification: consequences for cell Wall biomechanics and development", Planta 242 (4): 791-811 (2015). [link]

Z Kong, M Ioki, SA Braybrook, S Li, Z-H Ye, Y-RJ Lee, T Hotta, A Chang, J Tian, G Wang, B Liu, "Kinesin-4 functions in vesicular transport on cortical microtubules and regulates cell wall mechanics during cell elongation in plants", Molecular Plant 8 (7): 1011-1023 (2015). [link]