Research Interests

The Long laboratory is interested in the transcriptional networks that control polarity and stem cell formation during plant embryonic development. We have focused our research on the transcriptional co-repressor TOPLESS (TPL) that is involved in almost all aspects of plant development, and use a variety of approaches including genetics, genomics, biochemistry and confocal imaging in our research. Our work on TPL has uncovered multiple transcription factors involved not just in embryogenesis, but also in polarity decisions in the leaves, patterning of floral organs, and the response to the hormone auxin. We also study the chromatin modifying enzymes that TPL uses to repress transcription, which are conserved between plants and animals.

Selected Publications

Groth M, Moissiard G, Wirtz M, Wang H, Garcia-Salinas C, Ramos-Parra PA, Bischof S, Feng S, Cokus SJ, John A, Smith DC, Zhai J, Hale CJ, Long JA, Hell R, D?az de la Garza RI, Jacobsen SE., "MTHFD1 controls DNA methylation in Arabidopsis", Nature Communications (2016).

Procko C, Burko Y, Jaillais Y, Ljung K, Long JA, Chory J., "The epidermis coordinates auxin-induced stem growth in response to shade", Genes and Development 30: 1529-1541 (2016). [link]

Crawford BC, Sewell J, Golembeski G, Roshan C, Long JA*, Yanofsky MF* (*co-corresponding author), "Genetic control of distal stem cell fate within root and embryonic meristems", Science (2015).

Krogan, N.T., Hogan, K. and Long J.A., "APETALA2 recruits the co-repressor TOPLESS and histone deacetylase HDA19 to negatively regulate multiple floral organ identity genes", Development 139: 4180-4190 (2012).

Ou, H.D, Kwiatkowski, W., Deerinck, T.J., Noske, A., Blain, K.Y., Land, H.S., Soria, C., Powers, C.J., May, A.P., Shu, X., Tsien, R.Y., Fitzpatrick, J.A.J., Long, J.A., Ellisman, M.H., Choe, S. and O'Shea, C.C., "A structural basis for the assembly and functions of a viral polymer that inactivates multiple tumor suppressors", Cell 151: 304-319 (2012).

Macrae, R. and Long, J.A., "Transcriptional regulation in plants", eLS Journal (2012).

Wollmann, H., Mica, E., Todesco, M., Long, J.A. and Weigel, D., "On reconciling the interactions between APETALA2, miR172 and AGAMOUS with the ABC model of flower development", Development 137 (21): 3633-3642 (2010).

Gallavotti, A., Long, J.A., Stanfield, S., Yang, X., Jackson, D., Vollbrecht, E. and Schmidt, R.J., "The control of axillary meristem fate in the maize ramose pathway", Development 137 (17): 2849-2856 (2010).

Pauwels, L., Barbero, G.F., Geerinck, J., Tilleman, S., Grunewald, W., Perez, A.C., Chico, J.M., Vanden Bossche, R., Sewell, J., Gil, E., Garcia-Casado, G., Witters, E., Inze, D., Long, J.A., De Jaeger, G., Solano, R. and Goossens, A., "NINJA connects JAZ proteins to the co-repressor TOPLESS", Nature 464: 788-791 (2010).

Smith, Z.R. and Long, J.A., "Control of Arabidopsis apical-basal embryo polarity by two antagonistic transcription factor families", Nature 464 (7287): 423-426 (2010).

Krogan, N.T. and Long, J.A., "Why so repressed? Turning off transcription during plant growth and development", Curr Opin Plant Biol 12 (5): 628-636 (2009).

Nakaminami, K., Hill, K., Perry, S., Sentoku, N., Long, J. and Karlson, D., "Arabidopsis cold shock domain proteins: Relationships to floral and silique development", J Exp Botany 60 (3): 1047-1062 (2009).

Long, J.A., "Plant embryogenesis: getting started", Development 135: 3979-3980 (2008).

Tao, Y., Ferrer, J., Ljung, K., Pojer, F., Hong, F., Long, J., Li, L., Moreno, J., Bowman, M., Ivans, L., Cheng, Y., Lim, J., Zhao, Y., Ballare, C., Sandberg, G., Noel, J. and Chory, J., "Rapid synthesis of auxin via a new tryptophan-dependent pathway is required for shade avoidance in plants", Cell 133, 164-176 133: 164-176 (2008).

Szemenyei, H., Hannon, M. and Long, J., "TOPLESS mediates auxin dependent transcriptional repression during Arabidopsis embryogenesis", Science 319, 1384-1386 319: 138-1386 (2008).