Jeffrey Dean

Research scientist
The University of Georgia
0241 C A G T
ATHENS, GA
30602
U.S.A.

Phone : (706) 542-1710
Fax : (706) 542-8356
E-mail : Click here to email Jeffrey Dean
Web page : Click here to access the Web page of Jeffrey Dean

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory currently spans four general areas.

Pine Genomics. We are interested in using transcriptional profiling approaches to understanding pine development and response to the environment. We led a collaborative effort to catalog and made publicly available DNA sequence information for nearly 175,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from loblolly pine. These sequences are being used to produce cDNA microarrays that can be used for conifer gene expression studies

Arabidopsis Multicopper Oxidases (Laccases). A long running in my laboratory seeks to identify the physiological function(s) in plants for all gene family members encoding a group of copper-dependent phenoloxidases commonly known as laccases. This work is focused on systematically knocking out each of the 17 laccase-like multicopper oxidase (LMCO) genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, and then characterizing the basis for the resulting phenotypes.

Phytoremediation. Plants have great potential as active agents in the clean up of environmental sites contaminated with organic wastes and heavy metals. We are using functional genomic techniques to study the changes in gene expression that occur when plants encounter these compounds in their environment.

Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration. We are working with a variety of organizations interested in restoring longleaf habitat in the southeastern US. Our role will be to develop genetic tools and molecular markers that can be used to analyze and monitor genetic diversity in populations of plants and animals endemic to this unique ecosystem.

Publications

Merkle, S.A. and Dean, J.F.D. (2000). Forest tree biotechnology. Curr. Op. Biotech. 11: 298-302
Dean, J.F.D. (2001) Synthesis of lignin in transgenic and mutant plants. In: Biopolymers, Vol. 1, Lignin, Humic Substances and Coal" (M. Hofrichter and A. Steinbüchel, Eds.) Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim, DE, pp. 65-88.
Hoopes, J.T. and Dean, J.F.D. (2001). Zymogram staining of peroxidases and laccases with 1,8-diaminonaphthalene. Anal. Biochem. 293: 96-101
Kim, C.H., Lorenz, W.W., Hoopes, J.T. and Dean, J.F.D. (2001). Oxidation of phenolate siderophores by the multicopper oxidase encoded by the Escherichia coli yacK gene. J. Bacteriol. 183: 4866-4875
Lorenz, W.W. and Dean, J.F.D. (2001). Transcriptome profiling to identify genetic determinants of the juvenile to mature wood transition. Proc. 26th Biennial Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference, June 26-29, 2001, Athens, GA, pp. 175-181
Lorenz, W.W. and Dean, J.F.D. (2002). SAGE profiling and demonstration of differential gene expression along the axial developmental gradient of lignifying xylem in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Tree Physiol. 22: 301-310
Ekman, D.R., Lorenz, W.W., Przybyla, A.E., Wolfe, N.L., and Dean, J.F.D. (2003). Transcriptome responses in Arabidopsis thaliana roots exposed to TNT. Plant Physiol. 133: 1397-1406
Hoopes, J.T., and Dean, J.F.D. (2004). Ferroxidase activity in a plant multicopper oxidase. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 42: 27-33
Dean, J.F.D. and Lorenz, W.W. (2004) Transcriptional profiling in plants using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). AgBiotechNet 6: 1-7
Lorenz, W.W. and Dean, J.F.D. (2005) Studies of plant gene expression using SAGE. In: SAGE Technologies: Current Innovations and Future Trends, (S.M. Wang, Ed.) Horizon Scientific Press, Norwich, England, pp. 189-206.
McCaig, B.M., Meagher, R.B. and Dean, J.F.D. (2005). Gene structure and molecular analysis of the laccase-type multicopper oxidase gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta 221:619-636
Ekman, D.R., Wolfe, N.L., and Dean, J.F.D. (2005) Gene expression changes in Arabidopsis thaliana seedling roots exposed to the munition hexhydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39: 6313-6320
Lorenz, W.W., Sun, F, Liang, C., Zhao, X., Kolychev, D., Wang, H., Cordonnier-Pratt, M-M. , Pratt, L.H. and Dean, J.F.D. (2006) Water stress-responsive genes in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) roots identified by analyses of expressed sequence tag libraries. Tree Physiol. 26:1-16
Dean, J.F.D. (2006). Genomics resources for conifers. In: Landscapes, Genomics and Transgenic Conifer Forests, (C. Williams, Ed.) Kluwer-Springer Press, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 55-74