Mary C Wildermuth

Assistant Professor
Ph.D.  Biochemistry    University of Colorado at Boulder, 1997
B.S.   Chemical Engineering    Cornell University

221A Koshland Hall
Berkeley, California 94720-3102
mwildermuth@berkeley.edu
office: 510-643-4861   lab: 510-643-4862   fax:  510-642-4995

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Plant-pathogen interactions are marvelously intricate, diverse, and tightly coupled. The disease outcome of the plant-pathogen interaction is dependent upon both pathogen and plant host factors and pathways. My long-term goal is to understand the mechanisms by which hosts and pathogens interact to redirect host regulatory and metabolic pathways and networks. In particular, I am interested in the biosynthesis, regulation, and function of small molecules that mediate host-pathogen interactions. Arabidopsis thaliana is a useful model host for this study in that extensive genomic and genetic resources and tools are available, and Arabidopsis employs metabolic and regulatory pathways of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic origin. In addition, common bacterial factors impact virulence on both plant and mammalian hosts, and there is overlap in host strategies for limiting pathogen colonization and growth. My lab couples predictive biochemistry and analytical chemistry with forward and reverse genetics and genomics to discover the small molecules and their biosynthetic pathways which alter defense-related regulatory pathways resulting in large-scale transcriptional changes and the redirection of plant cellular metabolism. Biochemical, molecular, theoretical and informatic approaches are then used to analyze the function of these molecules at the cellular and organismic levels. In addition, I am interested in the evolution of the biosynthesis of these small molecules, their regulation, and functional roles.

The Arabidopsis-pathogen interaction is mediated by small molecules such as salicylic acid (SA), ethylene, and jasmonic acid that regulate specific (and intersecting) plant defense response pathways resulting in the transcription of pathogenesis-related proteins and the synthesis of anti-microbial compounds. Forward genetic screens of Arabidopsis mutants that fail to respond to the above small molecules or exhibit constitutive responses typically associated with their synthesis have led to the identification of a number of associated regulatory components. However, for some of these molecules (such as SA), the biosynthetic pathway had not been well defined. In addition, it is becoming clear that a number of these molecules may be synthesized by more than one pathway, and that these pathways may operate under different conditions or in unique locales and serve distinct functional roles. Therefore, understanding the biosynthetic pathway(s) and the regulation of these pathways is critical to understanding the function of these molecules.

Okrent, R.A., Brooks, M.D., and M.C. Wildermuth (2009) Arabidopsis GH3.12 (PBS3) conjugates amino acids to 4-substituted benzoates and is inhibited by salicylate. Journal of Biological Chemistry. Epub Feb 2, 2009. PDF

Chandran, D., Tai, Y.C., Hather, G., Dewdney, J., Denoux, C. Burgess, D.G., Ausubel, F.M., Speed, T.P., and M.C. Wildermuth (2009) Temporal global expression data reveals known and novel salicylate-impacted processes and regulators mediating powdery mildew growth and reproduction on Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology. Epub Jan 28, 2009. PDF

Zhang, N.R., Wildermuth, M.C., and T.P. Speed (2008) Transcription factor binding site prediction with multivariate gene expression data. Annals of Applied Statistics 2: 332-365. PDF Arabidopsis-related supplemental material

Jones, A.M., Lindow, S.E., and M.C. Wildermuth (2007) Salicylic acid, yersiniabactin, and pyoverdin production by the model phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000: Synthesis, regulation, and impact on tomato and Arabidopsis host plants. J Bacteriol. 189: 6773-6786; Epub 27 July 2007. PDF Supplemental material

Nobuta, K., Okrent, R.A., Stoutemyer, M., Rodibaugh, N., Kempena, L., Wildermuth*#, M.C., and R.W. Innes (2007) The GH3 acyl adenylase family member PBS3 regulates salicylic acid-dependent defense responses in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 144: 1144-1156; Epub Apr 27, 2007. *co-senior authors, #corresponding author. PDF Supplemental material

Strawn, M.A., Marr, S.K., Inoue, K., Inada, N., Zubieta, C., and M.C. Wildermuth (2007) Arabidopsis isochorismate synthase functional in pathogen-induced salicylate biosynthesis exhibits properties consistent with a role in diverse stress responses. J Biol Chem 282: 5919-5933; Epub 2006 Dec26. PDF

Wildermuth, M.C. (2006) Variations on a theme: synthesis and modification of plant benzoic acids. Curr Opin Plant Biol 9: 288-296. PDF

Inada, N., and M.C. Wildermuth (2005) Novel tissue preparation method and cell-specific marker for laser microdissection of Arabidopsis mature leaf. Planta 221: 9-16; Epub 2004 Dec 2. PDF

Gu, Y.-Q., Wildermuth, M.C., Chakravarthy, S., Loh, Y.-T., Yang, C., He, X., Han, Y., and G.B. Martin (2002) Tomato transcription factors Pti4, Pti5, and Pti6 activate defense responses in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 14: 817-831. PDF

Wildermuth, M.C., Dewdney, J., Wu, G., and F.M. Ausubel (2001) Isochorismate synthase is required to synthesize salicylic acid for plant defence. Nature 414: 562-565. PDF Supplemental Figure Supplemental Table

Dewdney, J., Reuber, T.L., Wildermuth, M.C., Devoto, A., Cui, J., Stutius, L.M., Drummond, E.P., and F.M. Ausubel (2000) Three unique mutants of Arabidopsis identify EDS loci required for limiting growth of a biotrophic fungal pathogen. Plant Journal 24: 205-218. PDF

Wildermuth, Mary C (2000) [MiniReview] Metabolic control analysis: biological applications and insights. GenomeBiology 1(6): reviews 1031.1-1031.5 PDF

Guenther,A., Archer, S., Greenberg, J., Harley, P., Helmig, D., Klinger, L., Vierling, L., Wildermuth, M., Zimmerman, P., and S. Zitzer (1999) Biogenic hydrocarbon emissions and landcover/climate change in a subtropical savanna. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 24:659-667.

Fall, R. and M. C. Wildermuth (1998) Isoprene synthase: from biochemical mechanism to emission algorithm. Journal of Geophysical Research 103: 25,599-25,609.

Wildermuth, M.C. and R. Fall (1998) Biochemical characterization of stromal and thylakoid-bound isoforms of isoprene synthase in willow leaves. Plant Physiology 116: 1111-1121. PDF

Wildermuth, M.C. and R. Fall (1996) Light-dependent isoprene emission: Characterization of a thylakoid-bound isoprene synthase in Salix discolor chloroplasts. Plant Physiology 112: 171-82. PDF

Monson, R.K., Harley, P.C., Litvak, M.E., Wildermuth, M., Guenther, A.B., Zimmerman, P.R. and R. Fall (1994) Environmental and developmental controls over the seasonal pattern of isoprene emission from aspen leaves. Oecologia 99: 260-270.

Guenther,A., Zimmerman, P., and M. Wildermuth (1994) Natural volatile organic compound emission rate estimates for U.S. woodland lanscapes. Atmospheric Environment 28: 1197-1210.