University of Georgia Department of Plant Biology

Ph.D. , University of Wisconsin - Madison 2006

I am interested in uncovering signal transduction mechanisms that enable plants to sense and respond to their environment. Currently my lab's research is focused on the phenomenon of smoke-induced seed germination - an adaptive trait known to be used by over a thousand plant species to rapidly recolonize the post-fire landscape. We are using genetic approaches in the model system Arabidopsis thaliana to define the smoke-response pathway and determine how it influences plant development through crosstalk with light- and hormone-signaling networks. Ultimately we will apply comparative genetics methods to investigate the broader role of this mechanism in fire ecology and its adaptation among land plants.

Nelson, D.C., A. Scaffidi, E.A. Dun, M.T. Waters, G.R. Flematti, K.W. Dixon, C.A. Beveridge, E.L. Ghisalberti, and S.M. Smith. 2011. F-box protein MAX2 has dual roles in karrikin and strigolactone signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108:8897-8902.

Scaffidi, A., G.R. Flematti, D.C. Nelson, K.W. Dixon, S.M. Smith, and E.L. Ghisalberti. 2011. The synthesis and biological evaluation of labelled karrikinolides for the elucidation of the mode of action of the seed germination stimulant. Tetrahedron 67:152-157.

Nelson, D.C., G.R. Flematti, J. Riseborough, E.L. Ghisalberti, K.W. Dixon, and S.M. Smith. 2010. Karrikins enhance light responses during germination and seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 107:7095-7100.

Flematti, G.R., A. Scaffidi, E.D. Goddard-Borger, C.H. Heath, D.C. Nelson, L.E. Commander, R.V. Stick, K.W. Dixon, S.M. Smith, and E.L. Ghisalberti. 2010. Structure-activity relationship of karrikin germination stimulants. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 58:8612-8617.

Chiwocha, S.D.S., K.W. Dixon, G.R. Flematti, E.L. Ghisalberti, D.J. Merritt, D.C. Nelson, J. Riseborough, S.M. Smith, and J.C. Stevens. 2009. Karrikins: A new family of plant growth regulators in smoke. Plant Science 177:252-256.

Nelson, D.C., J. Riseborough, G.R. Flematti, J.C. Stevens, E.L. Ghisalberti, K.W. Dixon, and S.M. Smith. 2009. Karrikins discovered in smoke trigger Arabidopsis seed germination by a mechanism requiring gibberellic acid synthesis and light. Plant Physiology 149:863-873.