Prof. Dr. Venkatesan Sundaresan
Section of Plant Biology and Dept. of Plant Sciences
Life Sciences Bldg.
One Shields Ave.
University of California Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Lab phone 530-754-9852
e-mail: sundar@ucdavis.edu
website: http://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/Labs/sundar/
Degrees
1982 PhD Biophysics
Harvard University
B.Sc. - University of Poona
M.Sc. - Indian Institute of Technology
M.S. - Carnegie Mellon University
Research Contribution
Biotechnology applied to agriculture will help farmers and people living in
developing countries.
Research Interests
Genetics and molecular biology of plant reproduction. Functional genomics in model
plants- Arabidopsis and rice. Bioinformatics of small RNAs. Microbiomes and
metagenomics.
For
details
please
see
the
lab
website
at
http://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/Labs/sundar/
An overview of current projects & foci in lab
Genomics of the Zygotic Transition in Rice
The fusion of two highly differentiated cells, the egg cell and the sperm cell, results in
a totipotent zygote: a single cell with the capacity to develop into an entirely new
organism. In this respect, the zygote can be considered to be the ultimate stem cell. In
both plants and animals, early embryo development is dependent on maternal
transcripts deposited in the egg cell before fertilization. The degradation of these
maternal transcripts and the initiation of zygotic transcription take place during the
Maternal to Zygotic Transition (MZT). Regulation of the MZT in plants and animals
is critical to successful reproduction. Read more...
The Rice Microbiome
Plants, much like humans and other animals, harbor rich communities of potentially
beneficial bacteria. The collective genomes of this complex microbial network,
termed the metagenome, encode diverse metabolic capabilities unfounded within
plants, essentially offering a functional extension to the host plant's genome. Soil
microbes in close proximity to plant roots (termed the rhizosphere) have been shown
to promote plant disease suppression and nutrient acquisition.
Using rice (Oryza sativa) as a model, we are answering questions based around how
plants recruit and moderate their associated root microbiomes. Unraveling the
composition and maintenance of the rice microbiome is not only important for
bolstering our basic understanding of host-microbe interactions: it is of great
agronomic and ecological importance as well. Read more...
Patterning of Arabidopsis Embryo Sac
Development of the gametophyte, the haploid generation of the plant life-cycle, is
important for plant reproduction and seed formation. In flowering plants, the female
gametophyte is called the embryo sac. It consists of only four cell types, including
two gametes, which are the result of a precise developmental program.
Until recently, relatively little was known about the molecular mechanisms that
establish developmental pattern in the embryo sac, in part due to the relative
inaccessibility of the gametophyte and the limited availability of informative mutants.
Read more...
Publications

Anderson, S., Johnson, C., Jones, D., Conrad, L., Gou, X., Russell, S.,
Sundaresan, V., 2013. Transcriptomes of isolated rice gametes characterized
by deep sequencing: Evidence for distinct sex-dependent chromatin and
epigenetic states before fertilization. The Plant Journal, 76: 729-741

Martin, M., Fiol, D., Sundaresan, V., Zabaleta, Pagnussat, G., 2013. oiwa, a
Female
Gametophytic
Mutant
Impaired
in
a
Mitochondrial
Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase, Reveals Crucial Roles for Reactive
Oxygen Species during Embryo Sac Development and Fertilization in
Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 25: 1573-1591

Spence, C., Alff, E., Johnson, C., Ramos, C., Donofrio, N., Sundaresan,V.,
Bais, H., 2014. Natural rice rhizospheric microbes suppress rice blast
infections. BMC Plant Biology, 14:130.

Leshem Y., Johnson C., Sundaresan V. 2013. Pollen tube entry into the
synergid cell of Arabidopsis is observed at a site distinct from the filiform
apparatus. Plant Reproduction, 10.1007/s00497-013-0211-1

Tsai H., Missirian V., Ngo K., Tran R.K., Chan S., Sundaresan V., Comai L.
2013. Production of a high efficiency TILLING population through
polyploidization. Plant Physiology, doi:10.1104/pp.112.213256

Yang S-Y, Gronlund M, Jakobsen I, Grotemeyer MS, Rentsch D, Miyao A,
Hirochika H, Kumar CS, Sundaresan V, Salamin N, Catausan S, Mattes N,
Heuer S, Paszkowski U. 2013. Nonredundant Regulation of Rice Arbuscular
Mycorrhizal
Symbiosis
by
Two
Members
of
the
PHOSPHATE
TRANSPORTER1 Gene Family. The Plant Cell, 24:4236-4251

Ngo QA, Baroux C, Guthörl D, Mozerov P, Collinge MA, Sundaresan V,
Grossniklaus U. 2012. The Armadillo Repeat Gene ZAK IXIK Promotes
Arabidopsis Early Embryo and Endosperm Development through a Distinctive
Gametophytic Maternal Effect. The Plant Cell, 24:4026-4043

Leshem Y., Johnson C.A., Wuest S.E., Song X., Ngo Q.A., Grossniklaus U.,
Sundaresan V. 2012. Molecular Characterization of the glauce Mutant: a
Central Cell-Specific Function Is Required for Double Fertilization in
Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 24:3264-3277

Gutjahr C, Radovanovic D, Geoffroy J, Zhang Q, Siegler H, Chiapello M,
Casieri L, An K, An G, Guiderdoni E, Kumar CS, Sundaresan V, Harrison MJ,
Paszkowski U. 2011. The half-size ABC transporters STR1 and STR2 are
indispensable for mycorrhizal arbuscule formation in rice. The Plant Journal,
69:906-920

Ravi M., Kwong P.N., Menorca R.M., Valencia J.T., Ramahi J.S., Stewart J.L.,
Tran R.K., Sundaresan V., Comai L., Chan S.W. 2010. The rapidly evolving
centromere-specific histone has stringent functional requirements in
Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetics, 186:461-471

Ma H., Sundaresan V. 2010. Development of flowering plant gametophytes.
Curr. Top. Dev. Biol., 91:379-412

Sundaresan V., Alandete-Saez, M. 2010. Pattern formation in miniature: The
female gametophyte of flowering plants. Development, 137:179-189

Li N., Yuan L., Liu N., Shi D., Li X., Tang Z., Liu J., Sundaresan V., Yang
W.-C. 2009. SLOW WALKER2, a NOC1/Mak21 Homologue, Is Essential for
Coordinated
Cell
Cycle
Progression
during
Female
Gametophyte
Development in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology , 151:1486-1497

Johnson, C., Kasprzewska, A., Tennessen, K., Fernandes, J., Nan, G-L.,
Walbot, V., Sundaresan, V., Vance, V., and Bowman, L.H. 2009. Clusters and
superclusters of phased small RNAs in the developing inflorescence of rice.
Genome Research, 19:1429-1440

Pagnussat, G.C., Alandete-Saez, M., Bowman, J.L., Sundaresan, V. 2009.
Auxin-Dependent Patterning and Gamete Specification in the Arabidopsis
Female Gametophyte. Science, 324:1684-1689

Krishnan A, Guiderdoni E, An G, Hsing YI, Han CD, Lee MC, Yu SM,
Upadhyaya N, Ramachandran S, Zhang Q, Sundaresan V, Hirochika H, Leung
H, Pereira A. 2009. Mutant resources in rice for functional genomics of the
grasses. Plant Physiology, 149:165-70.

Boavida LC, Shuai B, Yu HJ, Pagnussat GC, Sundaresan V, McCormick S.
2009. A Collection of Ds Insertional Mutants Associated With Defects in
Male Gametophyte Development and Function in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Genetics, 181:1369-85.

Capron, A., Gourgues, M., Neiva, L.S., Faure, J.E., Berger, F., Pagnussat, G.,
Krishnan, A., Alvarez-Meija, C., Vielle-Calzada, J.-P., Lee, Y.-R., Liu, B.,
Sundaresan, V. 2008. Maternal control of male-gamete delivery in
Arabidopsis involves a putative GPI-anchored protein encoded by the
LORELEI gene. The Plant Cell, 20: 3038Â3049.

Meyers BC, Matzke M, Sundaresan V. 2008. The RNA world is alive and well.
Trends in Plant Sciences, 13:311-3.

Qu, S., Desai, A., Wing, R.A., Sundaresan, V. 2008. A Versatile
Transposon-Based Activation Tag Vector System for Functional Genomics in
Cereals and Other Monocot Plants. Plant Physiology, 146:189-99.

Chen, Z., Tan, J., Inguoff, M., Sundaresan, V. , Berger, F. 2008.
The
Chromatin Assembly Factor 1 regulates the cell cycle but not the cell fate
during male gametogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Development, 135:65-73.

Pagnussat, G., Yu, H.-J., Sundaresan, V. 2007. Cell-fate switch of synergid to
egg cell in Arabidopsis eostre mutant embryo sacs arises from mis-expression
of the BEL1-Like Homeodomain gene BLH1. The Plant Cell, 19:3578-92

Ngo, Q.A., Moore, J.M., Baskar R., Grossniklaus, U., and Sundaresan, V.
2007. The Arabidopsis glauce mutant reveals a novel regulatory function of
the female gametophyte in autonomous endosperm development and
expression of paternal alleles during early embryogenesis. Development, 134:
4107-4117.

Dewitte, W., Scofield, S., Alcasabas, A.A., Maughan, S.C., Menges, M.,
Braun, N., Collins, C., Nieuwland, J., Prinsen, E., Sundaresan, V., Murray,
J.A.H. 2007. Arabidopsis CYCD3 D-type cyclins link cell proliferation and
endocycles and are rate-limiting for cytokinin responses. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
USA , 104:14537-14542.

Griffith, M.E., Mayer, U., Capron, A., Ngo, Q., Surendrarao A., McClinton, R.,
Jurgens, G., Sundaresan, V. 2007. The TORMOZ gene encodes a nucleolar
protein required for regulated division planes and embryo development in
Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell , 19: 2246-2263

Johnson, C., Sundaresan, V. 2007. Regulatory small RNAs in plants. In
Plant Systems Biology Birkhauser, Springer-Verlag, Switzerland. pp. 99-113.

Johnson, C., Bowman, L., Adai, A., Vance, V., Sundaresan, V. 2006.
CSRDB: a small RNA integrated database and browser resource for cereals.
Nucleic Acids Res., 35:D829-D833.

Sundaresan, V. 2005.
Control of seed size in plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
USA , 50:1788717888.

Kumar, C.S., Wing, R.A., Sundaresan, V. 2005. Efficient insertional
mutagenesis in rice using the maize En/Spm elements. The Plant Journal 44:
879-897.

Yu, H.-J., Hogan, P.S., Sundaresan, V. 2005.
Analysis of the female
gametophyte transcriptome of Arabidopsis by comparative expression
profiling.Plant Physiology 139: 1853-1869.

Pagnussat, G., Yu, H.-J., Ngo, Q., Rajani, S., Mayalagu, S., Johnson, C.,
Capron, A., Xie, L.-F., Ye, D., Sundaresan, V., 2005. Genetic and molecular
identification of genes required for female gametophyte development and
function in Arabidopsis. Development 132:603-614

Nishal, B., Tantikanjana, T., Sundaresan, V., 2005. An Inducible Targeted
Tagging System for Localized Saturation Mutagenesis in Arabidopsis.Plant
Physiology 137:3-12.

Adai A., Johnson, C., Mlotshwa, S., Archer-Evans, S., Manocha, V., Vance,
V., Sundaresan, V., 2005
Computational prediction of miRNAs in
Arabidopsis thaliana.Genome Research 15:78-91

Tantikanjana T, Mikkelsen M.D, Hussain M, Halkier B.A, Sundaresan V,
2004.
Functional
analysis
of
the tandem-duplicated P450
genes
SPS/BUS/CYP79F1 and CYP79F2 in glucosinolate biosynthesis and plant
development by Ds transposition-generated double mutants. Plant Physiol.
135:840-848.

Hirochika H, Guiderdoni E, An G, Hsing YI, Eun MY, Han C.D, Upadhyaya
N, Ramachandran S, Zhang Q, Pereira A, Sundaresan V, Leung H, 2004.
Rice mutant resources for gene discovery. Plant Mol Biol. 54:325-334.

Kolesnik, T.,
Szeverenyi, I., Bachmann , D., Kumar, C.S., Jiang, S.,
Rengasamy, R., Cai, M., Ma, Z.,
Sundaresan, V., Ramachandran,
S. ,
2004. Establishing an Efficient Ac/Ds Tagging System in Rice: Large-Scale
Analysis of Ds Flanking Sequences.
The Plant Journal

37 :301-314.
Reddy, T.V., Agashe, B., Kaur, J., Sundaresan , V. and Siddiqi, I. , 2003.
The DUET Gene is Necessary for Chromosome Organization and Progression
During Male Meiosis in Arabidopsis and Encodes a PHD Finger Protein.
Development 130:5975-87.

Yang, S.L.,
Xie, L.F.,
Mao,H.-Z., Puah, C.S., Yang, W.C., Jiang, L.,
Sundaresan,V., and Ye,D., 2003. The TAPETUM DETERMINANT 1 Gene Is
Required for Cell Specialization in The Arabidopsis Anther.
The Plant Cell

15 :2792-804.
Kwee, H.S., and Sundaresan, V. , 2003. The NOMEGA gene required for
female gametophyte development encodes the putative APC6/CDC16
component of the Anaphase Promoting Complex in Arabidopsis. The Plant
Journal

36 :853-866.
Buell, C.R., and Sundaresan, V., 2003. A workshop on establishing a rice
resource center in the United States. Plant Physiology

132 :1137.
Kumaran M., Bowman, J.L., and Sundaresan, V., 2002. YABBY Polarity
Genes Mediate Repression of KNOX Homeobox Genes in Arabidopsis.
The Plant Cell 14:2761-2770.


Selected Older Publications

Rajani, S. and Sundaresan, V., 2001. The Arabidopsis myc/bHLH gene
ALCATRAZ enables cell separation in fruit dehiscence.
Current Biology 11:1914-1922.

Tantikanjana, T., Yong J.W.H., Letham, D.S., Griffith, M., Hussain, M.,
Ljung, K., Sandberg, G., and Sundaresan, V., 2001. Control of Axillary Bud
Initiation and Shoot Architecture in Arabidopsis through the SUPERSHOOT
gene. Genes and Development 15:1577-1588.

Ramachandran, S. and Sundaresan, V., 2001. Transposons as Tools for
Functional Genomics. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 39:243-252.

Parinov, S. and Sundaresan, V., 2000. Functional genomics in Arabidopsis:
Large scale insertional mutagenesis complements the genome sequencing
project. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 11:157-161.

Yang, W.C. and Sundaresan, V., 2000. Genetics of gametophyte biogenesis in
Arabidopsis. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 3:53-57.

Parinov, S., Mayalagu, S., Ye, D., Yang, W.C., Kumaran, M., and
Sundaresan,V., 1999. Analysis of flanking sequences from Ds insertion lines:
A database for reverse genetics in Arabidopsis.
The Plant Cell 11:2263-2270.

Yang,
W.C.,
Ye,
D.,
Xu,
J.,
and
Sundaresan,
V.,
1999.
The
SPOROCYTELESS gene of Arabidopsis is required for initiation of
sporogenesis and encodes a novel nuclear protein. Genes and Development
13 :2108-2117.

Kumaran, M.K., Ye, D., Yang, W.C., Griffith, M.E., Chaudhury, A.M., and
Sundaresan, V., 1999.
Molecular cloning of Abnormal Floral Organs: A
gene required for flower development in Arabidopsis. Sexual Plant
Reproduction 12:118-122.

Colasanti, J., Zhuang, Y., and Sundaresan, V., 1998. The indeterminate gene
encodes a zinc-finger protein and regulates a leaf-generated signal required for
the transition to flowering in maize. Cell 93:593-603.

Sundaresan, V., 1996. Horizontal spread of transposon mutagenesis: Old
elements find new uses. Trends in Plant Sciences 1:184-190.

Springer, P., McCombie, R., Sundaresan, V., and Martienssen, R., 1995.
Gene trap tagging of Prolifera, an MCM2/3/5 homolog in Arabidopsis.
Science 268: 877-880.

Sundaresan, V., Springer, P., Volpe, T., Haward, S., Jones, J.D.G., Dean, C.,
Ma, H., and Martienssen, R.,1995.
Patterns of gene action in plant
development revealed by enhancer trap and gene trap transposable elements.
Genes and Development 9:1797-1810.