Paula McSteen

Paula McSteen is a scientist known for her research on plant genetics. In 2020 she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Paula McSteen
Alma mater	University of East Anglia
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Missouri
Thesis	Genetic interactions controlling perianth development in Antirrhinum majus (1996)

Education and career

McSteen received her B.A. from the University of Dublin Trinity College and earned her Ph.D. in Plant Developmental Genetics in 1996 from the University of East Anglia.^[1] In 2010 she joined the faculty of the University of Missouri as an associate professor,^[2] having previously worked as an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University. As of 2021 she is a professor at the University of Missouri.^[1]

Research

McSteen is known for her research on plant genetics, particularly on the role of hormones that influence the actions of plant meristems. Her graduate research defined the genes required to control the development of reproductive organs in Antirrhinum, flowers commonly known as snapdragons.^[3][4] She then moved to using corn as a genetic model. She has examined the role of multiple genes by corn, including research into bif2 barren inflorescence2 which plays a role in regulation of hormones needed during the development of corn.^[5][6] Through examination of corn that produced malformed ears, McSteen determined that the gene vt2, short for vanishing tassel2, was absent,^[7] which means reduced levels of the hormone auxin and leads to malformed ears of corn.^[8] In 2019, McSteen found the barren stalk2 gene, ba2, which impacts the development of the cells that give rise to ears of corn.^[9][10] In the course of learning about this gene, she found that this mutation had first been found in the 1930s, but then knowledge about its role was lost.^[11]

Selected publications

• Mashiguchi, K.; Tanaka, K.; Sakai, T.; Sugawara, S.; Kawaide, H.; Natsume, M.; Hanada, A.; Yaeno, T.; Shirasu, K.; Yao, H.; McSteen, P.; Zhao, Y.; Hayashi, K.-i.; Kamiya, Y.; Kasahara, H. (8 November 2011). "The main auxin biosynthesis pathway in Arabidopsis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (45): 18512–18517. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10818512M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1108434108. PMC 3215075. PMID 22025724.
• McSteen, Paula; Leyser, Ottoline (June 2005). "SHOOT BRANCHING". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 56 (1): 353–374. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.56.032604.144122. PMID 15862100.
• McSteen, Paula (6 January 2009). "Hormonal Regulation of Branching in Grasses". Plant Physiology. 149 (1): 46–55. doi:10.1104/pp.108.129056. PMC 2613715. PMID 19126694.
• Gallavotti, Andrea; Barazesh, Solmaz; Malcomber, Simon; Hall, Darren; Jackson, David; Schmidt, Robert J.; McSteen, Paula (30 September 2008). "sparse inflorescence1 encodes a monocot-specific YUCCA-like gene required for vegetative and reproductive development in maize". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (39): 15196–15201. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10515196G. doi:10.1073/pnas.0805596105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2567514. PMID 18799737.

Awards and honors

• McSteen is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who cited her for "distinguished contributions to the field of plant genetics, particularly the role of the hormone, auxin, in maize reproductive development".^[12][13] In 2017 she received the L. Stadler Mid-Career Award from the Maize Genetics Corporation.^[14]
• In 2017 McSteen received the L. Stadler Mid-Career Maize Genetics Award.^[15]

References

1. "Paula McSteen - Biological Sciences". biology.missouri.edu. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
2. https://ipg.missouri.edu/annual_report/IPG_Annual_Report_2010.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
3. McSteen, P.C.; Vincent, C.A.; Doyle, S.; Carpenter, R.; Coen, E.S. (1 July 1998). "Control of floral homeotic gene expression and organ morphogenesis in Antirrhinum". Development. 125 (13): 2359–2369. doi:10.1242/dev.125.13.2359. ISSN 0950-1991. PMID 9609819.
4. Keck, Emma; McSteen, Paula; Carpenter, Rosemary; Coen, Enrico (3 March 2003). "Separation of genetic functions controlling organ identity in flowers". The EMBO Journal. 22 (5): 1058–1066. doi:10.1093/emboj/cdg097. PMC 150331. PMID 12606571.
5. McSteen, Paula; Hake, Sarah (1 August 2001). "barren inflorescence2 regulates axillary meristem development in the maize inflorescence". Development. 128 (15): 2881–2891. doi:10.1242/dev.128.15.2881. ISSN 1477-9129. PMID 11532912.
6. McSteen, Paula; Malcomber, Simon; Skirpan, Andrea; Lunde, China; Wu, Xianting; Kellogg, Elizabeth; Hake, Sarah (7 June 2007). "barren inflorescence2 Encodes a Co-Ortholog of the PINOID Serine/Threonine Kinase and Is Required for Organogenesis during Inflorescence and Vegetative Development in Maize". Plant Physiology. 144 (2): 1000–1011. doi:10.1104/pp.107.098558. ISSN 1532-2548. PMC 1914211. PMID 17449648.
7. Phillips, Kimberly A.; Skirpan, Andrea L.; Liu, Xing; Christensen, Ashley; Slewinski, Thomas L.; Hudson, Christopher; Barazesh, Solmaz; Cohen, Jerry D.; Malcomber, Simon; McSteen, Paula (1 February 2011). "vanishing tassel2 Encodes a Grass-Specific Tryptophan Aminotransferase Required for Vegetative and Reproductive Development in Maize". The Plant Cell. 23 (2): 550–566. doi:10.1105/tpc.110.075267. ISSN 1532-298X. PMC 3077783. PMID 21335375.
8. "Odd corn plant provides insight into how corn makes hormones". ScienceDaily. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
9. Yao, Hong; Skirpan, Andrea; Wardell, Brian; Matthes, Michaela S.; Best, Norman B.; McCubbin, Tyler; Durbak, Amanda; Smith, Taylor; Malcomber, Simon; McSteen, Paula (2019). "The barren stalk2 Gene Is Required for Axillary Meristem Development in Maize". Molecular Plant. 12 (3): 374–389. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2018.12.024. PMID 30690173.
10. Matthes, Michaela Sylvia; Best, Norman Bradley; Robil, Janlo M.; Malcomber, Simon; Gallavotti, Andrea; McSteen, Paula (2019). "Auxin EvoDevo: Conservation and Diversification of Genes Regulating Auxin Biosynthesis, Transport, and Signaling". Molecular Plant. 12 (3): 298–320. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2018.12.012. ISSN 1674-2052. PMID 30590136.
11. "Ear, ear, corn science advances". www.foodprocessing.com.au. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
12. Cohen, Adam D. (24 November 2020). "AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2020 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
13. "McSteen elected a AAAS Fellow - Biological Sciences". biology.missouri.edu. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
14. "The Maize Genetics Awards". www.maizegdb.org. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
15. "The Maize Genetics Awards".

External links

• Paula McSteen publications indexed by Google Scholar