Currently on Leave as: Program Director Cellular Systems and Signal Transduction BIO/MCB National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington VA 22230 ltaylor@nsf.gov Phone: 703.292.7110 Fax: 703.292.9061 http://nsf.gov   Associate Professor School of Molecular Biosciences Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4234   Phone: 509-335-3612 FAX: 509-335-1907 E-mail: ltaylor@wsu.edu    Ph.D., 1986 Stanford University RESEARCH INTERESTS: Reproduction in flowering plants; molecular and genetic control of male gametophyte (pollen) development; role of natural prodcuts in plant reproduction (G). RESEARCH SUMMARY: When pollen germinates it extrudes a tube which acts as a conduit to deliver the sperm cells to the embryo sac for fertilization. My laboratory has established that flavonols, low molecular weight signaling molecules that are naturally present in pollen, are required for germination and tube growth. To dissect the mechanism of flavonol-induced germination we have used biochemical, molecular and genetic techniques which have identified proteins that interact with, modify and respond to the flavonol signal. We have synthesized the first affinity-tagged flavonol molecule for use as a ligand to isolated a flavonol receptor. A flavonol galactosyltransferase that controls the pools of active and inactive flavonol molecules has been isolated; kinetic characterization reveals that it performs with nearly perfect catalytic efficiency. The genes showing the greatest transcriptional response to flavonols encode proteins that have regulatory or signaling functions and include a leucine-rich repeat protein, a LIM-motif protein, and a Zn finger protein with a putative heme-binding site. Functional testing of these proteins will accomplished by a reverse genetics approach and analyzing pollen development and fertility in transgenic plants. A goal of this research is the control of pollen fertility by exploiting the germination requirement for flavonols. Gail Deckert. Research Associate and Maurilia Monti, Visiting Scientist, from Dr. Taylor's laboratory, are harvesting anthers.   REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Taylor, L. P. and Grotewold, E. (2005) Flavonoids as Developmental Signals. Curr. Op. In Plant Biol. 8:317-323. Taylor, L. P., Guyon, V., Monti, M. M., Strommer, J., Raiola, A. De Lorenzo, G., Tang,, W. and McCormick, S. (2004) Antisense phenotypes reveal a role for SHY, a pollen-specific leucine-rich repeat protein, in pollen tube growth. Plant J 39:643-654 Miller, K. D., J. Strommer and L. P. Taylor (2002). Conservation in divergent solanaceous species of the unique gene structure and enzyme activity of a gametophytically-expressed flavonol 3-O galactosyltransferase. Plant Mol Biol . 48: 233-242. Tanaka, H., M. M. Stohlmeyer, T. J. Wandless, T. J. and L. P. Taylor (2000) Synthesis of flavonol derivatives as probes of biological processes. Tetrahedron Letters. 41(50) 9735-9740. Guyon, V., J. D. Astwood, E. Garner, K. Dunker and L. P. Taylor (2000). Isolation and characterization of cDNAs expressed in the early stages of flavonol-induced pollen germination in petunia. Plant Phys.123: 699-710. Miller, K. D. and L. P. Taylor (2000) The use of a photoactivatible kaempferol analogue to probe the role of flavonol 3-O-galactosyltransferase in pollen germination. . In: J. Manthey and B. Buslig, eds. Flavonoids in the Living System, Plenum Press, New York. in press. Miller, K. D, V. Guyon, J. N.S. Evans, W A. Shuttleworth, and L. P. Taylor (1999) Purification, cloning and heterologous expression of a catalytically efficient flavonol 3-O-galactosyltransferase expressed in the male gametophyte of Petunia hybrida. J. Biol. Chem. 274:34011-34019. Miller K. D., N. S. Evans, W. A. Shuttleworth, V. Guyon, and L. P. Taylor , 1999. Purification, Cloning, and Heterologous Expression of a Catalytically Efficient Flavonol 3-O-Galactosyltransferase Expressed in the Male Gametophyte of Petunia hybrida. J. Biol. Chem. (accepted) Napoli, C., D. Fahy, and L.P. Taylor, 1999. white anther: a petunia mutant that abolishes pollen flavonol accumulation, induces male sterility and is complemented by a chalcone synthase transgene. Plant Phys. 120:615-622. Taylor, L.P. and P.H. Hepler (1997). Pollen Germination and Tube Growth. Ann. Rev. Plant Phys. and Plant Mol. Biol. 48:461-491. Deboo, G. B., M. C. Albertsen, and L. P. Taylor (1995). Flavanone 3-hydroxylase and flavonol accumulation are temporally coordinate in maize anthers. Plant J. 7:703-713. Vogt, T., E. Wollenweber, and L. P. Taylor (1995). The structural requirements of flavonols that induce pollen germination of conditionally male fertile petunia. Phytochem. 38:589-592. Vogt, T., P. Pollak, N, Tarlyn, and L.P. Taylor (1994). Pollination-or-wound-induced kaempferol accumulation in petunia stigmas enhances seed production. Plant Cell 6:11- 23. Pollak, P.E., T.Vogt, Y. Mo, and L.P.Taylor (1993). Chalcone synthase and flavonol accumulation in stigmas and anthers of Petunia hybrida. Plant Physiol. 102:925-932. Mo, Y., C. Nagel, and L.P. Taylor (1992). Biochemical complementation of chalcone synthase mutants defines a role for flavonols in functional pollen. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:7213-7217. Taylor, L. P. and R. Jorgensen (1992). Conditional male fertility in chalcone synthase deficient petunia. J. Heredity 93:11-17.