venus flytrap


Dr. Dominique "Niki" Robertson - Professor
Genetics of plant virus-mediated RNA


 Research Interests:

My lab has active areas of research in virus-induced gene silencing, geminivirus-host interactions, and in abiotic stress. Long-term goals are to understand how geminiviruses, which are DNA viruses that transcribe their genes in plant nuclei, interact with plant gene silencing pathways, and to be able to harness these viruses for use in the functional genomics of crop plants. A second long-term goal is to understand how modulation of intracellular levels of calcium in the endoplasmic reticulum affects root growth and stress tolerance.

Selected Publications:

Tuttle J.R., Idris A.M., Brown J.K., Haigler CH, Robertson D (2008) Geminivirus-mediated Gene Silencing from Cotton Leaf Crumple Virus Is Enhanced by Low Temperature in Gossypium hirsutum. Plant Physiol 148:41-55.

Jordan, C.V., Shen, W., Hanley-Bowdoin, L., and Robertson, D. (2007) Geminivirus-induced gene silencing of the tobacco retinoblastoma-related gene results in cell death and altered development. Plant Molecular Biology. 65: 163-175.

Smith, C.A., Woloshuk, C.P., Robertson, D. and Payne, G.A. (2007) Silencing of the Aflatoxin Gene Cluster in a Diploid Strain of Aspergillus flavus Is Suppressed by Ectopic aflR Expression. Genetics 176: 2077-2086.


Blevins, T., Rajeswaran, R., Shivaprasad, P.V., Beknazariants, D., Si-Ammour, A., Park, H.-S. Vazquez, F. Robertson, D., Meins, F., Hohn, T. and Pooggin, P., 2006 Four plant Dicers mediate viral small RNA biogenesis and DNA virus induced silencing. Nucleic Acids Research 34:6233-6246.

Muangsan, N., Beclin, C., Vaucheret, H., Robertson, D. (2004) Geminivirus VIGS of endogenous genes requires SGS2/SDE1 and SGS3 and defines a new branch in the genetic pathway for silencing in plants. Plant J. 38: 1004-1014.

Hanley-Bowdoin, L., Settlage, S.B., Robertson, D. (2004) Reprogramming plant gene expression – a prerequisite to geminivirus DNA replication. Mol. Plant Path. 5: 149-156.

Robertson, D. (2004) VIGS vectors for gene silencing, many targets, many tools. Ann. Rev. Plant Biol. 55: 495-519.

Muangsan, N., Robertson, D. (2004) Geminivirus vectors for transient gene silencing in plants. Methods Mol. Biol. 265: 101-116.

Nagar, S., Hanley-Bowdoin, L., and Robertson, D. (2002) Host DNA Synthesis is Induced by Geminivirus Infection of Differentiated Plant Cells. The Plant Cell. 14:2995-3007.

Egelkrout, E., Mariconti, L., Cella, R., Robertson, D., and Hanley-Bowdoin, L. (accepted) Two E2F elements regulate the proliferating cell nuclear antigen promoter during plant development. The Plant Cell.

Wyatt, S.E., Rashotte, A.M., Shipp, M., Robertson, D. and Muday, G. K. (in press) Mutations in the GPS loci in Arabidopsis disrupt the perception and/or signal transduction of gravitropic stimuli. Plant Physiol.

Turnage, M.A., Muangsan, N., Peele, C.G, and Robertson, D. (2002) Geminivirus-based vector for gene silencing in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 30: 107-114.

Peele, C., Jordan, C.V., Muangsan, N., Turnage, M., Egelkrout, E., Eagle, P., Hanley-BOwdoin, L., and Robertson, D. (2001) Silencing of a meristematic gene using geminivirus-derived vectors. Plant J. 27:357-66

Persson, S., Wyatt, S.E., Love, J., Thompson, W.F., Robertson, D., Boss, W.F. (2001) The Ca2+ status of the endoplasmic reticulum is altered by induction of calreticulin expression in transgenic plants.  Plant Physiol. 126:1092-104

Egelkrout, E.M., Robertson, D., and Hanley-Bowdoin, L. (2001) PCNA Transcription Is Repressed through an E2F Consensus Element and Activated byGeminivirus Infection in Mature Leaves. Plant Cell 13:1437-1452

Cox, K, Robertson, D., Fites, R.C. (in press) Mapping and Expression of a Bifunctional Thymidylate Synthase, Dihydrofolate Reductase Gene from Maize. Plant Mol. Biol.

Scott, A., Wyatt, S., Tsou, P.-L., Robertson, D., and Allen, N.S. A model system for plant cell biology: GFP imaging in living onion epidermal cells. Biotechniques 26: 1125-1132.

Ullah, M.H., Robertson, D., and Fites, R.C. (1999) A gene for thymidine kinase in plants. (Accession No. AF066050)( PGR 99-048). Plant Physiol. 119:1567.

Hanley-Bowdoin, L., Settlage, S.B., Orozco, B.M., Nagar, S. and Robertson, D. (1999) Geminiviruses ? Models for plant DNA replication, transcription and cell cycle regulation. Crit. Rev. in Plant Sci. 18: 71-106.

Kjemtrup, S., Sampson, K.S., Peele, C., Nguyen, L.V., Conkling, M.A., Thompson, W.F. and Robertson, D. (1998) Gene silencing from plant DNA carried by a geminivirus. The Plant Journal, 14: 91-100.

Nagar, S. Pedersen, T., Carrick, K., Hanley-Bowdoin, L. and Robertson, D. (1995) A geminivirus induces expression of a host DNA synthesis protein in terminally differentiated plant cells. The Plant Cell 7: 705-719.