# overview
I am testing the theory that the endoplasmic reticulum, ER is the circulatory network of the cell, connecting different organelles to each other, allowing them to share signals, lipids, and proteins.

I am particularly interested in how the cytoskeletal system of plants regulates the movement of the ER network. In interphase, the actinomyosin network drives movement of the ER, just as it drives the movement organelles through the cytoplasm in a process called cytoplasmic streaming, a phenomenon in plants, but not animal cells. Of the seventeen different myosin forms in plants, only six are involved in active cytoplasmic streaming. We are sorting out which of those six guide the different movements of the endoplasmic reticulum.

I am also interested in the nature of the nexus between the ER and other organelles, including the chloroplast, plasma membrane, and Golgi. I have recently shown that by photo-stimulating the nexus between the chloroplast and the ER, the directional flow within the ER can be reversibly altered. This ability to generate very localized ER stress may have application in a wide variety of fields - from finding cures for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's syndrome to developing crops that can better-tolerate physiological heat stress and drought.

Finally, I recently founded the company, Griffing Biologics LLC, which is based on the discovery of a novel, non-toxic pre-emergent herbicide that interferes with plant sterol metabolism. Other work examining the uptake of sterols indicates that it may get into the plant cells via plasma membrane-ER contact sites. We are pursuing the function of this transport in controlling the early stages of plant growth.

# keywords[]
Stem Cell Research - Nonembryonic - Human

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Saskatchewan - (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Stanford University - (Stanford, California, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Utah - (Salt Lake City, Utah, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Oregon State University - (Corvallis, Oregon, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Plant Biotechnology Institute - (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)

# publications[].label
Laser stimulation of the chloroplast/endoplasmic reticulum nexus in tobacco transiently produces protein aggregates (boluses) within the endoplasmic reticulum and stimulates local ER remodeling.

# publications[].label
RADIOIMMUNOASSAY OF MORPHINAN ALKALOIDS IN PAPAVER-SOMNIFERUM HYPOCOTYLS, CALLUS, AND SUSPENSION-CULTURES

# publications[].label
ER network dynamics are differentially controlled by myosins XI-K, XI-C, XI-E, XI-I, XI-1, and XI-2.

# publications[].label
Endocytosis of cationized ferritin by coated vesicles of soybean protoplasts.

# publications[].label
Living with genome instability: plant responses to telomere dysfunction.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

# publications[].label
Developmentally regulated expression of a sunflower 11S seed protein gene in transgenic tobacco.

# publications[].label
Protoplasts for Studies of the Plasma Membrane and Associated Cell Organelles

# publications[].label
EXPRESSION OF A PHASEOLIN GLYCOSYLATION MUTANT IN TRANSGENIC TOBACCO SEED

# publications[].label
The Use of Protoplasts in the Study of Coated Vesicles

# publications[].label
CYTOPLASMIC PH CHANGE IN SOYBEAN CELLS AND PROTOPLASTS IN RESPONSE TO BINDING AND INTERNALIZATION OF ELICITOR

# publications[].label
Fusicoccin Binding and Internalization by Soybean Protoplasts

# publications[].label
Fluid-phase and membrane-bound transport to the endocytic compartment in plants

# publications[].label
Expression, glycosylation and secretion of phaseolin in a baculovirus system.

# publications[].label
Cytological and biochemical requirements for the establishment of a polar cell.

# publications[].label
Confocal epipolarization microscopy of gold probes in plant cells and protoplasts.

# publications[].label
A VIDEO RECORDING AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM USED TO SAMPLE INTERTIDAL COMMUNITIES

# publications[].label
Comparisons of Golgi structure and dynamics in plant and animal cells.

# publications[].label
Vital stain for plasma membrane endocytosis in plant cells

# publications[].label
Comments on Dr Whittaker's letter and the article.

# publications[].label
Movement and remodeling of the endoplasmic reticulum in nondividing cells of tobacco leaves.

# publications[].label
Protoplasts for Studies of Cell Organelles

# publications[].label
Networking in the endoplasmic reticulum.

# publications[].label
Quantitative analysis of transnuclear and intranuclear membranes in KDEL-GFP-expressing tobacco suspension culture cells

# publications[].label
Cell-fractionation analysis of glucan synthase I and II distribution and polysaccharide secretion in soybean protoplasts : Evidence for the involvement of coated vesicles in wall biogenesis.

# publications[].label
Dancing with the Stars: Using Image Analysis to Study the Choreography of the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Its Partners and of Movement Within Its Tubules.

# publications[].label
Plant ER geometry and dynamics: biophysical and cytoskeletal control during growth and biotic response.

# publications[].label
IMMUNOLOCALIZATION OF THE MAJOR LATEX PROTEINS IN DEVELOPING LATICIFERS OF OPIUM POPPY (PAPAVER-SOMNIFERUM)

# publications[].label
Authentic Ecological Inquiries Using BearCam Archives

# publications[].label
Who invented the dichotomous key? Richard Waller's watercolors of the herbs of Britain.

# publications[].label
Dancing with the Stars: Using Image Analysis to Study the Choreography of the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Its Partners and of Movement Within Its Tubules.

# publications[].label
Cytochemical localization of peroxidase in soybean suspension culture cells and protoplasts: Intracellular vacuole differentiation and presence of peroxidase in coated vesicles and multivesicular bodies

# publications[].label
The mystery of the missing portrait of Robert Hooke, 17th-century scientist extraordinaire

# publications[].label
Plasmolysis-deplasmolysis causes changes in endoplasmic reticulum form, movement, flow, and cytoskeletal association.

# publications[].label
Isoelectric focusing of plant cell protoplasts: separation of different protoplast types.

# publications[].label
A VIDEO RECORDING AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM USED TO SAMPLE HARD-BOTTOM BENTHIC COMMUNITIES

# publications[].label
Isoelectric focusing of plant cell membranes.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Purification and characterization of a secreted purple phosphatase from soybean suspension cultures.

# publications[].label
CYTOPLASMIC PH CHANGE AND POTASSIUM EFFLUX FROM ELICITOR-TREATED SOYBEAN CELLS AND PROTOPLASTS

# publications[].label
The isolation of coated vesicles from protoplasts of soybean.

# publications[].label
Involvement of monovalent cations in Golgi secretion by plant cells

# publications[].label
The plant extracellular matrix: news from the cell's frontier.

# publications[].label
PURIFICATION OF A PURPLE ACID-PHOSPHATASE SECRETED BY SOYBEAN SUSPENSION-CULTURES AND IDENTIFICATION OF INTRACELLULAR FORMS

# publications[].label
Improved volume rendering for the visualization of living cells examined with confocal microscopy

# publications[].publisher
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics

# publications[].label
POST GOLGI-APPARATUS STRUCTURES AND MEMBRANE REMOVAL IN PLANTS

# publications[].label
Convergence of the endocytic and lysosomal pathways in soybean protoplasts.

# publications[].label
Flying into the plant cell: 3D reconstruction of early endocytosis.

# publications[].label
Reversibly changing directional flow in the plant endoplasmic reticulum

# publications[].label
ENDOCYTOSIS IN PLANT-PROTOPLASTS - VISUALIZATION AND QUANTITATION OF FLUID-PHASE ENDOCYTOSIS USING SILVER-ENHANCED BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN-GOLD

# publications[].label
An evaluation of image analysis at benthic sites based on color segmentation

# publications[].label
Traffic to the endocytic compartment of plants

# publications[].label
TRANSMURAL SECRETION OF A HIGHLY-EXPRESSED CELL-SURFACE ANTIGEN OF OAT ROOT CAP CELLS

# publications[].label
The Sterol Trafficking Pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana.

# publications[].label
IMMUNOGOLD LOCALIZATION OF A PLANT ALPHA-GLUCOSIDASE - OCCURRENCE IN THE ENDOCYTIC AND EXOCYTIC ORGANELLES OF SOYBEAN AND MUNGBEAN CELLS

# publications[].label
VIDEO MICROSCOPY - ELEMENTS FOR INTEGRATION INTO THE GENERAL HIGH-SCHOOL BIOLOGY CURRICULUM

# publications[].label
FRET analysis of transmembrane flipping of FM4-64 in plant cells: is FM4-64 a robust marker for endocytosis?

# researcherOn[].label
I-Corps: A pre-emergent herbicide with a new mode of action

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Science Foundation - (Arlington, Virginia, United States)

# streetAddress
Texas A&M University; Biology; 3258 TAMU

# inTheNews[].label
The Mystery Of The Missing Portrait Of Robert Hooke