Plant Metabolic Engineering Lab
Cross section of a sugarcane leaf  stained with Nile Blue A and viewed with a compound fluorescent  microscope. PHB granules are seen a small yellow granules in the  various leaf cell plastids with the high densities in the bundle sheath cells. Photo by Dr. Lars Petrasovits.

Selected Publications


McQualter, R.B., Gebbie, L.K., Petrasovits, L.A., Somleva, M.N., de Oliveira Dal’Molin, C.G., Li, X., Blackman, D., Riches, J.D., Snell, K.D., 1Lars Keld Nielsen, L.K. and Brumbley, S.M. (2013) Polyhydroxybutyrate production in C4 biomass crops: solving the mesophyll problem, Nature Biotech. (Manuscript in prep)

Tilbrook, K., Poirier, Y., Gebbie, L., Schenk,P.M., McQualter, R.B. and Brumbley, S.M. (2013) Reduced peroxisomal citrate synthase activity increases substrate availability for polyhydroxyalkanoate biosynthesis in plant peroxisomes. Plant Biotechnology Journal (Submitted)

Petrasovits, L.A., McQualter , R.B., Gebbie, L.K., Blackman, D.M., Nielsen, L.K. and Brumbley, S.M.(2013) Chemical inhibition of Acetyl Coenzyme A Carboxylase as a strategy to increase polyhydroxybutyrate yields in transgenic sugarcane. Plant Biotechnology Journal (Published on line early) doi: 10.1111/pbi.12109.

Petrasovits, L.A., Zhao, L., McQualter, R.B., Snell, K.D., Somleva, M.N., Patterson, N.A., Nielsen, L.K. and Brumbley, S.M. (2012) Strategies to enhance polyhydroxybutryate production in transgenic sugarcane Plant Biotechnol. J. 10: 569–578.

Anderson, D.J., Gnanasambandam, A., Williams, E., O’Shea, M.G., Nielsen, L.K., and Brumbley, S.M. (2012) Synthesis of Short-Chain-Length/Medium-Chain Length Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Copolymers in Peroxisomes of Transgenic Sugarcane Plants Trop. Plant Biol. 4:170-184.

Tilbrook, K., Gebbie, L., Schenk, P.M., Poirier, Y., Brumbley, S.M. (2011) Peroxisomal polyhydroxyalkanoate biosynthesis is a promising strategy for bioplastic production in high biomass crops. Plant Biotechnology Journal 9:958-969.

Hughes, G.L., Allsopp, P.G., Webb, R.I., Yamada, R., Iturbe-Ormaetxe, I., Brumbley, S.M., O'Neill, S.L. (2011) Identification of Yeast Associated with the Planthopper, Perkinsiella saccharicida: Potential Applications for Fiji Leaf Gall Control. Curr Microbiol 63 (4): 392-401.

Hughes, G.L. , Allsopp, P.G., Brumbley, S.M., Woolfit, M.M., McGraw, E.A. and O'Neill, S.L. (2011) Variable Infection Frequency and High Diversity of Multiple Strains of  Wolbachia pipientis in Perkinsiella Planthoppers Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77 2165-2168.

Hughes, G.L., Allsopp, P.G., Brumbley, S.M., Johnson, K.N., and O’Neill, S.L. (2008) In vitro rearing of Perkinsiella saccharicida and the use of leaf segments to assay Fiji disease virus transmission Phytopathol. 98: 810-814.

Pittman, G.W., Brumbley, S.M., Allsopp, P.G. and O’Neill, S.O. (2008) Assessment of gut-bacteria for a paratransgenic approach to control Dermolepida albohirtum larvae Appl Environ. Microbiol.  74: 4036-4043.

Pittman, G.W., Brumbley, S.M., Allsopp, P.G. and O’Neill, S.O. (2008) Endomicrobia and other bacteria associated with the hindgut of Dermolepida albohirtum larvae. Appl Environ. Microbiol. 74: 762–767.

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