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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Natural Science
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Recent Publications

  1. Moore, B.M., P. Wang, P. Fan, A. Lee, B. Leong, Y.-R. Lou, C.A. Schenck, K. Sugimoto, R.L. Last, M.D. Lehti-Shiu, C. Barry, S.-H. Shiu. 2020. Within and cross species predictions of plant specialized metabolism genes using transfer learning. In Silico Plants. 2(1), diaa005, https://doi.org/10.1093/insilicoplants/diaa005

  2. Li W., D.B. Lybrand, H. Xu, F. Zhou, R.L. Last, E. Pichersky. 2020. A trichome-specific, plastid-localized Tanacetum cinerariifolium Nudix protein hydrolyzes the natural pyrethrin pesticide biosynthetic intermediate trans-chrysanthemyl diphosphate. Front. Plant Sci. 24 April 2020 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00482

  3. Alseekh, S., I. Offner, Z. Liu, S. Osorio, J.G. Vallarino, R.L. Last, D. Zamir, T. Toghe, A. Fernie. 2020. Quantitative trait loci analysis (QTL) of seed specialized metabolites reveals seed-specific flavonols and differential regulation of glycoalkaloid content in tomato. Plant J. 103:2007–2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14879

  4. Lybrand D.B., H. Xu, R.L. Last, E. Pichersky. 2020. How plants synthesize pyrethrins – safe and biodegradable insecticides. Trends Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.06.012.

  5. Leong, B.J., S.M. Hurney, P.D. Fiesel, G.D. Moghe, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. 2020. Specialized metabolism in a non-model nightshade: trichome acylinositol biosynthesis. Plant Physiol. 183: 915-924 http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/183/3/915

  6. Fan, P., P. Wang, Y.-R. Lou, B.J. Leong, B.J. Moore, C.A. Schenck, R. Combs, P. Cao, F. Brandizzi, S.-H. Shiu and R.L. Last. 2020. Evolution of a plant gene cluster in Solanaceae and emergence of metabolic diversity. eLife 10.7554/eLife.56717.

  7. Lybrand, D.B., T.M. Anthony, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. 2020. An integrated analytical approach reveals trichome acylsugar metabolite diversity in the wild tomato Solanum pennellii. Metabolites 10:401. https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/10/10/401

  8. Landis, J.B., C.M. Miller, A.K. Broz, A.A. Bennett, N. Carrasquilla-Garcia, D.R. Cook, R.L. Last, P.A. Bedinger, G.D. Moghe. 2021. Migration through a major Andean ecogeographic disruption as a driver of genotypic and phenotypic diversity in a wild tomato species. Molec. Biol. and Evol. msab092, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab092

  9. Zhou, F., R.L. Last and E. Pichersky. 2021. Degradation of salicylic acid to catechol in Solanaceae by SA 1-hydroxylase. Plant Physiol. kiaa096, https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaa096

  10. Lou, Y.-R., T. M. Anthony, P. D. Fiesel, R. E. Arking, E. M. Christensen, A. D. Jones, R. L. Last. 2021. It happened again: Convergent evolution of acylglucose specialized metabolism in black nightshade and wild tomato. Sci. Adv. 7, eabj8726. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj8726 

  11. Lou, Y.-R., E. Pichersky and R.L. Last. 2022. Deep roots and many branches: origins of plant specialized metabolic enzymes from central metabolism. Curr. Opin. Plant Sci. Volume 66, April 2022, 102192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102192

  12. Fiesel, P.D., H.M. Parks, R.L. Last and C.S. Barry. 2022. Fruity, stinky, sticky, toxic, and deadly: Evolutionary signatures of metabolic complexity in the Solanaceae. Natl. Prod. Reports, DOI: 10.1039/d2np00003b

  13. Schenck, C.A., T. Anthony, M. Jacobs, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. 2022. Natural Variation Meets Synthetic Biology: Promiscuous Trichome Expressed Acyltransferases from Nicotiana acuminata. Plant Physiol. 10.1093/plphys/kiac192

  14. Li, X., S.J. Sarma, L.S. Sumner, A.D. Jones, R.L. Last. 2022. Switchgrass metabolomics reveals striking genotypic and developmental differences in saponins. J. Food and Ag Chem. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c01306

  15. Leong, B.J., S. Hurney, P. D. Fiesel, T. Anthony, G.D. Moghe, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. Identification of BAHD acyltransferases associated with acylinositol biosynthesis in Solanum quitoense (naranjilla). Plant Direct e415. https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.415


 

Notable:

  1. Liu, J. and R.L. Last. 2017. A chloroplast thylakoid lumen protein is required for proper photosynthetic acclimation of plants under fluctuating light environments. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 114(38):E8110-E8117, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1712206114.

  2. Moghe, G.D., B.J. Leong, S. Hurney, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. 2017. Evolutionary routes to biochemical innovation revealed by integrative analysis of a plant defense related specialized metabolic pathway. eLife 2017;6:e28468 doi: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.28468.

  3. Fan, P., A.M. Miller, X. Liu, A.D. Jones and R.L. Last. 2017. Evolution of a flipped pathway creates metabolic innovation in tomato trichomes through BAHD enzyme promiscuity. Nat. Comm. 8, Article number: 2080. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02045-7

  4. Moore, B.M., P. Wang, P. Fan, B. Leong, C.A. Schenck, J.P. Lloyd, M. Lehti-Shiu, R.L. Last, E. Pichersky, S.-H. Shiu. 2019. Robust predictions of specialized metabolism genes through machine learning. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 116:2344-2353. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/6/2344.short

  5. Leong, B.J., D. Lybrand, Y.-R. Lou, P. Fan, A.L. Schilmiller, R.L. Last. 2019. Evolution of metabolic novelty: a trichome-expressed invertase creates specialized metabolic diversity in wild tomato. Sci. Advances 5 (4), eaaw3754 https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/4/eaaw3754

  6. Fan, P., B.J. Leong and R.L. Last. 2019. Tip of the trichome: evolution of acylsugar metabolic diversity in Solanaceae. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 49:8-16.