Masson, Patrick H.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
NAME
Patrick H. Masson
POSITION TITLE
Professor
EDUCATION/TRAINING
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE YEAR(s) FIELD OF STUDY
Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Gembloux, Belgium Ir. 1981 Agronomy
Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Gembloux, Belgium PhD 1986 Agronomy
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of
Embryology, Baltimore, MD Postdoc 1986-1989 Molecular
Genetics
A. Positions and Honors
Working places
1981-1985 Station d’ Amélioration des Plantes; and Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques de l’ Etat,
Gembloux, BELGIUM; and Institut Pasteur, Unité BRC, Paris, FRANCE
1985-2001 Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Embryology, Baltimore MD
1991-1997 Assistant professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lab. of Genetics, Madison, WI
1997-2002 Associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lab. of Genetics, Madison, WI
2002-present Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Laboratory of Genetics, Madison, WI
Honors
1981-1985 ‘Aspirant’ of the Belgian ‘Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (FNRS)
1985-1987 ‘Chargé de Recherches’ FNRS
1985-1986 N.A.T.O. Long-term Fellowship
1987-1989 Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust Fellowship
1989-1991 ‘Chercheur Qualifié’ FNRS
1993-1998 David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering
2008-present Associate Member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters.
Synergistic activities
1) Peer review and advisory committees (last 10 years)
1999 Site-Visit Review Panel for NASA NSCORT Program at NC State University
2000 NASA Int. Space Life Sciences Plant Biology Flight/Ground Peer Review Panel
2003 NSF Integrative Plant Biology Program Review Panel
2004 Ad Hoc reviewer, NIH CDF-1 Study Section
2004 NASA Plant Biology Study Section
2007 NSF Plant and Microbial Developmental Systems Review Panel
2007-2013 ERC Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Panel Evaluator
2009 ESF ILSRA International Review, Plant Biology (Brussels, Belgium)
2012 NSF Peer Review Panel
2013 NIH IAR Review Panel (Phone Conferencing)
2013 NASA NSPIRES Peer Review Panel
2013 NSF Peer Review Panel (Video Conferencing).
2014 NIH-MIST Phone Panelist: October 8, 2014.
Masson, Patrick H.
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2) Reviewed grant proposals for:
Hatch; USDA; NASA; NIH; NSF; DOE; International Science Foundation; United States–Israel
Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD); MJ Murdock Charitable Trust;
NWO (The Netherlands); European Research Council; Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France);
European Science Foundation; FWF (Austria); Qatar National Research Fund; The Royal Society
University Research Fellowship; French Equipex.
3) Reviewed manuscripts submitted to 44 journals, including:
Current Biology; Development; EMBO Journal; Genetics; Nature; Nature Cell Biology; Nature
Communications; Nature Genetics; Plant Physiology; Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of USA; Science; The Plant Cell; The Plant Journal.
4) Textbook: Hartwell et al. 2000. “Genetics: From Genes to Genomes” (McGraw Hill):
Co-authored: “Arabidopsis thaliana: Genetic Portrait of a Model Plant” with A. Bleecker
5) Book: Co-Editor of (with Dr. Gilroy, PennState Univ) of “Plant Tropisms”, 2008 (Blackwell Publ.)
6) Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior: Associate Editor of Plant Signaling & Behavior
7) American Society of Gravitational and Space Biology: Member of the ASGSB Editorial Board: (2005-2011)
8) Frontiers in Plant Biology: Editor (since 2012)
9) ISRN Physiology: Editorial Board Member (since 2012)
10) American Society of Plant Biologists: ASPB Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award Committee (2007-2013)
11) American Society of Plant Biologists: Foreign Corresponding Member Committee (2007-2011).
B. Publications
1. Andre, A., Jacquemin, J.M. and Masson, P. (1983). Isolation and Characterization of DNA
Sequences from Triticum aestivum Which Function as Origins of Replication in Saccharomyces
cerevisiae. Plant Cell Reports 2, 175-178.
2. Hinostroza de Lekeu, A.M. , Masson, P. and Jacquemin, J.M. (1983). Conditions d’ Isolement de
Protoplastes de Linum tenuifolium L. et de Formation de Callus. Bulletin de Recherches
Agronomiques 18, 4-8.
3. Masson, P., Jacquemin, J.M. and Culot, M. (1984). Molecular Cloning of the TSM0185 Gene
Responsible for Adenylate Cyclase Activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Annales de Microbiologie
(Institut Pasteur) 135A, 343-351.
4. Masson, P., Lenzen, G., Jacquemin, J.M. and Danchin, A. (1986). Yeast Adenylate Cyclase
Catalytic Domain is Carboxy-Terminal. Current Genetics 10, 343-352.
5. Lenzen, G., Masson, P., Jacquemin, J.M. and Danchin, A. (1987). A Ty1 Element Is Inserted in the
CYR1 Control Region of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strain AB320. FEBS letters 61, 19-22.
6. Masson, P., Surosky, R., Kingsbury, J. and Fedoroff, N. (1987). Genetic and Molecular Analysis of
the Spm-Dependent a-m2 Alleles of the Maize a Locus. Genetics 177: 117-137
7. Banks, J., Masson, P. and Fedoroff, N. (1988). Molecular Mechanisms in the Developmental
Regulation of the Maize Suppressor-mutator Transposable Element. Genes and Development 2,
1364-1380
Masson, Patrick H.
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8. Masson, P. and Fedoroff, N. (1989). Mobility of the Maize Suppressor-mutator Element in
Transgenic Tobacco Cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA 86, 2219-2223
9. Masson, P., Rutherford, G., Banks, J. and Fedoroff, N. (1989). Essential Large Transcripts of the
Maize Spm Transposable Element Are Generated by Alternative Splicing. Cell 58, 755-765
10. Masson, P., Strem, M. and Fedoroff, N (1991). tnpA and tnpD Gene Products of the Spm Element
Are Required for Transposition in Tobacco. The Plant Cell 3: 73-85
11. Masson, P. (1995). Root Gravitropism. BioEssays 17: 119-127
12. Simmons, C., Migliaccio, F., Masson, P., Caspar, T. and Söll, D. (1995). A Novel Arabidopsis
thaliana Mutant with Altered Auxin Physiology. Physiologia Plantarum 93: 790-798
13. Johnson, C.H., Knight, M.R., Kondo, T., Masson, P., Sedbrook, J., Haley, A. and Trewavas, A.
(1995). Circadian Oscillations of Cytosolic and Chloroplastic Free Calcium in Transgenic Luminous
Plants. Science 269: 1863-1865
14. Sedbrook, J.C., Kronebusch, P.J., Borisy, G.G., Trewavas, T. and Masson, P.H. (1996). Transgenic
AEQUORIN Reveals Organ-Specific Cytosolic Ca2+ Responses to Anoxia in Arabidopsis thaliana
seedlings. Plant Physiology 111: 243-257
15. Rutherford, R. and Masson, P.H. (1996). Arabidopsis thaliana sku Mutant Seedlings Show
Exaggerated Surface-Dependent Alteration in Root Growth Vector. Plant Physiology 111: 987-998
16. Batiza, A.F, Schulz, T. and Masson, P.H. (1996). Yeast Respond to Hypotonic Shock with a Calcium
Pulse. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 271, 23357-23362
17. Rutherford, Gallois and Masson (1998). Mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana Genes Involved in The
Tryptophan Biosynthesis Pathway Affect Root Waving on Tilted Agar Surfaces. Plant J. 16: 145-154
18. Chen, Hilson, Sedbrook, Rosen, Caspar, and Masson (1998). The Arabidopsis thaliana
AGRAVITROPIC 1 Gene Encodes a Component of the Polar-Auxin-Transport Efflux Carrier. Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 15112-15117
19. Sedbrook, J., Boonsirichai, K., Chen, R., Hilson, P., Pearlman, R., Rosen, R., Rutherford, R., Batiza,
A., Carroll, K., Schulz, T., and Masson, P.H. (1998). Molecular Genetics of Root Gravitropism and
Waving in Arabidopsis thaliana. ASGSB Bull. 11: 71-78
20. Sedbrook, J., Chen, R. and Masson, P.H. (1999). ARG1 (Altered Response to Gravity) Encodes a
DnaJ-Like Protein that Potentially interacts with the Cytoskeleton. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96,
1140-1145
21. Lynn, K, Fernandez, A., Aida, M., Sedbrook, J., Tasaka, M., Masson, P.H., Barton, M.K. (1999). The
PINHEAD/ZWILLE gene acts pleiotropically in Arabidopsis development and has overlapping
functions with the ARGONAUTE1 gene. Development 126: 469-481
22. Chen, K., Rosen, E., and Masson, P.H. (1999). Gravitropism in Higher Plants. Plant Physiol. 120:
343-350
23. Rosen, E., Chen, R., and Masson, P.H. (1999). Root Gravitopism: A Complex Response to a Simple
Stimulus? Trends in Plant Sciences 4: 407-412
Masson, Patrick H.
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24. Masson, P.H., and Bleecker, A. (2000). Arabidopsis thaliana: Genetic Portrait of a Model Plant
(Chapter 19). In: “Genetics – From genes to Genomes” (Hartwell, L., Hood, L., Goldberg, M.L.,
Reynolds, A.E., Silver, L.M., Veres, R.C. (Authors). McGraw Hill, Boston, pp. 655-680.
25. Masson, PH (2000). Gravitropism in Arabidopsis thaliana. Encyclopedia of Genetics, Academic
Press, 890-894
26. Chen, R., Guan, C., Boonsirichai, K., and Masson, P.H. (2002). Complex Physiological and
Molecular Processes Underlying Root Gravitropism. Plant Molecular Biology 49: 305-317.
27. Sedbrook, J, Carroll, KL, Hung, KF, Masson, PH, and Somerville, CR, (2002), “The Arabidopsis
SKU5 Gene Encodes an Extracellular Glycosyl Phosphatidylinositol-Anchored Glycoprotein Involved
in Directional Root Growth. Plant Cell 14: 1635-1648.
28. Boonsirichai, K., Guan, C., Chen, R., and Masson, P.H. (2002). Root Gravitropism: An Experimental
Tool to Investigate Basic Cellular and Molecular Processes Underlying Mechanosensing and Signal
Transmission in Plants. Annual Review of Plant Biology 53: 421-447.
29. Yuen, C, Pearlman, R., Silo-Suh, L, Hilson, P, Carroll, K.L., and Masson, PH (2002). WVD2 and
WDL1 Modulate Helical Organ Growth and Anisotropic Cell Expansion in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant
Physiol 131: 493-506.
30. Guan, C., Rosen, E.S., Boonsirichai, K., Poff, K.L., and Masson, P.H. (2003). The ARG1-LIKE2 Gene
of Arabidopsis Functions in a Gravity Signal Transduction Pathway That Is Genetically Distinct from
the PGM Pathway. Plant Physiology 133: 100-112.
31. Boonsirichai K, Sedbrook JC, Chen R, Gilroy S, Masson P.H. (2003). ARG1 Is a Peripheral
Membrane Protein That Modulates Gravity-Induced Cytoplasmic Alkalinization and Lateral Auxin
Transport in Plant Statocytes. Plant Cell 15, 2612-2665.
32. Blancaflor, E., and Masson, P.H. (2003). Update on Gravitropism: Unraveling the Ups and Downs of
a Complex Process. Plant Physiol 133, 1677-1690.
33. Peer, W., Bandyopadhyah, A., Blakeslee, J., Makam, S., Chen, R., Masson, P.H., and Murphy, A.
(2004). Variation in Expression and Protein Localization of the PIN Family of Auxin Efflux Facilitator
Proteins in Flavonoid Mutants with Altered Auxin Transport in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 16:
1898-1911.
34. Shin, H., Shin, H.-S., Guo, Z., Blancaflor, E.B., Masson, P.H., and Chen, R. (2005). Complex
Regulation of Arabidopsis AGR1/PIN2-Mediated Root Gravitropic Response and Basipetal Auxin
Transport by Cantharidin-Sensitive Protein Phosphatases. Plant J 42(2): 188-200.
35. Yuen, C.Y.L., Sedbrook, J.C., Perrin, R.M., Carroll, K.L., and Masson, P.H. (2005). Loss-of-Function
Mutations of ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE3 Suppress Root Waving, Skewing, and Epidermal Cell File
Rotation in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 138(2):701-714.
36. Perrin, R.M., Young, L-S., Murthy UM, N., Harrison, B.R., Wang, Y., Will, J.L., and Masson, P.H.
(2005). Gravity Signal Transduction in Primary Roots. Ann. Bot, 96: 737-743.
37. Chen, R., and Masson, P.H. (2005). Auxin Transport and Recycling of PIN Proteins in Plants. In
Plant Cell Monogr (Samaj and Baluska eds.), Springer, 139-157.
38. Ipek, A., Masson, P.H., Simon, P.W. (2006). Genetic Transformation of an Ac/Ds Transposon
Tagging System in Carrot (Daucus carota L.). Eur J Hort Sci 71: 245-251.
Masson, Patrick H.
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39. Young, L-S., Harrison, B.R., Murthy UM, N., Moffatt, B.A., Gilroy, S., and Masson, P.H. (2006).
Adenosine Kinase Modulates Root Gravitropism and Cap Morphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Plant
Physiol 142(2):564-73.
40. Yester, J.W., Kimbrough, J.M., Salinas-Mondra´gon, R., Masson, P.H., Brown, C.S., and Winter-
Sederoff, H. (2006). Regulation of Transcription in Roots of Arabidopsis Gravity Mutants. Gravit
Space Biol Bull 19(2): 159-160.
41. Perrin, RM, Wang, W., Yuen, CL, Will, JL, and Masson, PH (2007). WVD2 Is A Novel Microtubule-
Associated Protein in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J 49(6): 961-971.
42. Masson, P.H., Harrison, B.R., Stanga, J., Neal, C., Vaughn, L., Jia, G., and Larson-Rabin, Z. (2007).
Analyse Moléculaire du Comportement des Racines. Bull Acad Sci Belgique XVIII: 81-92
43. Harrison,B.R., Morita, M.T., Masson P.H., and Tasaka M. (2007). Chapter 2: Signal Transduction in
Gravitropism. In Plant Tropisms (Gilroy, S. and Masson, P.H., eds), Blackwell Publ.
44. Harrison, B.R. and Masson, P.H. (2008). ARL2, ARG1 and PIN3 Define a Gravity Signal
Transduction Pathway in Root Statocytes. Plant J 53: 380-392.
45. Harrison, B.R., and Masson, P.H. (2008). Do ARG1 and ARL2 Form an Actin-Based Gravity
Signaling Chaperone Complex in Root Statocytes? Plant Signal Behavior 3(9): 1-4.
46. Harrison, B.R., Morita, M.T., Masson, P.H., and Tasaka, M. (2008). Signal Transduction in
Gravitropism. In “Plant Tropism” (Gilroy S and Masson P.H., eds). Blackwell Publishers.
47. Larson-Rabin, Z., Li, Z., Masson P.H., and Day C. (2009) FZR2/CCS52A1 Expression Is a
Determinant of Endoreduplication and Cell Expansion in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol 149(2):
874-884.
48. Stanga, J., Boonsirichai, K., Sedbrook, J., Otegui, M., and Masson, P.H. (2009) A role for the TOC
complex in Arabidopsis Root Gravitropism. Plant Physiol, 149(4):1896-1905;
doi.10.1104/pp.109.135301
49. Stanga, J., Baldwin, K., Masson, P.H. (2009). Joining forces: The interface of gravitropism and
plastid protein import. Plant Signal Behavior, 4(10): 1-9.
50. Li Z, Larson-Rabin Z, Masson PH, Day CD. (2009). FZR2/CCS52A1 mediated endoreduplication in
Arabidopsis development. Plant Signal Behav. 4(5):451-453.
51. Masson, P.H., Stanga, J., Neal, C., Vaughn, L., Baldwin, K., and Jia, G. (2009). Signaling in Plant
Gravitropism. In “Signaling in Plants” Baluska, F., and Mancuso, F. esd.), Springer Verlag, pp 209-
237.
52. Vaughn, L.M., Baldwin, K.L., Jia, G., Verdonk, J.C., Strohm, A.K., and Masson, P.H. (2010). Chapter
4: The Cytoskeleton and Root Growth Behavior. In The Plant Cytoskeleton. Advances in Plant
Biology 2. (B. Liu, Ed.). Springer Verlag, pp 307-326.
53. Stanga, J., Strohm, A., and Masson, P.H. (2011). Studying Starch Content and Sedimentation of
Amyloplast Statliths in Arabidopsis Roots. Methods Mol Biol. 774: 103-11.
54. Vaughn LM, Masson PH (2011). A QTL study for regions contributing to Arabidopsis thaliana root
skewing on tilted surfaces. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 1(2): 105-115.
55. Strohm, AK, Baldwin K.L. and Masson, P.H. (2011). Molecular Mechanisms of Root Gravity Sensing
and Signal Transduction. WIREs Dev Biol 2011. doi: 10.1002/wdev.14.
Masson, Patrick H.
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56. Strohm, A.K., Baldwin, K.L., Masson, P.H. (2012). Multiple Roles for Membrane-Associated Protein
Trafficking and Signaling in Gravitropism. Front Plant Sci. 3: Article 274, 1-12.
57. Strohm AK, Baldwin KL, and Masson PH. 2012. Molecular Mechanisms of Root Gravity Sensing and
Signal Transduction. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Developmental Biology 1(2): 276-285.
58. Delporte, F., Jacquemin, J.M., Masson, P., Watillon, B. (2012) Insights into the Regenerative Property
of Plant Cells and their Receptivity to Transgenesis: Wheat as a Research Case Study. Plant Signal
Behav 7(12): 1608-1620. doi: 10.4161/psb.22424.
59. Baldwin, K.L., Strohm, A.K., Masson, P.H. (2013) Gravity Sensing and Signal Transduction in
Vascular Plant Primary Roots. American Journal of Botany 100(1): 126-142.
60. Baldwin, K.L., Dinh, E.M., Hart, B.M., Masson, P.H. (2013) CACTIN Is an Essential Nuclear Protein
in Arabidopsis and May Be Associated with the Eukaryotic Spliceosome. FEBS Letters 587(7): 873-
879.
61. Barker RJ, Cox B, Mackie R, Masson PH (2013). Vacuum Seed Sowing Manifold: A Novel Device
for High-Throughput Sowing of Arabidopsis Seeds. Plant Methods 9(41) 1-6. DOI: 10.1186/1746-
4811-9-41.
62. Strohm A., Barrett-Wilt G., & Masson P.H. (2014) A Functional TOC Complex Contributes to
Gravity Signal Transduction in Arabidopsis. Front Plant Sci 5:Article 148.
63. Strohm A., Vaughn L., & Masson P.H. (2014) Natural Variation in the Expression of ORGANIC
CATION TRANSPORTER 1 Affects Root Length Responses to Cadaverine in Arabidopsis. J Exp
Bot DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru444.
64. Barker R., Masson, P.H., Cox, B., Silber, L., Sangari, A. & Assadi, A. (2014) Methodology for
Assessing Gravitropic Responses in Arabidopsis. Environmental Responses in Plants, Methods in
Molecular Biology, ed Duke P (Springer, New York, USA).
65. Roschzttardtz H., Paez-Valencia J., Dittakavi T., Jali S., Reyes F.C., Baisa G., Anne P., Gissot L.,
Palauqui J.C., Masson P.H., Bednarek S.Y., Otegui M.S. (2014). The VASCULATURE COMPLEXITY
AND CONNECTIVITY Gene Encodes a Plant-Specific Protein Required for Embryo Provasculature
Development. Plant Physiol 166(2):889-902. doi: 10.1104/pp.114.246314.
C. Synopsis of Research Objectives
Roots’ primary functions are to take up the water and mineral ions required for plant growth and
development, and to anchor the plant to its substratum. Because a plant spends its entire life cycle where it
germinated, its roots have to colonize the soil in order to feed the plant without depleting its immediate
environment of essential nutrients. They do so by developing specific patterns of growth that are dictated
by environmental parameters. Hence, roots are capable of using the directional information provided by
the gravity vector, light, touch, gradients in temperature, humidity, ions, chemicals and oxygen to guide
their growth. We are using strategies derived from molecular genetics, genomics, transcriptomics,
proteomics, cell biology and physiology in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon to study
the molecular mechanisms that allow roots to adopt specific growth behaviors in response to directional
mechanical parameters (gravity, touch) within their environment. We are also investigating how plants
modify the architecture and growth behavior of their root system in response to polyamines, signaling
molecules that contribute to plant development and transduction of information derived from increasingly
prominent environmental stresses such heat, drought and osmotic shock.