Harry T. Horner

Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1964.
University Professor and Director of Bessey Microscopy Facility

Mail:

Dept. of Botany 353 Bessey Hall Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-1020

Office: Phone: Fax: E-mail:

3A Bessey Hall (515) 294-8635 (515) 294-1337 hth@iastate.edu

Research Interests

My two main research interests deal with understanding basic plant processes using microscopic, cytochemical, physiological, and tissue culture techniques. The first research area involves understanding the mechanisms that control male sterility in certain crop plants. In the anther, abnormal development and early degeneration of tapetum and other anther cells cause abortion of the male cells. Precisely timed signals associated with the nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes control this development. My interest is to determine what the signals are and how they affect tapetal activity and sterility. The second research area involves understanding what is the functional significance of higher plant calcium oxalate crystal-forming cells in normal growth and development. These crystal cells occur in predictable, specific locations within certain plant tissues. They are very complex cells with highly specialized and often unique cellular organelles. Even though these cells are considered to regulate calcium, they seem to have taken on a variety of special functions in different plant tissues. My interest is to identify what these cellular/molecular functions are and to provide a more coherent explanation of their biological role(s) for plant improvement.

Selected Publications

• Foster, C.M., W.R. Graves, and H.T. Horner. 1998. ENOD2 cDNA clone from nodules of Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim (accession no. AF039708) (PGR 98-060). Plant Physiology 116:1604.
• Foster, C.M., H.T. Horner, and W.R. Graves. 1998. Isolation of a 14-3-3 brain protein homolog from nodules of Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim (accession no. AF039708) (PGR 98-061). Plant Physiology 116:1604.
• Jin, W., R.G. Palmer, H.T. Horner, and R.C. Shoemaker. 1998. Molecular mapping of a male-sterile gene in soybean. Crop Science (Accepted).
• Foster, C.M. H.T. Horner and W.R. Graves. 1998. Nodulation response of woody papilionoid species after inoculation with rhizobia and soil from Hawaii, Asia, and North America. Plant and Soil 205(2):103-111.
• Wise, R.P., C.R. Bronson, P.S. Schnable, and H.T. Horner. 1999. The genetics, pathology and molecular biology of T-cytoplasm male sterility in maize. Advances in Agronomy 65:79-130.
• Ilarslan, H., R.G. Palmer, and H.T. Horner. 1999. Genetics and cytology of a new male-sterile, female-fertile soybean mutant. Crop Science 39:58-64.
• Jin, W., R.G. Palmer, H.T. Horner, and R.C. Shoemaker. 1999. Fr1 (root fluorescence) locus is located in a segregation distortion region on linkage group K of soybean genetic soybean map. Journal of Heredity 90:553-556.
• Jin, W., H.T. Horner, R.G. Palmer, and R.C. Shoemaker. 1999 Analysis and mapping of gene families encoding B-1,3-glucanases of soybean. Genetics 153:445-452.
• Jin, W., H.T. Horner, R.G. Palmer and RC Shoemaker. 1999. Patent Number 5,952,548. Soybean glucanases, compounds which encode therefore and related methods. Iowa State University, ISURF 2295.
• Brockhouse, A.C., H.T. Horner, T.F. Booth and B.C. Bonning. 2000. Pericardial cell ultrastructure in the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta L. (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Arthropod Structure and Development 28:261-271.
• Palmer, R.G. and H.T. Horner. 2000. Genetics and cytology of a genic male-sterile, female-sterile from a transposon-containing soybean population. Journal of Heredity 91:378-383.
• Lersten, N.R. and H.T. Horner. 2000. Types of calcium oxalate crystals in macro patterns in leaves of Prunus (Rosaceae: Prunoideae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 224:83-96.
• Foster, C.M., H.T. Horner and W.R. Graves. 2000. Accumulation of ENOD2-like transcripts in roots of non-nodulating and nodulating woody legumes is affected by TIBA and zeatin. Plant Physiology 124:741-750.
• Horner, H.T., A.P. Kausch and B.L. Wagner. 2000. Ascorbic acid serves as precursor for oxalate synthesis in calcium oxalate idioblasts of Yucca torreyi in liquid root culture. International Journal of Plant Sciences 161:861-868.
• Philip, K.W., and H.T. Horner. 2003. Using the microscope. Chapter 23. In: ERS Hodges (ed.), The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (Accepted).
• Smith, M.A., H.T. Horner and R.G. Palmer. 2001. Temperature and photoperiod effects on sterility in a cytoplasmic male-sterile soybean. Crop Science 41:702-704.
• Feng, L., C. Xiangqin, H.T. Horner, H. Weiner, and P.S. Schnable. 2001. Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase activity is required for male fertility in maize (Zea mays L.). Plant Cell 13:1063-1078 (and cover photo)
• Ilarslan, H, R.G. Palmer, and H.T. Horner. 2001. Calcium oxalate crystal idioblasts in developing seeds of soybean. Annals of Botany 88:243-257
• Massey, L.K., H.T. Horner and R.G. Palmer. 2001. Oxalate content of soybean seeds (Glycine max: Leguminosae) and other edible legumes. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 49:4262-4266.
• Smith, M.A., R.G. Palmer and H.T. Horner. 2002. Microscopy of a cytoplasmic male-sterile soybean from an interspecific cross between Glycine max and G. soja. American Journal of Botany (in press).
• Massey, K.W., L.M. Grentz, H.T. Horner and R.G. Palmer. 2002. Soybean and soyfood consumption increases oxalate excretion. Topics in Clinical Nutrition (in press).