David J. Oliver

Ph.D. Cornell University, 1975

Mail:

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

Office: Phone: Fax: E-mail:

353 Bessey Hall (515) 294-3522 (515) 294-1337 doliver@iastate.edu

Research Interests

Much of the research in my laboratory is directed to understanding how plants alter metabolic function during growth, specifically how plant mitochondria change. The largest change occurs in leaf mitochondria where they switch from being classical respiratory organelle to an organelle that is primarily directed to photosynthesis, the photorespiratory conversion of glycine to serine. We have been investigating the enzymology of the enzyme that catalyzes this reaction, glycine decarboxylase, as well as how its expression is limited to leaves grown in the light. Another major metabolic change that we have investigated is during seed germination where the mitochondria begin by being involved in lipid conversion to carbohydrate and soon become the major site of respiration. Our studies on heavy metals in plants strive to isolate the genes responsible for resistance to the normal levels of metals found soils and to augment their expression by genetic engineering methods to make plants that are highly metal-resistant. These plants would be used to revegetate metal contaminated soils and might be used to remove metals from these sites. Finally we are studying how plants can be altered to change the products they make and their fitness for altered environments.

Selected Publications

• Xiang, C. and D.J. Oliver. 1998. Glutathione metabolic Genes Coordinately Respond to Heavy Metals and Jasmonic Acid in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 10:1539-1550.
• Falk, K.L., R.H. Behal, C. Xiang, and D.J. Oliver. 1998. Metabolic Bypass of the TCA Cycle During Lipid Mobilization in Germinating Oilseeds: Regulation of NAD⁺-Dependent Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Versus Fumarase. Plant Physiology 117:473-481.
• Xiang, C. and D.J. Oliver 1998. Glutathione and its Central Role in Mitigating Plant Stress. Handbook of Plant Stress (M. Pessarakli, ed.) Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, (in press).
• Pesic, B., R. Raman, C.L. Lasko, and D.J. Oliver. 1998. Natural Polymers for Removal of Heavy Metals from Water: Sorption of Copper by Chitosan-Pyridoxal-Epichlorohydrin. Journal of Mining and Metallurgy 34:91-110.
• Oliver, D.J., R.H. Behal, C. Xiang, and K.L. Falk. 1998. Changes in Fumarase and NAD⁺-Dependent Isocitrate Dehydrogenase During Arabidopsis Seed Germination. Plant Mitochondria (E. Glaser, P. Gardestrom, D. Glimelius, and I.M. Moller, eds.) Backhys Publishers, Warmonderweg, pp. 395-400.
• Abbaraju, H.R. and D.J. Oliver. 1999. Identification of an Unusual Myb-type Transcription Factor that Controls the Light-Dependent Expression of the H-Protein of Glycine Decarboxylase. Plant Molecular Biology (submitted).
• Xiang, C., P. Han, and D.J. Oliver. 1999. In solium Selection for Arabidopsis Transformants Resistant to Kanamycin. Plant Molecular Biology 17:59-65.
• Wurtele, E.S., R.H. Behal, X. Cui, J. Ke, J.L. Johnson, F. Lui, B.J. Nikolau, D.H. Oliver, and P.B. Schnable. 1999. Molecular Biology of Acetyl-CoA Generation. (Sanchex, J. Cerda-Imedo, E., Martinex-Forece, E., eds). University of Sevilla Press. pp. 54-56.
• Xiang, C., P. Han, I Lutziger, K. Wang, and D.J. Oliver. 1999. A Mini Binary Vector Series for Plant Transformation. Plant Molecular Biology 40:711-717.
• Xiang, C., D. Bertrand, and D.J. Oliver. 1999. Glutathione Synthesis in Arabidopsis: Multilevel Controls Coordinate Responses to Stress. Sulfur Metabolism in Plants (in press).
• Behal, R.H. and D.J. Oliver. 1999. A Second Gene Encoding the Plastidic Pyruvate Dehydrogenase - Subunit in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiology 121:312-313.
• Ke, J. R.H. Behal, S. Yunkers, B.J. Nikolau, E.S. Wurtele, and D.J. Oliver. 2000. The role of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase and Acetyl-CoA Synthetase in Fatty Acid Synthesis in Developing Arabidopsis Seeds. Plant Physiology 123:497-508.