Cornell University Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics

The goals of my research are to further our understanding of plant response to abiotic environmental stresses, to identify potential targets for future crop improvement, and to identify genes responsible for desirable stress tolerance traits. All of our studies deal with plant responses to environmental conditions, especially water deficit, temperature extremes, and elevated atmospheric CO₂. Much of our work is in collaboration with plant breeding and genetics researchers, to develop and utilize methods for screening genotypes for improved stress tolerance. Studies on maize reproductive development concern the influence of water deficit on abscisic acid and cytokinin levels, on sugar fluxes in grain tissues, and regulatory proteins. We use DNA microarrays to profile gene expression, collaborate on mapping genetic loci, and use a functional genomics approach to identify the roles that changes in these regulatory factors play in altering the expression of genes associated with stress response.

Courses Taught

CSS 613 - Physiology and Ecology of Yield; CSS 608 - Water Status in Plants and Soils; CSS 610 - Physiology of Environmental Stresses
 

Selected Publications

Melkonian J., Yu L.-X., Setter T.L. (2004) Chilling responses of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings: root hydraulic conductance, abscisic acid, and stomatal conductance. Journal of Experimental Botany 55: 1751-1760. web access: http://jxb.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/55/403/1751

Alves A.A.C., Setter T.L. (2004) The Response of cassava leaf area expansion to water deficit. Cell proliferation, cell expansion, and delayed development. Annals of Botany 94:605-613. web access: http://aob.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/4/605/

Alves A.A.C., Setter T.L. (2004) Abscisic acid accumulation and osmotic adjustment in cassava under water deficit. Environmental & Experimental Botany 51: 259-271. web access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2003.11.005

Yu L.X., Setter T.L. (2003) Comparative transcriptional profiling of placenta and endosperm in developing maize kernels in response to water deficit. Plant Physiology 131: 568-582 (note correction for Table I due to printer's error) web access to corrected copy: http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/tls1/pp.014365v1.pdf

Chen C.-T., Setter T.L. (2003) Response of potato tuber cell division and growth to shade and elevated CO₂. Annals of Botany 91: 373-381

Setter T.L., Flannigan B.A., Melkonian J. (2001) Loss of kernel set due to water deficit and shade in maize: Carbohydrate supplies, abscisic acid, and cytokinins. Crop Science 41: 1530-1540.

Setter T.L., Flannigan B.A. (2001) Water deficit inhibits cell division and expression of transcripts involved in cell proliferation and endoreduplication in maize endosperm. Journal of Experimental Botany 52(360): 1401-1408

Jones R.J., Setter T.L. (2000) Hormonal regulation of early kernel development. pp. 25-42 In Physiology and Modeling Kernel Set in Maize, M.E. Westgate and K.J. Boote (eds.), Crop Science Society of America, Madison, WI

Mugo SN, Smith ME, Banziger M, Setter TL, Edmeades GO, Elings A. (1998) Performance of early maturing Katumani and Kito maize composites under drought at the seedling and flowering stages. African Crop Sci J 6: 329-344

Further information

© 2006 Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University