Federico Martin

Colorado State University | CSU · Department of Agricultural Biology

Biotic stresses, including diseases, severely affect rice production, compromising producers’ ability to meet increasing global consumption. Understanding quantitative responses for resistance to diverse pathogens can guide development of reliable molecular markers, which, combined with advanced backcross populations, can accelerate the production...

To more sustainably mitigate the impact of crop diseases on plant health and productivity, there is a need for broader spectrum, long‐lasting resistance traits. Defense Response (DR) genes, located throughout the genome, participate in cellular and system‐wide defense mechanisms to stave off infection by diverse pathogens. This multigenic resistanc...

Prime editing is an adaptation of the CRISPR-Cas system that uses a Cas9(H840A)-reverse transcriptase fusion and a guide RNA amended with template and primer binding site sequences to achieve RNA-templated conversion of the target DNA, allowing specified substitutions, insertions, and deletions. In the first report of prime editing in plants, a var...

Prime editing (PE) is a recent adaptation of the CRISPR-Cas system that uses a Cas9(H840A)-reverse transcriptase (RT) fusion and a guide RNA (pegRNA) amended with template and primer binding site (PBS) sequences to achieve RNA-templated conversion of the target DNA, allowing specified substitutions, insertions, and deletions. In the first report of...

The last eukaryotic common ancestor had two classes of introns that are still found in most eukaryotic lineages. Common U2-type and rare U12-type introns are spliced by the major and minor spliceosomes, respectively. Relatively few splicing factors have been shown to be specific to the minor spliceosome. We found that the maize RNA Binding Motif Pr...

Significance The last eukaryotic common ancestor had two spliceosomes. The major spliceosome acts on nearly all introns, whereas the minor spliceosome removes rare, U12-type introns. Based on in vitro RNA-splicing assays, the RGH3/ZRSR2 RNA-splicing factor has functions in both spliceosomes. Here, we show that the maize rgh3 mutant allele primarily...

Endosperm and embryo development are coordinated via epigenetic regulation and signaling between these tissues. In maize (Zea mays), the endosperm-embryo signals are not known, but endosperm cellularization is a key event for embryos to form shoots and roots. We screened seed mutants for nonautonomous functions in endosperm and embryo development w...

The genome sequence of the B73 maize inbred enables map-based cloning of genetic variants underlying phenotypes. In parallel to sequencing efforts, multiple public mutagenesis resources are being developed predominantly in the W22 and B73 inbreds. Efficient platforms to map mutants in these genetic backgrounds would aid molecular genetic analysis o...

Improving foreign protein accumulation is crucial for enhancing the commercial success of plant-based production systems since product yields have a major influence on process economics. Cereal grain evolved to store large amounts of proteins in tightly organized aggregates. In maize, γ-Zein is the major storage protein synthesized by the rough end...

Maize kernel development is of high economic interest, as more acres of corn were harvested in 2011 than any other crop in the United States (USDA NASS, 2012). An understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern maize endosperm formation will lay the groundwork for improvements in yield and grain quality. The maize rough endosperm3 (rgh3) muta...