Mesfin Tesfaye

University of Minnesota

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Co-Authors

Deborah A. Samac

University of Minnesota

Carroll P. Vance

University of Minnesota

Deborah L. Allan

University of Minnesota

Bruna Bucciarelli

University of Minnesota System

Gian B. Trepp

University of Minnesota

Kathryn A. VandenBosch

University of Minnesota

JoAnn FS Lamb

Agricultural Research Service

R. H. M. G. Litjens

University of Minnesota

Joachim Schulze

University of Göttingen

John W Gronwald

Agricultural Research Service

Cooperative Institutions

University of Minnesota

United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service

Noble Research Institute

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology

University of Minnesota System

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Plant (United States)

Planta

Max Planck Society

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Development of a breeding pool for a grazingLupinus polyphyllus

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research (2000)

D. Scott Mesfin Tesfaye

Abstract Maternal seed lines from 31 elite plants of Lupinus polyphyllus were selected in 3 breeding cycles over 8 years from 46 accessions for growth, stock acceptability under grazing, and persistence under low fertility conditions in New Zealand. Most elite plants derived from an accession from Germany rather than from horticultural hybrid accessions.

Accession

Lupinus

Elite

10.1080/00288233.2000.9513405

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Citations (3)

Comparison of partial 23S rDNA sequences fromRhizobiumspecies

Canadian Journal of Microbiology (1997)

Mesfin Tesfaye Daniel J. Petersen F. B. Holl

A hypervariable region of Rhizobium 23S rDNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic relationships of several strains were determined by comparing nucleotide sequences of the amplified product. Variation in the 23S rDNA nucleotide sequences was consistent with phylogenetic relationships determined by host nodulation specificity and (or) 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Six strains representing three Rhizobium species (R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii, R. meliloti, and R. etli), and two strains each of Bradyrhizobium and Agrobacterium were clustered into five rDNA groups. Unique features identified by secondary structure analysis of the 23S rRNA sequenced region were consistent with the hypothesis that 23S rDNA could be used to design species- or strain-specific Rhizobium probes.Key words: Rhizobium, rDNA, strain identification, phylogeny.

10.1139/m97-075

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Citations (9)

Rapid and Specific Method for Evaluating Streptomyces Competitive Dynamics in Complex Soil Communities

Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2010)

Daniel Schlatter Deborah A. Samac Mesfin Tesfaye Linda L. Kinkel

Quantifying target microbial populations in complex communities remains a barrier to studying species interactions in soil environments. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were developed for quantifying pathogenic Streptomyces scabiei and antibiotic-producing Streptomyces lavendulae strains in complex soil communities. This assay will be useful for evaluating the competitive dynamics of streptomycetes in soil.

Soil bacteria

Soil microbiology

10.1128/aem.02320-09

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Citations (11)

Central Cell–Derived Peptides Regulate Early Embryo Patterning in Flowering Plants

Science (2014)

Liliana M. Costa Eleanor Jane Marshall Mesfin Tesfaye Kevin A.T. Silverstein Masashi Mori

Plant embryogenesis initiates with the establishment of an apical-basal axis; however, the molecular mechanisms accompanying this early event remain unclear. Here, we show that a small cysteine-rich peptide family is required for formation of the zygotic basal cell lineage and proembryo patterning in Arabidopsis. EMBRYO SURROUNDING FACTOR 1 (ESF1) peptides accumulate before fertilization in central cell gametes and thereafter in embryo-surrounding endosperm cells. Biochemical and structural analyses revealed cleavage of ESF1 propeptides to form biologically active mature peptides. Further, these peptides act in a non-cell-autonomous manner and synergistically with the receptor-like kinase SHORT SUSPENSOR to promote suspensor elongation through the YODA mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Our findings demonstrate that the second female gamete and its sexually derived endosperm regulate early embryonic patterning in flowering plants.

Suspensor

Gamete

10.1126/science.1243005

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Citations (153)

Medicago truncatula as a Model for Dicot Cell Wall Development

BioEnergy Research (2009)

Mesfin Tesfaye S Samuel Yang JoAnn FS Lamb Hans-Joachim G. Jung Deborah A. Samac

We have initiated a genome-wide transcript profiling study using the model legume Medicago truncatula to identify putative genes related to cell wall biosynthesis and regulatory function in legumes. We used the GeneChip® Medicago Genome Array to compare transcript abundance in elongating versus postelongation stem internode segments of two M. truncatula accessions and two Medicago sativa (alfalfa) clones with contrasting stem cell wall concentration and composition. Hundreds of differentially expressed probe sets between elongating and postelongation stem segments showed similar patterns of gene expression in the model legume and cultivated alfalfa. Differentially expressed genes included genes with putative functions associated with primary and secondary cell wall biosynthesis and growth. Mining of public microarray data for coexpressed genes with two marker genes for secondary cell wall synthesis identified additional candidate secondary cell wall-related genes. Coexpressed genes included protein kinases, transcription factors, and unclassified groups that were not previously reported with secondary cell wall-associated genes. M. truncatula has been recognized as an excellent model plant for legume genomics. The stem tissue transcriptome analysis, described here, indicates that M. truncatula has utility as a model plant for cell wall genomics in legumes in general and shows excellent potential for translating gene discoveries to its close relative, cultivated alfalfa, in particular. The natural variation for stem cell wall traits in Medicago may offer a new tool to study an expanded repertoire of valuable agronomic traits in related species, including woody dicots in the eurosid I clade.

Medicago truncatula

Medicago

Medicago sativa

Functional Genomics

10.1007/s12155-009-9034-1

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Citations (16)

Overexpression of Malate Dehydrogenase in Transgenic Alfalfa Enhances Organic Acid Synthesis and Confers Tolerance to Aluminum

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (2001)

Mesfin Tesfaye Stephen J. Temple Deborah L. Allan Carroll P. Vance Deborah A. Samac

Abstract Al toxicity is a severe impediment to production of many crops in acid soil. Toxicity can be reduced through lime application to raise soil pH, however this amendment does not remedy subsoil acidity, and liming may not always be practical or cost-effective. Addition of organic acids to plant nutrient solutions alleviates phytotoxic Al effects, presumably by chelating Al and rendering it less toxic. In an effort to increase organic acid secretion and thereby enhance Al tolerance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa), we produced transgenic plants using nodule-enhanced forms of malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase cDNAs under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. We report that a 1.6-fold increase in malate dehydrogenase enzyme specific activity in root tips of selected transgenic alfalfa led to a 4.2-fold increase in root concentration as well as a 7.1-fold increase in root exudation of citrate, oxalate, malate, succinate, and acetate compared with untransformed control alfalfa plants. Overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase enzyme specific activity in transgenic alfalfa did not result in increased root exudation of organic acids. The degree of Al tolerance by transformed plants in hydroponic solutions and in naturally acid soil corresponded with their patterns of organic acid exudation and supports the concept that enhancing organic acid synthesis in plants may be an effective strategy to cope with soil acidity and Al toxicity.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase

Organic acid

Malate dehydrogenase

Malic acid

10.1104/pp.010376

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Citations (373)

Alfalfa

Mesfin Tesfaye Deborah A. Samac JoAnn FS Lamb

Abstract The genus Medicago comprises more than 60 annual and perennial species, and alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L. and M. falcata L.) has a long history of cultivation around the world. Alfalfa is a perennial forage legume that is widely cultivated for animal fodder, but alfalfa plants also contribute to sustainable agriculture because they can fix nitrogen in symbiosis with the soil bacteria called rhizobia. In this chapter, we report recent advances in the genetic engineering of forage improvement on alfalfa for various traits of agricultural and industrial importance. The commercialization of Roundup Ready® transgenic alfalfa in the United States has paved the way for production of additional biotech‐derived traits in alfalfa.

Medicago sativa

Fodder

Medicago

10.1002/9781405181099.k0312

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Citations (1)

Genomic and Genetic Control of Phosphate Stress in Legumes

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (2007)

Mesfin Tesfaye Junqi Liu Deborah L. Allan Carroll P. Vance

Phosphorus (P), an essential element for growth and development, is taken up by plants as phosphate (Pi), but Pi is unevenly distributed and relatively immobile in soils. As a result, more than 30% of the world's arable land requires the application of P fertilizers for cropping ([Vance et al., 2003

Arable land

10.1104/pp.107.097386

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Citations (98)

Phosphorus Stress in Common Bean: Root Transcript and Metabolic Responses

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (2007)

Georgina Hernández Mario Ramı́rez Oswaldo Valdés‐López Mesfin Tesfaye Michelle A. Graham

Abstract Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plant growth. Crop production of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), the most important legume for human consumption, is often limited by low P in the soil. Functional genomics were used to investigate global gene expression and metabolic responses of bean plants grown under P-deficient and P-sufficient conditions. P-deficient plants showed enhanced root to shoot ratio accompanied by reduced leaf area and net photosynthesis rates. Transcript profiling was performed through hybridization of nylon filter arrays spotted with cDNAs of 2,212 unigenes from a P deficiency root cDNA library. A total of 126 genes, representing different functional categories, showed significant differential expression in response to P: 62% of these were induced in P-deficient roots. A set of 372 bean transcription factor (TF) genes, coding for proteins with Inter-Pro domains characteristic or diagnostic for TF, were identified from The Institute of Genomic Research/Dana Farber Cancer Institute Common Bean Gene Index. Using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, 17 TF genes were differentially expressed in P-deficient roots; four TF genes, including MYB TFs, were induced. Nonbiased metabolite profiling was used to assess the degree to which changes in gene expression in P-deficient roots affect overall metabolism. Stress-related metabolites such as polyols accumulated in P-deficient roots as well as sugars, which are known to be essential for P stress gene induction. Candidate genes have been identified that may contribute to root adaptation to P deficiency and be useful for improvement of common bean.

MYB

WRKY protein domain

Secondary metabolism

10.1104/pp.107.096958

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Citations (335)

Single‐Feature Polymorphism Discovery in the Transcriptome of Tetraploid Alfalfa

The Plant Genome (2009)

S Samuel Yang Wayne Wenzhong Xu Mesfin Tesfaye JoAnn FS Lamb Hans‐Joachim G Jung

Advances in alfalfa [ Medicago sativa (L.) subsp. sativa ] breeding, molecular genetics, and genomics have been slow because this crop is an allogamous autotetraploid (2n = 4x = 32) with complex polysomic inheritance and few genomic resources. Increasing cellulose and decreasing lignin in alfalfa stem cell walls would improve this crop as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock. We conducted genome‐wide analysis of single‐feature polymorphisms (SFPs) of two alfalfa genotypes (252, 1283) that differ in stem cell wall lignin and cellulose concentrations. SFP analysis was conducted using the Medicago GeneChip (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) as a cross‐species platform. Analysis of GeneChip expression data files of alfalfa stem internodes of genotypes 252 and 1283 at two growth stages (elongating, post‐elongation) revealed 10,890 SFPs in 8230 probe sets. Validation analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐sequencing of a random sample of SFPs indicated a 17% false discovery rate. Functional classification and over‐representation analysis showed that genes involved in photosynthesis, stress response and cell wall biosynthesis were highly enriched among SFP‐harboring genes. The Medicago GeneChip is a suitable cross‐species platform for detecting SFPs in tetraploid alfalfa.

Medicago sativa

Medicago

10.3835/plantgenome2009.03.0014

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Citations (16)