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Research Interests
My research centers on inter- and intra-cellular signaling in plant reproduction. We currently have two main research foci:
1) Intracellular signaling in pollen development and tube growth; in particular we are studying the role of calcium-dependent protein kinase signaling transduction in regulating pollen tube growth and polarity, and also the regulation of endo- and exocytosis in pollen tube growth.
2) The array of self-incompatibility mechanisms deployed by plants to prevent self-fertilization and inbreeding; we are investigating the molecular basis of heteromorphic self-incompatibility in Primula. This breeding system, in which a number of morphological and physiological traits vary between mating types, is controlled by a single multi-gene locus termed S. We are using genomic techniques to clone the S-locus region and identify the genes which it encodes.
My laboratory uses a wide array of biochemical, cell, molecular genetic and genomic techniques to identify genes of interest and dissect their function.
Representative Publications
Yoon, G.M. and McCubbin, A.G. Spatial regulation of a CDPK mediates Rop/Rac GTPase activation and growth polarity in pollen tubes. Submitted
Yoon, G.M., Dowd, P.E., Gilroy, S. and McCubbin, A.G. (2006) Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase isoforms have distinct functions in pollen tube growth, including regulating polarity. The Plant Cell 18: 867-878.
McCubbin, A.G., Lee, C., and Hetrick, A. (2006). Identification of genes showing differential expression between morphs in developing flowers of Primula vulgaris. Sexual Plant Reproduction 19: 51-62.
McCubbin, A.G., Ritchie, S.M., Swanson, S.J. and Gilroy, S. (2004) The calcium-dependent protein kinase HvCDPK1 mediates the gibberellic acid response of the barley aleurone through regulation of vacuolar function. The Plant Journal 39:206-218.
Sijacic, P., Wang, X., Skirpan, A.L., Wang, Y., Dowd, P.E., McCubbin, A.G., Huang, S. and Kao, T.-h. (2004) Identification of the pollen determinant of S-RNase-mediated self-incompatibility. Nature 429: 302-305.
Wang, Y., Tsukamoto, T., Yi, K.-w., Wang, X., Huang, S., McCubbin, A.G. and Kao, T.-h. (2004) Chromosome walking in the Petunia inflata self-incompatibility (S-) locus and gene identification in an 881-kb contig containing S2-RNase. Plant Molecular Biology 54: 727-742.
Roalson E.H. and McCubbin A.G. (2003) S-RNases and sexual incompatibility: structure, functions, and evolutionary perspectives. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29: 490-506.