Pacific Southwest Research Station

Education

B.S., Forest Science, 1988, University of Georgia
M.S., Forest Genetics, 1991, University of Georgia
Ph.D, Biology, 1997, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1997-2000, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY

CURRICULUM VITAE

Research Interests/Duties

My laboratory uses genetic and genomic tools to understand the genetic regulation of growth and development of forest trees. A major focus is determining the genes and mechanisms that regulate wood formation. Currently there are three main projects in my lab:

• In collaboration with Vladimir Filkov at UC Davis, we are determining the transcriptional networks regulating the vascular cambium and wood formation in the model forest tree genus, Populus (funded by USDA AFRI).
• In collaboration with Luca Comai and Isabelle Henry at UC Davis, we are determining the mechanisms responsible for superior performance of Populus hybrids for bioenergy production. This research is funded by the joint DOE/USDA Plant Feedstock Genomics program, and will provide new genomic tools for poplar breeders to identify germplasm with unique genotypes and increased biomass yields, and develop techniques for creating poplar hybrids with unique combinations of chromosomal regions.
• We are investigating methods for evolution and development (evo-devo) studies of wood formation in trees. Evo-devo studies could give important insights into the evolutionary origins and diversification of woody growth, and could ultimately provide new approaches for developing applications for bioenergy, carbon sequestration, and conservation.

Selected Publications

• Du J, Miura E, Robischon M, Martinez C, and Groover A (2011). The Populus Class III HD ZIP transcription factor POPCORONA affects cell differentiation during secondary growth of woody stems. PLoS ONE. 6:2 e17458.
• Robischon M, Du J, Miura E, and Groover A (2011). The Populus Class III HD ZIP, popREVOLUTA, influences cambium initiation and patterning of woody stems. Plant Physiology. 155: 1214-1225.
• Groover A, and Spicer R (2010). The evolution of development of vascular cambia and secondary growth. New Phytologist. 186: 577-592.
• Groover A, Nieminen K, Helariutta Y, and Mansfield S (2010). Wood formation in Populus. Wood formation in Populus. in Genetics and Genomics of Populus. Jansson, Bhalerao, and Groover (eds). Springer.
• Du J, and Groover A (2010). Transcriptional control of secondary growth and wood formation. J. Integrative Plant Biol. 52(1): 17-27.
• Du J, Mansfield S, and Groover A (2009). The Populus Homeobox Gene ARBORKNOX2 Regulates Cell Differentiation During Secondary Growth. Plant Journal. 60: 1000-1014.
• Abzhanov A, Extavour C, Groover A, Hodges S, Hoekstra H, Kramer E, and Monteiro A (2008). Are we there yet? Tracking the development of new model systems. Trends in Genetics 24: 353-360.
• Brunner A, DiFazio S, Groover A (2007). Forest genomics grows up and branches out. New Phytologist 174(4): 710-713.
• Groover A (2007). Will genomics guide a greener forest biotech? Trends in Plant Science, 12: 234-238. (featured on journal cover)
• Populus Genome Consortium (2006). The genome of black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray). Science, 15: 1596-1604.
• A. Groover and M. Robischon (2006). Developmental mechanisms regulating secondary growth in woody plants. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 9: 55-58.
• A. Groover, S. Mansfield, S. DiFazio, G. Dupper, J. Fontana, R. Millar, and Y. Wang (2006). The Populus homeobox gene ARBORKNOX1 reveals overlapping mechanisms regulating the shoot apical meristem and the vascular cambium. Plant Mol Biol, 61: 917-932.
• A. Groover. 2005. What genes make a tree a tree? Trends in Plant Science. 10: 210-214.
• A. Groover, J. Fontana, G.Dupper, C. Ma, R. Martienssen, S. Strauss, and R. Meilan. 2004. Gene and enhancer trap tagging of vascular-expressed genes in poplar trees. Plant Physiol. 134: 1742-1751.
• M. Byrne*, A. Groover*, J Fontana, and R. Martienssen. 2003. Phyllotactic pattern and stem cell fate are determined by the Arabidopsis homeobox gene BELLRINGER. Development 130: 3941-3950. * shared first authorship
• A. Groover, J. Fontana, J. Arroyo, C. Yordan, W. McCombie, and R. Martienssen. 2003. Secretion trap tagging of secreted and membrane-spanning proteins using Arabidopsis gene traps. Plant Physiol. 132:698-708.
• A. Groover, A. Pattishall, A. Jones. 2003. IAA8 expression during vascular cell differentiation. Plant Mol Biol, 51:427-435.
• A. Groover and A. Jones. 1999. Tracheary element differentiation involves a novel mechanism coordinating programmed cell death and secondary cell wall synthesis. Plant Physiology, 119 (2) 375-384.