Dr Patrick Finnegan
School of Plant Biology
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia
Lecturer
Email: pfinnegan@agric.uwa.ed.au
The Big Question
Understanding the molecular genetic events needed to establish and energize pathways in plants for the acquisition and distribution of nutrients.
Short-Term Goals
As a member of the Plant Molecular Biology Group at the University of Western Australia , I am investigating the nuclear control of mitochondrial biogenesis, in collaboration with Prof David Day (UWA), A/Prof Jim Whelan (UWA) and Dr Harvey Millar (UWA). Mitochondria are not only central to plant intermediary metabolism but also to nutrient acquisition and distribution as they are the source of the chemical energy needed to build and fuel many nutrient translocation processes. My group uses both targeted and non-targeted approaches to understand the gene regulatory pathways that control changes to mitochondrial protein gene expression during plant development and under various environmental conditions. I am also interested in the structure/function relationships and evolution of the alternative oxidase, the enzyme responsible for cyanide-resistant respiration in plant mitochondria. Collaborative projects with Prof Hans Lambers (UWA) and Dr Siddique (UWA) on phosphate transport in cluster roots, Prof David Day, Dr Martha Ludwig (UWA) and Dr Brent Kaiser (University of Adelaide) on ammonium and organic acid transport in nitrogen-fixing root nodules and A/Prof Jim Whelan on mitochondrial carrier proteins are investigating the molecular structure of various transporters and the expression and regulation of the corresponding genes
| Group (Laboratory) Members
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Dr David Thirkettle-Watts (Postdoctoral Researcher)
Dr Nicholas Taylor (Postdoctoral Researcher)
Dr Abu-Baker Siddique (Postdoctoral Researcher)
Current
ARC Discovery Project Grant 2003-2005 'Exploring the gene regulatory networks governing mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis'
Applications Submitted or Planned
- ARC Linkage (planned) 'Root adaptations to conquer the hostile soils of Australia '
- Slade Foundation (planned) ' The effects of high CO 2 and temperature on rice pollen biology '
| Techniques in the Laboratory
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Currently active
- Standard molecular biology techniques (recombinant DNA techniques, PCR, real-time PCR, cDNA library construction and screening, immunoblot analysis)
- Oxygen electrode assays
In development
- DNA microarray hybridisation and interpretation
- Chromatin immunoprecipitation
- DNA binding assays
- Yeast one and two hybrid systems
Top three areas of knowledge
- Plant mitochondrial structure and function
- Alternative oxidase structure, function and evolution
- Plant molecular biology
Top three technical skills
- Gene cloning and manipulation
- Gene expression analysis
- Immunoblot detection of proteins
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Finnegan, P.M. , Soole, K.L. and Umbach, A.L. (2004) Alternative mitochondrial electron transport proteins in higher plants. In: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration. Day, D.A., Millar A.H., and Whelan J., eds., Kluwer (accepted)
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Finnegan, P.M. , Brumbley, S.M., O'Shea, M.S., Nevalainen, K.M.H., and Bergquist, P.L. (2004) Diverse dextranase genes from Paenibacillus species. Microbiology (submitted).
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Finnegan, P.M. , Brumbley, S.M., O'Shea, M.S., Nevalainen, K.M.H., and Bergquist, P.L. (2004) Thermotolerant Paenibacillus species produce thermoactive and thermostable dextranases. Extremophiles (submitted).
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Finnegan, P.M. , Brumbley, S.M., O'Shea, M.S., Nevalainen, K.M.H., and Bergquist, P.L. (2004) Paenibacillus isolates possess diverse dextran-degrading enzymes. J Appl Microbiol (submitted).
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Finnegan, P.M. , Umbach, A.L. and Wilce, J. (2003) Prokaryotic origins for the mitochondrial alternative oxidase and plastid IMMUTANS nuclear genes. FEBS Lett . 555: 425 - 430.
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Thirkettle-Watts, D., McCabe, T.C., Clifton , R., Moore , C., Finnegan, P.M. , Day D.A. and Whelan, J. (2003) Analysis of the Alternative Oxidase Promoters from Soybean. Plant Physiol 133 : 1158-1169.
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Holtzapffel, R.C., Castelli, J., Finnegan, P.M. , Millar, A.H., Whelan, J. and Day, D.A. (2003) A tomato alternative oxidase protein with altered regulatory properties. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1606 : 153 - 162.
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Finnegan, P.M. (2003) Sixth International Congress of Plant Mitochondria: mitochondrial biologists meet in Perth , Australia . Mitochondrion 2 : 375-379/
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Djajanegara, I.N., Finnegan, P.M. , Mathieu, C., McCabe, T., Whelan, J. and Day, D.A. (2002) Regulation of alternative oxidase gene expression in soybean. Plant Molecular Biology . 50 : 735 - 742.
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Holtzapffel,R.C., Finnegan, P.M. , Millar, A.H., Badger, M.R. and Day, D.A. (2002) Mitochondrial protein expression in tomato fruit during on-vine ripening and cold storage. Functional Plant Biology. 29 : 827 - 834.
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Finnegan, P.M. , Suzuki, S., Ludwig, M. and Burnell, J.N. (1999) Differential expression of four genes encoding phospho eno lpyruvate carboxykinase in the C 4 monocot Urochloa panicoides . Plant Physiology . 120 : 1033-1041.
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Tanudji, M., Djajanegara, I.N., Daley, D.O., McCabe, T.C., Finnegan, P.M. , Day, D.A. and Whelan, J. (1999) The multiple alternative oxidase proteins of soybean. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology. 26 : 337-344.
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Djajanegara, I.N., Holtzapffel, R., Finnegan, P.M. , Hoefnagel, M.H.N., Berthold, D.A. Wiskich, J.T., and Day, D.A. (1999) A single amino acid change in the plant alternative oxidase alters the specificity of organic acid activation. FEBS Lett. 454 : 220-224.
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Whelan, J., Smith,M.K., Finnegan, P.M. and Day, D.A. (1999) Cloning and Sequencing of a Genomic Clone for the Alternative Oxidase (Accession No . AF083880) from Soybean. (PGR99-072) Plant Physiology . 120 : 633.
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Finnegan, P.M. , Wooding, A.R. and Day, D.A. (1999) An alternative oxidase monoclonal antibody recognises a highly conserved sequence among alternative oxidase subunits. FEBS Letter 447 , 21-24.
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