Mary Musgrave

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

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Mary Musgrave, Head, Professor of Plant Physiology

Experience and Education \| Awards and Honors \| Research Interests \| Teaching \| Publications \| Other

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
B.A., Cornell University, 1977 Ph.D., Duke University, 1986 Postdoctoral 1986-1987, NASA Space Biology Research Associates Program at Duke University, Durham, NC Previous Faculty Appointments 1987-1999, Assistant, Associate, Full Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 1999 - 2002, Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Adjunct Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
AWARDS AND HONORS
CT Florists’ Association Friend of Floristry Award (2007) ASHS Outstanding Vegetable Publication Award (2005) Orr E. Reynold's Distinguished Service Award (1998) President's Award, American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (1997) First Mississippi Corporation Award for outstanding research (1996) Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator Award (1995) Sigma Xi (1986) Phi Beta Kappa (1977) Alpha Lambda Delta (1973) top of page
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests are in the broad area of environmental plant physiology. Previously, I have examined plant hypoxia, utilizing both substrate waterlogging and modified atmospheres to elucidate the relationship between plant development and gaseous environments. NASA has funded much of this research as part of their Space Biology program, which has enabled me to study seed production in the model plants Arabidopsis and Brassica on board the US Space Shuttle and the Russian Mir Space Station. Of particular import to plant growth in microgravity is the unusual behavior of fluids and gases. Rootzone hypoxia is routinely encountered in plants growing on orbital platforms because of lack of fluid drainage, while the absence of buoyancy-driven convective air movement can limit the re-supply of metabolic gases to plant tissues. In a series of experiments designed to elucidate failed reproduction during spaceflight, my lab showed that decreased carbohydrate content of leaves in microgravity led to energy reserves which were insufficient to support the reproductive effort. Increasing the carbon dioxide available to the plant resulted in reproductive success. My current research continues this exploration into the effects of microgravity on seed development. Plant tissues harbor fascinating gaseous microenvironments. For example, the oxygen content of the locular space surrounding developing seeds in Brassica is less than half that of the ambient atmosphere, while carbon dioxide levels are twenty-times higher. My lab's goal is to understand how microgravity modulates these microenvironments, and what the consequences are for development of embryos and seed storage reserves. But this research has relevance beyond microgavity. Sub-optimal seed maturation and post-harvest loss are problems that plague a variety of commercially important commodities. Many of these problems can be linked to gaseous anomalies within the micro-environment of the maturing fruit. By elucidating the role of the internal atmosphere in plant development, we can mitigate these losses both on earth and in space. top of page
TEACHING
PLSC 397 Graduate Seminar, Techniques of Presentation.
PUBLICATIONS
Musgrave, M. E., J. Allen, J. Blasiak, L. Tuominen and A. Kuang. 2007. In vitro seed maturation in Brassica rapa L.: relationship of silique atmosphere to storage reserve deposition. Environ. Expt. Bot. 62: 247-253. Musgrave, M.E. 2007. Growing plants in space. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture,Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources 2 no. 065. doi: 10.1079/PAVSNNR20072065. Online ISSN 1749-8848. Tuominen, L.K., M. E. Musgrave. 2006. Tissue culture in synthetic atmospheres: diffusion rate effects on cytokinin-induced callus growth and isoflavonoid production in soybean [Glycine max (L.)Merr. cv. Acme] Plant Growth Regulation 49: 167-175. Blasiak, J., A. Kuang, C. S. Farhangi, and M. E. Musgrave. 2006. Roles of intra-fruit oxygen and carbon dioxide in controlling pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seed development and storage reserve deposition. Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 131(1): 164-173. Musgrave, M. E., A. Kuang, L. K. Tuominen, L. H. Levine and R. C. Morrow. 2005. Seed storage reserves and glucosinolates in Brassica rapa L. grown on the International Space Station. Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 130: 848-856. (received the ASHS award for outstanding vegetable publication, July 2006) Kuang, A., A. Popova, A. G. McClure and M. E. Musgrave. 2005. Dynamics of storage reserve deposition during Brassica rapa L. pollen and seed development in microgravity. International Journal of Plant Science 166(1): 85-96. Musgrave, M. E. and Kuang A. 2003. Plant Reproductive Development during Spaceflight. In Advances in Space Biology and Medicine (vol. 9). H-J Marthy (ed). Elsevier, pp. 1-23. Ramonell, KM, McClure, G, Musgrave, ME. 2002. Oxygen control of ethylene biosynthesis during seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Plant, Cell and Environment 25: 793-801. Blasiak, J and Musgrave, ME. 2002. Varietal differences in locular gas composition in developing fruit of sweet and hot pepper, Capsicum spp., and evidence for divergent diffusion pathways. Journal of Horticultural Sciences & Biotechnology 77 (4): 432-437. Musgrave ME. 2002. Seeds in Space. Seed Science Research 12: 1-16. top of page
OTHER
Chairman, CT Invasive Plants Council (2008 - present) Chairman, NE section, American Society of Plant Biologists, (2008) Publishing Editor, Gravitational and Space Biology (1997-present) top of page



	Mary Musgrave Head, Professor of Plant Physiology Department of Plant Science 1376 Storrs Rd., Unit 4067 Department of Plant Science Storrs, Connecticut 06269 Telephone: (860) 486-2925 fax: (860) 486-0682 mary.musgrave@uconn.edu

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