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Interkingdom Signaling Molecules 

The Magic of Phytohormones

About Us

Dr. Emery is one of the world’s leading experts in the study of plant hormones. In particular, he works on a family of hormones, the cytokinins, which are notoriously difficult to analyze and which are potent regulators of plant development even when present at extremely low concentrations. Prior to coming to Trent in 2000, he completed post-doctoral research in Australia working on hormonal control of fruit set and seed development in chickpea and lupin and in France examining nitrogen and carbon metabolism in field peas. In his work with legumes he is studying how the plants biochemically pull themselves together as a means of determining how to create bigger, more stable yields. The end users of research findings would be breeders of plants who he could give direction for making better varieties of each plant.
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The new mass spectrometry method for cytokinin quantification using high-resolution Orbitrap QExactive in parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mode, developed in Emery Laboratory, was recently published in Analytical Chemistry!
Read the Just Accepted Manuscript here 

CALL FOR PAPERS!
​Prof. Neil Emery and Dr. Anna Kisiala have been invited to guest-edit a special issue of MDPI Plants Journal, called: ​'Roles of Cytokinins in Plants and Their Response to Environmental Stimuli' - submit your paper by December 1, 2019!

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Lab News

September, 2019 - Alex Kuhne, MSc student in the Emery Lab, leads delegation at International Arctic Forum!
July, 2019 - Dr. Anna Kisiala featured in the recent CSPB Bulletin - read more (page 10)
May, 2019 - PhD student, Megan Aoki, and her groundbreaking research featured at Trent University News and Events platform!
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May, 2019 - Our PhD student, Megan Aoki, talks all about cytokinins in the interview for Random Acts of Green.
May, 2019 - Dr. Neil Emery is a partner in the research aimed at advancing clean-water technology to make Canada’s mining industry more sustainable. The project funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) will develop a sustainable green biofiltration technology for mineral extraction and mining waste waters.
April, 2019 - Our PhD student, Mark Seegobin became a recipient of a prestigious Alexander Graham Bell NSERC CGS D scholarship to support his research on cytokinin function in mammalian systems.
March, 2019 - Alex Kuhne, MSc student in Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program at Trent University presented her research on recycling algae cultures at the first Trent Graduate Students in Science (TGSS) symposium.
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February, 2019 - There is more to the cytokinin story than you could ever imagine! Our PhD student, Megan Aoki, research shows cytokinins can be actively metabolized in human cell cultures - read Megan's paper in FASEB Bioadvances.
January, 2019 - Learn about our MSc student Alex Kuhne innovative research on the future of food.
January, 2019 - Check out the Emery Lab coverage from the ACPD 2018 Prague conference in New Phytologist!
July, 2018 - Breaking news! - Our PhD student, Mark Seegobin discovered presence of a range of "plant" hormones cytokinins in mammalian tissues! Check the interview with Mark and read his paper recently published in The FASEB Journal.
June 2018 - "A virulent and resistant strain of fungus, called “Corn Smut Disease” is currently threatening our corn stalks.​" - Ibraheem Alimi, MSc student, co-supervised by Prof. Neil Emery and Prof. Barry Saville, explains the importance of his research in the interview for Random Acts of Green.
April, 2017 - ​To branch or not to branch? Shade, ABA and auxin - Dr. Thien Nguyen and Prof. Neil Emery co-authored an insight paper that accompanies the groundbreaking research on ABA as the earliest upstream inhibitor of apical dominance, recently published in Journal of Experimental Botany. 
December, 2016 - Research at Trent in Dr. Neil Emery’s lab highlighted in exhibition titled “Pulses: The Ideal Partner” on loan from the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum in partnership with Pulse Canada (Trent University News & Events)
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​November, 2016 - You can do cancer research and still work with plant hormones! - watch Mark Seegobin on ChexTV.

Recent Publications

2019
Cytokinin Detection during the Dictyostelium discoideum Life Cycle: Profiles Are Dynamic and Affect Cell Growth and Spore Germination. Biomolecules, 2019.
Quantification of Cytokinins using High-Resolution Accurate-Mass Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry and Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM). Analytical Chemistry, 2019
Elevated carbon dioxide decreases the adverse effects of higher temperature and drought stress by mitigating oxidative stress and improving water status in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta, 2019.
Endosymbiotic Methylobacterium oryzae mitigates the impact of limited water availability in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) by increasing plant cytokinin levels. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 2019.
A stimulatory role for cytokinin in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis of pea. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2019.
Phytohormone metabolism in human cells: Cytokinins are taken up and interconverted in HeLa cell culture. FASEB BioAdvances, 2019.
Setting-up a fast and reliable cytokinin biosensor based on a plant histidine kinase receptor expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Journal of Biotechnology 289, 103-111.
2018
Chelator production by Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) Beauv. in adaptive Ni/Cu hyper-tolerance derived from fields at Sudbury region and lab assessment. Botany, 2018.
Canis familiaris tissues are characterized by different profiles of cytokinins typical of the tRNA degradation pathway. ​The FASEB Journal, 2018.
2017
Phytohormone profiling reveals fungal signatures and strong manipulation of infection cycle in the Gymnosporangium juniper-virginianae dual-host plant system. Botany, 2017.
DELLA1-gibberellin signaling regulates cytokinin-dependent symbiotic nodulation. Plant Physiology, pp. 00919.2017.
Analysis of brassinosteroids in soybean seeds and leaves by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Open Plant Science Journal, 2017.
Yield associated traits correlate with cytokinin profiles in developing pods and seeds of field-grown soybean
cultivars
. 
Field Crops Research 214: 175-184.
Dynamics and origin of cytokinins involved in plant manipulation by a leaf-mining insect. Insect Science, 2017.
Is ABA the earliest upstream inhibitor of apical dominance? 
Journal of Experimental Botany 68(5): 881-884.
Fungal derived cytokinins are necessary for normal Ustilago maydis infection of corn. Plant Pathology 66: 726–742.
2016
​Nod factor supply under water stress conditions modulates cytokinin biosynthesis and enhances nodule formation and N nutrition in soybean. ​Plant Signaling & Behavior 11(9): e1212799.
A laser dissection-RNAseq analysis highlights the activation of cytokinin pathways by Nod factors in the ​​Medicago truncatula root epidermis. Plant Physiology, 171(3): 2256-2276.
Soybean seed development: fatty acid and phytohormone metabolism and their interactions. Current Genomics, 17(3): 241-260.
Cytokinin production by the rice blast fungus is a pivotal requirement for full virulence. PLoS Pathogens, 12(2): 1-25.
Emery Lab at PBWorks (for lab members only)
Emery Lab on Research Gate
We are developing a New Bio-fertilizer for Farmers!
July, 2016 - BlackburnNews.com
May, 2016 - AgInnovation Ontario
May, 2016 -Toronto Star
February, 2016 - Ontario Grain Farmer
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