Andrew J. Roger
Wanda Danilchuk
Marlena Dlutek
Dayana Salas
Joran Martijn
Gregory Seaton
Dandan Zhao
Shelby Williams
Tengteng Zhang
Kelsey Williamson
Former Roger Lab Members
|
Matthew W Brown, Post Doctoral Fellow
During my undergraduate work at the University of Arkansas, I started a research project studying the diversity and ecology of protostelid slime molds (simply, amoebae that form small simple fruiting bodies). After my B.Sc., I immediately returned to the University of Arkansas to start a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. During my graduate work, I focused on the evolution of sorocarpic protists (AKA cellular slime molds), which are amoeboid organisms that aggregate with one another and work in concert to form a multicellular fruiting body. I was primarily interested in the slime molds that have not been examined in the last ~20 years (i.e., those which have no molecular data available). Molecular phylogenetic analyses from these organisms have shown that the sorocarpic lifestyle is the most broadly distributed form of multicellularity among the eukaryotes, found in 5 of the 6 supergroups.
As of June 2010, I began working with Andrew Roger and lab, where my research has been focused on genomics and phylogenomics of some of these sorocarpic protists. My primary focus is on Fonticula alba, recently placed in Opisthokonta (a lineage which contains the animals and Fungi). We are currently analyzing cDNA libraries Fonticula alba and one from Guttulinopsis vulgaris that have been sequenced using next-gen sequencing technologies. Soon, we will be starting a genome-sequencing project for F. alba with the Unicellular Opisthokont Research Initiative (UNICORN). I am also interested in the evolution of the Amoebozoa-Opisthokonta lineage (often termed 'unikonts'). I am also working on a project examining "animal-specific" neuronal genes and the genes associated with the AKT signaling pathway as part of genome-sequencing project of another opisthokont protist Capsaspora.
Publications:
- Adl, S.M., Simpson, A.G.B., Lane, C.E., Lukes, J., Bass, D., Bowser, S.S., Brown, M.W., Burki, F., Dunthorn, M., Hampl, V., Heiss, A., Hoppenrath, M., Lara, E., Legall, L., Lynn, D.H., McManus, H., Mitchell, E.A.D., Mozley-Stanridge, S.E., Parfrey, L.W., Pawlowski, J., Rueckert, S., Shadwick, L.L., Schoch, C., Smirnov, A., Spiegel, F.W.. (In Press, September 2012) The revised classification of eukaryotes. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 59(5): 429-514.
- Harding, T., Brown, M.W., Plotnikov, A., Selivanova, E., Park, J.S., Gunderson, J.H., Baumgartner, M., Silberman, J.D., Roger, A.J., Simpson, A.G.B. (In Press) Amoeba stages in the deepest branching heteroloboseans, including Pharyngomonas: evolutionary and systematic implications. Protist 10.1016/j.protis.2012.08.002
- Brown, M. W., Kolisko, M., Silberman, J. D., Roger, A.J. 2012. Aggregative multicellularity evolved independently in the eukaryotic supergroup Rhizeria. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.04.021.
- Brown, M. W., Silberman, J. D., Spiegel, F. W. 2012. A contemporary evaluation of the acrasids (Acrasidae, Heterolobosea, Excavata). European Journal of Protistology 48(2): 103-123. Invited Manuscript
- Brown, M. W., Silberman J. D., Spiegel F. W. 2011. "Slime molds" among the Tubulinea (Amoebozoa): Molecular systematics and taxonomy of Copromyxa. Protist 162: 277-287.
- Brown, M. W., Silberman, J. D., and Spiegel, F. W. 2010. A morphologically simple species of Acrasis (Heterolobosea, Excavata), Acrasis helenhemmesae n. sp. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 57(4): 346-353.
- Brown, M. W., Spiegel, F. W., and Silberman, J. D. 2009. Phylogeny of the "forgotten" cellular slime mold, Fonticula alba, reveals a key evolutionary branch within Opisthokonta. Molecular Biology and Evolution 26(12): 2699-2709.
- Shadwick, L. L., Spiegel, F. W., Shadwick, J. D. L, Brown, M. W., and Silberman, J. D. 2009. Eumycetozoa = Amoebozoa?: SSUrDNA Phylogeny of Protosteloid Slime Molds and its Significance for the Supergroup Amoebozoa. PLoS ONE 4(8): e6754.
- Brown, M. W., Spiegel, F. W., and Silberman, J. D. 2007. Amoeba at Attention: Phylogenetic Affinity of Sappinia pedata. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 54(6): 511-519.
Book Chapters:
- Schnittler, M., Novozhilov, Y.K., Romeralo, M., Brown, M. W., and Fiore-Donno, A.M. Myxomycete-like organisms. In Frey (Ed.) A. Engler's Syllabus der Planzenfamilien (Engler's Syllabus of Plant Families). Part 1: Blue-green Algae, Myxomycete-Like Organisms and Fungi. Science Publishers, Berlin.
- Spiegel, F. W., Shadwick, L, Brown, M.W., Nderitu, G., Aguliar, M., and Shadwick, J. D. L. (In Prep, 2013). Protostelida. In Margulis et al. (Eds.) Handbook of Protoctista, 2nd edition, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston.
- Brown M.W.*, Silberman J.D. (In Press, 2013). The Non-Dictyostelid Sorocarpic Amoebae. In Baldauf, Romeralo, Escalante (Eds.) Dictyostelia - Evolutionary Patterns and Processes in a Social Amoeba. Springer, Heidelberg Germany. *Senior & Corresponding Author
Online Publications:
- Spiegel, F. W., Shadwick, J. D., Lindley, L. A., Brown, M. W., and Nderitu, G. 2007. A Beginner's Guide to Identifying the Protostelids. http://slimemold.uark.edu/pdfs/Handbook1_3rd.pdf.
Published Abstracts:
- Brown, M. W., Silberman, J. D., Spiegel, F. W. 2008. Morphological and molecular variation in three morphotypes of Acrasis. Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America. Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA. Inoculum 59(4): 21.
- Brown, M. W. and Spiegel, F. W. 2007. Assessment of protostelid diversity in Ozark Plateau oak-hickory forests in south central USA. Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America. Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA. Inoculum 59(2): 9.
- Lindley, L.A.,Brown, M. W., Lawrence, A., Silberman, J.D., Spiegel, F.W. 2007. Schizoplasmodium: a genus reconstituted. Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America. Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA. Inoculum 59(2): 27.
- Spiegel, F. W., Shadwick, J. D.,Brown, M. W. , Hemmes, D.E. 2007. Protostelids of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America. Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA. Inoculum 59(2): 38.
You can reach Matt at:
Work Phone: (+1) 902-494-2881
Fax: (+1) 902-494-1355
E-mail: protist{at}live{dot}com
|