About

Dr. Jenna Steffen is an obstetrician-gynecologist providing comprehensive care to women of all ages in all areas of obstetrics and gynecology. She has a special interest in gynecologic procedures, including in-office procedures as well as laparoscopic and vaginal surgeries. Dr. Steffen enjoys providing comprehensive obstetrical care during pregnancy and ensuring overall health through preventive medicine. She completed her medical degree at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah, where she was recognized for excellence in laparoscopic surgery. Originally from Nebraska, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Creighton University. Her clinical focus includes hysteroscopy, general gynecologic laparoscopy, obstetrics, and endometriosis. She is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and is highly rated by patients for her caring, knowledgeable, and professional approach.

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Evolutionary biology
• Cell biology
• Botany

Selected publications

• Effect of formic acid treatment on <i>Apis mellifera</i> foraging behavior as assayed using nanopore metabarcoding technologies

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-07-02

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract The Western honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) is a crucial contributor to worldwide agriculture and ecological health but is experiencing wide population declines linked to Varroa mite infection. Formic Acid (FA) has been increasingly used to control for Varroa , yet its effects on A. mellifera hives, particularly the impact it might have on their foraging preferences, remain unclear. In this study, we used a combination of pollen DNA metabarcoding with real-time nanopore sequencing to assess how FA treatment influences A. mellifera foraging preferences. DNA sequencing was performed on pollen samples from six University of Utah campus honeybee hives separated into FA and control treatments. Samples were collected before, during, and after FA application. We amplified trnL, a chloroplast DNA region useful for plant identification using portable sequencers from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT). We detected a significant difference in foraging composition between FA-treated and control hives at the end of the experiment. Control hives foraged from a more diverse array of plant genera. We also found individual hives have unique foraging preferences independent of treatment. These findings suggest that FA treatment can have an impact on A. mellifera foraging behavior. The magnitude of FA impact, however, on hive foraging repertoire remains unclear. Pollen DNA metabarcoding with nanopore technology is an effective method for analyzing bee foraging patterns and holds significant potential for advancing ecological research on pollination health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Plant organ evolution revealed by phylotranscriptomics in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2017-03-22

  preprintOpen access

  ABSTRACT The evolution of species’ phenotypes occurs through changes both in protein sequence and gene expression levels. Though much of plant morphological evolution can be explained by changes in gene expression, examining its evolution has challenges. To gain a new perspective on organ evolution in plants, we applied a phylotranscriptomics approach. We combined a phylostratigraphic approach with gene expression based on the strand-specific RNA-seq data from seedling, floral bud, and root of 19 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions to examine the age and sequence divergence of transcriptomes from these organs and how they adapted over time. Our results indicate that, among the sense and antisense transcriptomes of these organs, the sense transcriptomes of seedlings are the evolutionarily oldest across all accessions and are the most conserved in amino acid sequence for most accessions. In contrast, among the sense transcriptomes from these same organs, those from floral bud are evolutionarily youngest and least conserved in sequence for most accessions. Different organs have adaptive peaks at different stages in their evolutionary history, however, from the Magnoliophyta stage to the Brassicale stage, all three organs show a common adaptive signal. Our research is significant because it offers novel evolutionary insight on plant organs revealed by phylotranscriptomics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genomic Rearrangements in <i>Arabidopsis</i> Considered as Quantitative Traits

  Genetics · 2017-02-08 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Structural Rearrangements can have unexpected effects on quantitative phenotypes. Surprisingly, these rearrangements can also be considered as... To understand the population genetics of structural variants and their effects on phenotypes, we developed an approach to mapping structural variants that segregate in a population sequenced at low coverage. We avoid calling structural variants directly. Instead, the evidence for a potential structural variant at a locus is indicated by variation in the counts of short-reads that map anomalously to that locus. These structural variant traits are treated as quantitative traits and mapped genetically, analogously to a gene expression study. Association between a structural variant trait at one locus, and genotypes at a distant locus indicate the origin and target of a transposition. Using ultra-low-coverage (0.3×) population sequence data from 488 recombinant inbred Arabidopsis thaliana genomes, we identified 6502 segregating structural variants. Remarkably, 25% of these were transpositions. While many structural variants cannot be delineated precisely, we validated 83% of 44 predicted transposition breakpoints by polymerase chain reaction. We show that specific structural variants may be causative for quantitative trait loci for germination and resistance to infection by the fungus Albugo laibachii, isolate Nc14. Further we show that the phenotypic heritability attributable to read-mapping anomalies differs from, and, in the case of time to germination and bolting, exceeds that due to standard genetic variation. Genes within structural variants are also more likely to be silenced or dysregulated. This approach complements the prevalent strategy of structural variant discovery in fewer individuals sequenced at high coverage. It is generally applicable to large populations sequenced at low-coverage, and is particularly suited to mapping transpositions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epistatic and allelic interactions control expression of ribosomal RNA gene clusters in Arabidopsis thaliana

  Genome biology · 2017-04-27 · 41 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) accounts for the majority of the RNA in eukaryotic cells, and is encoded by hundreds to thousands of nearly identical gene copies, only a subset of which are active at any given time. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 45S rRNA genes are found in two large ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clusters and little is known about the contribution of each to the overall transcription pattern in the species. RESULTS: By taking advantage of genome sequencing data from the 1001 Genomes Consortium, we characterize rRNA gene sequence variation within and among accessions. Notably, variation is not restricted to the pre-rRNA sequences removed during processing, but it is also present within the highly conserved ribosomal subunits. Through linkage mapping we assign these variants to a particular rDNA cluster unambiguously and use them as reporters of rDNA cluster-specific expression. We demonstrate that rDNA cluster-usage varies greatly among accessions and that rDNA cluster-specific expression and silencing is controlled via genetic interactions between entire rDNA cluster haplotypes (alleles). CONCLUSIONS: We show that rRNA gene cluster expression is controlled via complex epistatic and allelic interactions between rDNA haplotypes that apparently regulate the entire rRNA gene cluster. Furthermore, the sequence polymorphism we discovered implies that the pool of rRNA in a cell may be heterogeneous, which could have functional consequences.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Plant organ evolution revealed by phylotranscriptomics in Arabidopsis thaliana

  Scientific Reports · 2017-08-02 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access

  The evolution of phenotypes occurs through changes both in protein sequence and gene expression levels. Though much of plant morphological evolution can be explained by changes in gene expression, examining its evolution has challenges. To gain a new perspective on organ evolution in plants, we applied a phylotranscriptomics approach. We combined a phylostratigraphic approach with gene expression based on the strand-specific RNA-seq data from seedling, floral bud, and root of 19 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions to examine the age and sequence divergence of transcriptomes from these organs and how they adapted over time. Our results indicate that, among the sense and antisense transcriptomes of these organs, the sense transcriptomes of seedlings are the evolutionarily oldest across all accessions and are the most conserved in amino acid sequence for most accessions. In contrast, among the sense transcriptomes from these same organs, those from floral bud are evolutionarily youngest and least conserved in sequence for most accessions. Different organs have adaptive peaks at different stages in their evolutionary history; however, all three show a common adaptive signal from the Magnoliophyta to Brassicale stage. Our research highlights how phylotranscriptomic analyses can be used to trace organ evolution in the deep history of plant species.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genomic Rearrangements Considered as Quantitative Traits

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2016-11-12 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract To understand the population genetics of structural variants (SVs), and their effects on phenotypes, we developed an approach to mapping SVs, particularly transpositions, segregating in a sequenced population, and which avoids calling SVs directly. The evidence for a potential SV at a locus is indicated by variation in the counts of short-reads that map anomalously to the locus. These SV traits are treated as quantitative traits and mapped genetically, analogously to a gene expression study. Association between an SV trait at one locus and genotypes at a distant locus indicate the origin and target of a transposition. Using ultra-low-coverage (0.3x) population sequence data from 488 recombinant inbred Arabidopsis genomes, we identified 6,502 segregating SVs. Remarkably, 25% of these were transpositions. Whilst many SVs cannot be delineated precisely, PCR validated 83% of 44 predicted transposition breakpoints. We show that specific SVs may be causative for quantitative trait loci for germination, fungal disease resistance and other phenotypes. Further we show that the phenotypic heritability attributable to sequence anomalies differs from, and in the case of time to germination and bolting, exceeds that due to standard genetic variation. Gene expression within SVs is also more likely to be silenced or dysregulated. This approach is generally applicable to large populations sequenced at low-coverage, and complements the prevalent strategy of SV discovery in fewer individuals sequenced at high coverage.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• SUPPRESSOR OF FRIGIDA (SUF4) Supports Gamete Fusion via Regulating Arabidopsis <i>EC1</i> Gene Expression

  PLANT PHYSIOLOGY · 2016-12-05 · 26 citations

  articleOpen access

  transcription factor, as a direct regulator of the EC1 gene expression. In particular, we demonstrated that SUF4 binds to all five Arabidopsis EC1 promoters, thus regulating their expression. The down-regulation of SUF4 in homozygous suf4-1 ovules results in reduced EC1 expression and delayed sperm fusion, which can be rescued by expressing SUF4-β-glucuronidase under the control of the SUF4 promoter. To identify more gene products able to regulate EC1 expression together with SUF4, we performed coexpression studies that led to the identification of MOM1 (MORPHEUS' MOLECULE1), a component of a silencing mechanism that is independent of DNA methylation marks. In mom1-3 ovules, both SUF4 and EC1 genes are down-regulated, and EC1 genes show higher levels of histone 3 lysine-9 acetylation, suggesting that MOM1 contributes to the regulation of SUF4 and EC1 gene expression.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• RNA-Seq analysis of laser-capture microdissected cells of the developing central starchy endosperm of maize

  Genomics Data · 2014-08-07 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access

  Endosperm is a product of double fertilization, and provides nutrients and signals to the embryo during seed development in flowering plants. Early stages of endosperm development are critical for the development of its storage capacity through synthesis and accumulation of starch and storage proteins. Here we report on the isolation and sequencing of mRNAs from the central portion of the starchy endosperm of Zea mays (maize) B73 at 6 days after pollination. We detected a high level of correlation among the four biological replicates of RNAs isolated using laser-capture microdissection of the cell type. Because the assayed developmental stage precedes the synthesis and accumulation of the major storage proteins and starch in the endosperm, our dataset likely include mRNAs for genes that are involved in control and establishment of these storage programs. The mRNA-Seq data has been deposited in Gene Expression Omnibus (accession number GSE58504).

  PublisherDOI

• A plant‐specific <i><scp>HUA</scp>2‐<scp>LIKE</scp></i> (<i>HULK</i>) gene family in <i><scp>A</scp>rabidopsis thaliana</i> is essential for development

  The Plant Journal · 2014-07-28 · 17 citations

  articleOpen access

  In Arabidopsis thaliana, the HUA2 gene is required for proper expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and AGAMOUS, key regulators of flowering time and reproductive development, respectively. Although HUA2 is broadly expressed, plants lacking HUA2 function have only moderately reduced plant stature, leaf initiation rate and flowering time. To better understand HUA2 activity, and to test whether redundancy with similar genes underlies the absence of strong phenotypes in HUA2 mutant plants, we identified and subsequently characterized three additional HUA2-LIKE (HULK) genes in Arabidopsis. These genes form two clades (HUA2/HULK1 and HULK2/HULK3), with members broadly conserved in both vascular and non-vascular plants, but not present outside the plant kingdom. Plants with progressively reduced HULK activity had increasingly severe developmental defects, and plants homozygous for loss-of-function mutations in all four HULK genes were not recovered. Multiple mutants displayed reproductive, embryonic and post-embryonic abnormalities, and provide detailed insights into the overlapping and unique functions of individual HULK genes. With regard to flowering time, opposing influences were apparent: hua2 hulk1 plants were early-flowering, while hulk2 hulk3 mutants were late-flowering, and hua2 acted epistatically to cause early flowering in all combinations. Genome-wide expression profiling of mutant combinations using RNA-Seq revealed complex transcriptional changes in seedlings, with FLC, a known target of HUA2, among the most affected. Our studies, which include characterization of HULK expression patterns and subcellular localization, suggest that the HULK genes encode conserved nuclear factors with partially redundant but essential functions associated with diverse genetic pathways in plants.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An atlas of over 90,000 conserved noncoding sequences provides insight into crucifer regulatory regions

  Nature Genetics · 2013-06-30 · 402 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Richard Mott

  Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens

  7 shared

• Richard M. Clark

  University of Utah

  7 shared

• Terezie Mandáková

  6 shared

• Martin A. Lysák

  Central European Institute of Technology – Masaryk University

  6 shared

• Magnus Nordborg

  Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology

  6 shared

• André Kahles

  SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

  5 shared

• Gary N. Drews

  University of Utah

  5 shared

• Edward J. Osborne

  Adaptive Biotechnologies (United States)

  5 shared

Education

• B.S.

  Creighton University

• M.D.

  University of Nebraska College of Medicine

• Other, Obstetrics and Gynecology

  University of Utah

Awards & honors

• Recognized for excellence in laparoscopic surgery at the Uni…