Tobias Baskin
· Professor, BiologyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst · Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior
Active 1985–2025
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About
Professor Tobias Baskin leads research in the Baskin Lab within the Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, focusing on growth and morphogenesis in plants. His research aims to understand anisotropic growth in plants by studying key cellular processes such as cell division, cell elongation, cortical microtubules, and cell wall properties. The lab employs a variety of techniques including electron, confocal, and light microscopy, molecular biology, growth kinetics analysis software, and drug studies to investigate these phenomena. Historically, the primary experimental material has been the plant root, but recent work has expanded to include tobacco BY2 cells. Additionally, Professor Baskin's research explores root physiology, particularly the relationships between cell division and expansion, with a focus on how the root of Arabidopsis thaliana acclimates to moderate temperatures.
Research topics
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- Agronomy
- Biophysics
- Forestry
- Botany
- Materials science
- Social psychology
- Chemistry
Selected publications
Root hydrotropism is controlled via a cortex-specific growth mechanism
Nature Plants · 2017-05-08 · 257 citations
articleOpen accessCurrent Biology · 2018-07-26 · 72 citations
articleOpen accessMother trees, altruistic fungi, and the perils of plant personification
Trends in Plant Science · 2023 · 35 citations
Scientific Reports · 2017-11-03 · 14 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorAbstract The mechanism of cellulose synthesis has been studied by characterizing the motility of cellulose synthase complexes tagged with a fluorescent protein; however, this approach has been used exclusively on the hypocotyl of Arabidopsis thaliana . Here we characterize cellulose synthase motility in the model grass, Brachypodium distachyon . We generated lines in which mEGFP is fused N-terminal to BdCESA3 or BdCESA6 and which grew indistinguishably from the wild type (Bd21-3) and had dense f…
The Plant Journal · 2023-08-07 · 10 citations
articleOpen accessPlant cells and organs grow into a remarkable diversity of shapes, as directed by cell walls composed primarily of polysaccharides such as cellulose and multiple structurally distinct pectins. The properties of the cell wall that allow for precise control of morphogenesis are distinct from those of the individual polysaccharide components. For example, cellulose, the primary determinant of cell morphology, is a chiral macromolecule that can self-assemble in vitro into larger-scale structures of…
Recent grants
Regulation of Division and Elongation During Root Growth
NSF · $485k · 2003–2007
NSF · $102k · 2008–2013
Collaborative Research: Dynamic zonation in the plant root
NSF · $565k · 2021–2026
Frequent coauthors
- 10 shared
Hari Shroff
Janelia Research Campus
- 10 shared
Winslow R. Briggs
Department of Plant Biology
- 9 shared
Eric M. Kramer
Bard College at Simon's Rock
- 9 shared
Moritoshi Iino
Osaka City University
- 9 shared
Kannappan Palaniappan
University of Missouri
- 8 shared
Yijun Su
National Institutes of Health
- 7 shared
Heidi L. Rutschow
- 7 shared
Alex Bannigan
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Education
- 1980
B.S.
Yale
- 1986
Ph.D.
Stanford University
- 1987
Other, Postdoctoral
University of California, Berkeley
- 1990
Other, Postdoctoral
Australian National University
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