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David Baum

Associate Professor of Botany and Genetics

David Baum
Lab Home Page:
Baum Lab
Address:
340 Birge Hall
Telephone:
265-5385
Email:
dbaum@wisc.edu
Research Fields:
Arabidopsis
Developmental Genetics
Population/Evolution

PhD. Washington University (1991)

Postdoctoral Research: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991-1994

Research Interests

Molecular basis of plant morphological evolution; phylogenetics; evolutionary developmental genetics

Research Description

My goal is to understand how plant form evolves as a function of changes in developmental regulatory genes and to relate this to the functioning of plants in their natural environments. To achieve this my lab conducts research on a number of plants groups using a diversity of experimental strategies including developmental genetics, transgenetics, phylogenetics, pollination ecology, and phylogenetic analysis. One major project is focused on inflorescence evolution among close relatives of Arabidopsis in the Brassicaceae. This project involves studies of gene expression in species with altered plant architecture and introducing candidate genes into Arabidopsis by transformation to evaluate evolutionary changes in gene function. We are also beginning work in the field of transgenomics: moving genomic fragments systematically between species to search for dominant effects on plant phenotype. Other projects include phylogenetics of the cotton clade (Malvaceae) and speciation in tropical plants.

Representative Publications

  • Sliwinski, M. K., White, M.A., Maizel, A., Weigel, D. and Baum, D. A. 2006. Evolutionary divergence of LFY function in the mustards Arabidopsis thaliana and Leavenworthia crassa. Plant Molecular Biology 62: 279-289.
  • DeWitt Smith, S. and Baum, D. A. 2006. Phylogenetics of the florally-diverse Andean clade Iochrominae (Solanaceae). American Journal of Botany 93: 1140-1153.
  • Baum, D. A. and Hileman, L.C. 2006. Genetic model for the origin of flowers. Chap. 1 in “Flowering and its manipulation” (C. Ainsworth, ed.), Blackwell Publishing, Sheffield, UK.
  • Baum, D. A., DeWitt Smith, S. and Donovan, S. S. 2005. The tree thinking challenge. Science, 310: 979-980 (Perspectives).
  • Baum, D. A., Yoon, H. S. and Oldham, R. L. 2005. Molecular evolution of the transcription factor LEAFY in Brassicaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37:1-14.