Research Interests

Plant Evo-Devo

I am fascinated by the diversity of shape and form present in flowering plants. Research in my lab is focused on understanding the molecular underpinnings of this diversity – both how it develops and how it evolves. We use the tools and techniques of both evolutionary and developmental biology to uncover the genetic networks underlying plant development, as well as to assess how these networks have changed through the course of evolution. Right now, we're leveraging the genetic systems available in the grasses to assess the function, across evolutionary time, of variable protein-protein interactions in floral development.

Representative Publications

Bartlett, M.E., Thompson, B., Brabazon, H., Del Gizzi, R., Zhang, T., and Whipple, C.J. 2016. Evolutionary dynamics of floral homeotic transcription factor protein-protein interactions. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33: 1486-1501.

Je, B.I., Gruel, J., Eveland, A.L., Lee, Y.K., Bommert, P., Meeley, R., Bartlett, M.E., Komatsu, M., Sakai, H., Jonsson, H., and Jackson, D.P. 2016. Signaling from maize organ primordia via FASCIATED EAR3 regulates stem cell proliferation and yield traits. Nature Genetics, doi: 10.1038/ng.3567.

Bartlett, M.E.**, Williams, S.K., Taylor, Z., Deblasio, S., Goldshmidt, A., Hall, D.H., Schmidt, R.J., Jackson, D.P., and Whipple, C.J. 2015. The Maize PI/GLO Ortholog Zmm16/sterile tassel silky ear1 Interacts with the Zygomorphy and Sex Determination Pathways in Flower Development. The Plant Cell, 27: 3081-3098. **joint first authors

Bartlett, M.E., Thompson, B. 2014. Meristem identity and phyllotaxis in inflorescence development. Frontiers in Plant Science 5. (Invited Review)

Bartlett, M.E. and Whipple, C.J. 2013. Protein change in plant evolution: tracing one thread connecting molecular and phenotypic diversity. Frontiers in Plant Science, 4: 382.

Cron, G.**, Pirone, C.**, Bartlett, M.E., Kress, J., and Specht, C.D. 2012. A phylogeny of the Strelitziaceae. Systematic Botany, 37: 606-619. **joint first authors

Bartlett, M.E. and Specht, C.D. 2011. Changes in expression pattern of the TEOSINTE BRANCHED1-like genes in the Zingiberales provide a mechanism for evolutionary shifts in symmetry across the order. American Journal of Botany, 98: 227-243.

Bartlett, M.E. and Specht, C.D. 2010. Evidence for the involvement of GLOBOSA-like gene duplications and expression divergence in the evolution of floral morphology in the Zingiberales. New Phytologist, 187: 521-541.

Specht, C.D. and Bartlett, M.E. 2009. Flower Evolution. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 40: 217-43.

Kirchoff, B.K., Lagomarsino, L.P., Newman, W.H., Bartlett, M.E. and Specht, C.D. 2009. Early floral development of Heliconia latispatha (Heliconiaceae), a key taxon for understanding the evolution of flower development in the Zingiberales. American Journal of Botany, 96: 580-593.

Bartlett, M.E., Kirchoff, B. and Specht, C.D. 2008. Epi-illumination microscopy linked to in situ hybridization and its utility in the study of evolution and development in non-model species. Development, Genes and Evolution, 218: 273-279.