Pogson Group - Chloroplast to nuclear signalling: light, drought and carotenoids
The overarching theme of our research is to determine the controls and regulators of communication between the chloroplast and nucleus. This includes discovery of genes and metabolites involved in epigenetics, RNA metabolism, chloroplast-nuclear signaling, carotenoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis and drought.
The Pogson Group plays a key role in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (PEB), a cutting edge research centre focused on better understanding the way in which plants interconvert forms of chemical energy in response to environmental change. PEB’s vision is to enhance plant energy efficiency by simultaneously optimising energy capture, conversion and use in changing environments to improve the sustainable productivity of plants. The Atkin, Borevitz and Pogson labs also collaborate in an (International Wheat Yield Partnership Grant) to improving yield in wheat by optimising energy use efficiency.
PEB has over 110 internationally competitive staff and students across four Australian Universities (ANU, UWA, UoA & LaTrobe) work together to define the complex system that determines overall energy efficiency in plants by discovering the key signals, 'gatekeeper' cells, and (epi)genetic controls that regulate this energy system and to manipulate these in combination in order to tune energy efficiency across the whole plant to enhance yields.
Accomplishments thus far include: In the last 5 years PEB has secured over $40 million in research funding (2014-2015) and published over 250 articles including key breakthroughs published in Nature, Cell, Science, PNAS & Plant Cell = more than 20% of all Australian publications in top-ranked plant science journals were authored or co-authored by PEB staff.
PEB is proud to support ANU Warwick Hillier Honours Scholarships and the Jan Anderson HDR Supplementary Scholarships. Further to these prestigious scholarships, PEB also offers Honours scholarships ($7K) and top-up scholarships for PhD students ($7K), in addition to well funded research, conference travel and graduate training programs.
Current grants
- International Wheat Yield Partnership looking at Energy Use Efficiency in Plants, funding provided by the Grains Research and Development Corporation. Jan 2016-Dec 2018
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (CE140100008). Jan 2014-Dec 2021.
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DP13 (Cazz…)
FCTC Innovation Fellows
ARC FCTC Chief Executive Officer
FCTC Project Officer
Group Leader
Postdoctoral Fellows
Honorary Professor
Divisional Visitors
PhD Students
Research Officer
Senior Technical Officer
Technical Assistants
Visiting Fellow
Selected publications
2011- 2014 publications, 56 publications since 2008 (see complete list)
2014
- Avendaño-Vázquez, AO, Cordoba, E, Llamas, E, San Román, C, Nisar, N, De la Torre, S, Ramos-Vega, M, de la Luz Gutiérrez-Nava, M, Cazzonelli, C, Pogson, BJ, and Leon (2014) An uncharacterised apocarotenoid-derived signal generated in zeta-carotene desaturase mutants controls leaf development, chloroplast and nuclear gene expression in Arabidopsis Plant Cell.
- Brown TB, Cheng R, Sirault XR, Rungrat T, Murray KD, Trtilek M, Furbank RT, Badger M, Pogson BJ, Borevitz JO. TraitCapture: genomic and environment modelling of plant phenomic data. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2014 Apr;18C:73-79. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2014.02.002. Epub 2014 Mar 16. Review.
- Van Norman JM, Zhang J, Cazzonelli CI, Pogson BJ, Harrison PJ, Bugg TD, Chan KX, Thompson AJ, Benfey PN. Periodic root branching in Arabidopsis requires synthesis of an uncharacterized carotenoid derivative. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Apr 1;111(13):E1300-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1403016111. Epub 2014 Mar 17. PMID: 24639533
- Nisar N, Cuttriss AJ, Pogson BJ, Cazzonelli CI. The promoter of the Arabidopsis PIN6 auxin transporter enabled strong expression in the vasculature of roots, leaves, floral stems and reproductive organs. Plant Signal Behav. 2014 Jan 31;9(1). pii: e27898. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:24487186
- Pogson BJ and Albrecht, V (2014) An overview of chloroplast biogenesis and development. IN Plastid Biology, Eds SM Theg and F-A Wollman, Advances in Plant Biology, Springer (in press).
- Estavillo, GM, Verhertbruggen, Y, Pogson, BJ, Heazlewood, J, Scheller, HV and Ito, J (2014) Isolation of the plant cytosolic fraction for proteomic analysis. Methods in Molecular Biology 1072: 453-67, PMID: 24136540.
2013
- Jung, H-S, Crisp, P, Estavillo, GM, Cole, B, Hong, F, Mockler, T, Pogson, BJ and Chory J (2013) A Subset of Heat Shock Transcription Factors Required for the Early Response of Arabidopsis to Excess Light. Proc. Natl. Acad. USA, online early doi:10.1073/pnas.1311632110.
- Albrecht-Borth, V, Fan, D, Collinge, D Marri, S, Kauss, D, Hu, Y, Liebers, M, Apel, K, Pfannschmidt, T Chow, WS, Pogson, BJ (2013) A novel proteinase, SCO4, is required for photosynthetic acclimation to higher light intensities in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology, online early doi:10.1104/pp.113.216036.
- Cazzonelli, CI, Vanstraelen, M, Yin, K Carron-Arthur, A, Nisar, N, Tarle, G, Cuttriss, AJ, Searle, IS, Simon, S, Benkova, E, Mathesius, U, Masle, J, Friml, J, and Pogson, BJ (2013) Role of the Arabidopsis PIN6 auxin transporter in auxin homeostasis and auxin-mediated development. PLoS ONE 8(7):e70069.
- Estavillo, GM, Verhertbruggen, Y, Pogson, BJ, Heazlewood, J, Scheller, HV and Ito, J (2013) Isolation of the plant cytosolic fraction for proteomic analysis. Methods in Molecular Biology.
- Caliandro, R, Nagel, KA, Kastenholz, B, Bassi, R Li, Z, Niyogi, KK, Pogson, BJ, Schurr U and Matsubura, S (2013) Effects of altered α- and β-branch carotenoid biosynthesis on photoprotection and whole-plant acclimation of Arabidopsis to photo-oxidative stress. Plant, Cell & Environment 36:438-453
- Carmody, M and Pogson, BJ (2013) Systemic photo-oxidative stress signaling. IN Long-Distance Systemic Signaling and Communication in Plants. Ed F. Baluska, Springer, Dordrecht pp 251-274.
- Pogson BJ and Albrecht, V (2012) An overview of chloroplast biogenesis and development. IN Plastid Biology, Eds SM Theg and F-A Wollman, Advances in Plant Biology, Springer (in press).
- Nisar, N, Verma, S, Pogson, BJ and Cazzonelli, CI (2013) Inflorescence stem grafting made easy in Arabidopsis. Plant Methods 8:50.
- Husen, J, Förster, B, Chow, WS, Pogson, BJ and Osmond, CB (2013) Decreased photochemical efficiency of Photosystem II following sunlight exposure of shade-grown leaves of avocado (Persea americana Mill.): because of, or in spite of, two kinetically distinct xanthophyll cycles? Plant Physiology 161:836-852 doi:10.1104/pp.112.209692.
- Chan, KX, Wirtz, M, Phua, SY, Estavillo, GM and Pogson, BJ (2013) Balancing metabolites in drought: the sulfur assimilation conundrum. Trends in Plant Science 18:18-29.
2012
- Gordon, MJ, Carmody, ME, Albrecht, V and Pogson, BJ (2012) Systemic and local responses to repeated HL stress-induced retrograde signaling in Arabidopsis. Frontiers in Plant Physiology 3:303 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2012.00303.>
- Estavillo, GM, Chan, KX, Phua, SY and Pogson, BJ (2012) Reconsidering the nature and mode of action of metabolite retrograde signals from the chloroplast. Frontiers in Plant Physiology 3:300 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2012.00300
- Matsubara, S, Förster, B, Waterman, M, Robinson, SA, Pogson, BJ, Gunning, B and Osmond, CB (2012) From ecophysiology to phenomics: some implications of photoprotection and shade-sun acclimation in situ for dynamics of thylakoids in vitro. Phil. Transactions Royal Society B doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0072
- Zhang, B, Carrie, C, Ivanova, A, Narsai, R, Murcha, MW, Duncan, O, Wang, Y, Law, SR, Albrecht, V, Pogson, BJ, Giraud, E, van Aken, O and Whelan J (2012) LETM proteins play a role in the accumulation of mitochondrially encoded proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana and AtLETM2 displays parent of origin effects. J. Biol. Chem. jbc.M112.383836. First Published on October 5, 2012, doi:10.1074/jbc.M112.383836.
- Gruissem, W, Lee, C-H, Oliver, M and Pogson, B (2012) The Global Plant Council: Increasing the impact of plant research to meet global challenges. J. Plant Biol. 55: 343-348/li>
- Williams, M, Lean, M, Pogson, B and Martin, C (2012) Plants, food and human health: You are what you eat? Plant Cell 24 (4) tpc.112.tt0412
- Nichol, CJ, Pieruschka, R, Takayama, K, Förster, B, Kolber, Z, Rascher, U, Grace, J, Robinson, SA, Pogson, BJ, and Osmond, CB (2012) Canopy conundrums: exploring the envelope of reversible down-regulation of photosynthesis in the outer and inner canopy to scale observations from the leaf to the landscape. Functional Plant Biology 39:1-24.
- Tanz, SK, Kilian, J, Johnsson, C, Apel, K, Small, ID, Harter, K, Wanke, K, Pogson, BJ and Albrecht, V (2012) The SCO2 protein disulphide isomerase is required for thylakoid biogenesis and interacts with LCHB1 chlorophyll a/b binding proteins which affects chlorophyll biosynthesis in Arabidopsis seedlings. Plant Journal 69: 743-54. (featured article and cover)
2011
- Estavillo, GM, Crisp, PA, Pornsiriwong, W, Wirtz, M, Collinge, D, Carrie, C, Giraud, E, Whelan, J, David, P, Javot, H, Brearley, C, Hell, R, Marin, E and Pogson, BJ (2011) Evidence for a SAL1-PAP Chloroplast Retrograde Pathway that Functions in Drought and High Light Signaling in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 23: 3992-4012
- Cuttriss, AJ, Cazzonelli, CI, Wurtzel, ET and Pogson, BJ (2011) Vitamin A (carotenoids). IN Biosynthesis of vitamins in Plants, Eds F. Rébeillé and R. Douce, Advances in Botanical Research
- Hirsch J, Misson J, Crisp PA, David P, Bayle V, Estavillo GM, Javot H, Chiarenza S, Mallory AC, Maizel A, Declerck M, Pogson BJ, Vaucheret H, Crespi M, Desnos T, Thibaud M-C, Nussaume L, Marin E (2011) A Novel fry1 Allele Reveals the Existence of a Mutant Phenotype Unrelated to 5'->3' Exoribonuclease (XRN) Activities in Arabidopsis thaliana. Roots. PLoS ONE 6(2): e16724
- Förster, B, Pogson, BJ and Osmond CB (2011) Lutein from de-epoxidation of lutein epoxide replaces zeaxanthin to sustain an enhanced capacity for non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in avocado shade leaves in the dark. Plant Physiol. 156: 393-403.
- Pogson, BJ, and Albrecht, V (2011) Genetic dissection of chloroplast biogenesis and development: an overview. Plant Physiol. 155:1545-1551.
- *Woo, NS, *Gordon, MJ, Graham, SR, Rossel, JB, Badger, MR and Pogson, BJ (2011) A mutation in the purine biosynthetic enzyme ATASE2 impacts high light signalling and acclimation responses in green and chlorotic sectors of Arabidopsis leaves. Functional Plant Biology 38:401-419.
- Albrecht V, Estavillo GM, Cuttriss AJ and Pogson BJ (2011) Identifying chloroplast biogenesis and signalling mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Methods in Molecular Biology 684:257-72.
Selected earlier publications
- Albrecht, V, Šimková, K, Carrie, C, Delannoy, E, Giraud, E Whelan, J, Small, I Apel, K, Badger, M and Pogson, BJ (2010) The cytoskeleton and the peroxisomal-targeted SNOWY COTYLEDON 3 protein are required for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 22(10):3423-38.
- Che, P, Bussell, JD Zhou, W Estavillo, G, Pogson, BJ, Smith SM (2010) Signaling from the Endoplasmic Reticulum Activates Brassinosteroid Signaling and Promotes Acclimation to Stress in Arabidopsis. Science Signaling 3 (141), ra69. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2001140].
- Cazzonelli CI and Pogson BJ. (2010) A balance between source and sink: regulation of carotenoid composition in plants. Trends in Plant Science 15(5): 266-274
- Cazzonelli, CI, Cuttriss, AJ, Cossetto, SB, Pye, W, Whelan, J, Finnegan, J, Turnbull, C and Pogson, BJ (2009) Epigenetic regulation of carotenoid composition in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 21: 39-53.
- Wilson, PB, Estavillo, GM, Field, KJ, Carroll, AJ, Pornsiriwong, W, Howell, KA, Lake, JA, Millar, AH, von Caemmerer, S, Pogson, BJ (2009) The nucleotidase/phosphatase, SAL1, is a negative regulator of drought tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal 58: 299-317
- Delannoy, E, Le Ret, M, Faivre-Nitschke, SE, Estavillo, GM, Bergdoll, M, Taylor, NL, Pogson, BJ, Small, ID, Imbault, P, and Gualberto, JM (2009) Arabidopsis tRNA adenosine deaminase (TADA) is responsible for editing the wobble nucleotide of chloroplast tRNAArg(ACG), a modification essential for efficient chloroplast translation. Plant Cell 21: 2058-2071
- Millar, AH, Carrie, C, Pogson, BJ and Whelan J (2009) Exploring the function:location nexus - using multiple lines of evidence in defining the subcellular location of plant proteins. Plant Cell 21: 1625-1631.
- Rossel, JB Wilson, PB, Hussain, D, Woo, NS, Gordon, MJ, Mewett, OP, Howell, KA, Whelan, J, Kazan, K, Pogson, BJ (2007) Systemic and Intracellular Response to Photooxidative stress in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 19: 4091-4110. (ISI highly cited)
- Pogson, B.J., Woo, NS, Förster B and Small, ID (2008) Plastid signalling to the nucleus and beyond. Trends in Plant Science 13 (11): 602-609 (ISI highly cited)
- DellaPenna, D. and Pogson, B.J. (2006) Vitamin synthesis in plants: tocopherols and carotenoids. Annual Review of Plant Biology 57: 711-738 (ISI highly cited)
- Millgate, A.G., Pogson, B.J., Wilson, I.W., Zenk, M.H., Gerlach, W.L., Fist, A.J. and Larkin, P.J. (2004) A morphine-free mutant of opium poppy - changing the poppy analgesic industry. Nature 431:413-414.
- Park H., Kreunen S.S., Cuttriss, A.J., DellaPenna, D., Pogson B.J. (2002) Identification of the carotenoid isomerase provides insight into carotenoid biosynthesis, prolamellar body formation and photomorphogenesis. Plant Cell 14: 321-332. (ISI highly cited)
- Pogson B.J., Niyogi K.K., Björkman O., and DellaPenna D. (1998) Altered xanthophyll compositions adversely affect chlorophyll accumulation and nonphotochemical quenching in Arabidopsis mutants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 13324-29.
- Pogson B.J., McDonald K., Truong M., Britton G., and DellaPenna D. (1996) Arabidopsis carotenoid mutants demonstrate lutein is not essential for photosynthesis in higher plants. Plant Cell 8: 1627-1639.
All publications

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