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Jeff Harper

 
Photo of Jeff Harper

Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Nevada/Mail Stop 330
1664 North Virginia Street
Reno,  Nevada   89557

 

Office: (775) 784-1349
Lab: 784-1288
Fax: 784-1419
Email: jfharper@unr.edu
Building: Howard Medical Science,  Office 222

 

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EDUCATION

B.S. 1980, University of Illinois (Urbana)
Ph.D. 1985, Washington University (St. Louis)

 
ACADEMIC & RESEARCH INTEREST

The Harper lab is interested in how a plant can use as few as 28,000 genes to develop and survive under extreme environmental conditions, such as cold, heat, drought and salt stress. A primary focus is on calcium signaling. The lab employs genetic, cell, bioinformatic, and biochemical approaches, using Arabidopsis and yeast as model systems.

Specific aims are focused on questions of enzyme structure and function for members of the following three gene families.

  • Calcium Dependent Protein Kinases (CDPKs). CDPKs have a unique structure defined by the presence of a calmodulin-like regulatory domain fused to the C-terminal end of the kinase. They are only found in plants and some protist, including the human parasite Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria.
     
  • Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Channels (CNGCs). These ion channels have been implicated in calcium signaling and are regulated by both cyclic nucleotides and calmodulin.
     
  • P-type ATPase Ion Pumps. These ion pumps are used to transport across membranes a wide variety of ions, including H+, Ca2+, Na+, and heavy metals. They are involved in ion homeostasis, nutrient acquisition from the soil, toxic ion efflux, and signal transduction.
 
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

 

Journals
Tunc-Ozdemir M, Tang C, Ishka MR, Brown E, Groves NR, Myers CT, Rato C, Poulsen LR, McDowell S, Miller G, Mittler R, Harper JF. 2013, A cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGC16) in pollen is critical for stress tolerance in pollen reproductive development, Plant Physiol. 2013 Feb;161(2):1010-20.  
Suzuki N, Miller G, Sejima H, Harper J, Mittler R 2013, Enhanced seed production under prolonged heat stress conditions in Arabidopsis thaliana plants deficient in cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase 2, Journal of Experimental Botany 64: 253-63  
Pedersen CN, Axelsen KB, Harper JF, and Palmgren MG. 2012, Evolution of plant p-type ATPases, Frontiers in Plant Science. 3:31  
Huynh TP, Mah V, Sampson VB, Chia D, Fishbein MC, Horvath S, Alavi M, Wu DC, Harper J, Sarafian T, Dubinett SM, Langhans SA, Goodglick L, Rajasekaran AK. 2012, Na,K-ATPase is a target of cigarette smoke and reduced expression predicts poor patient outcome of smokers with lung cancer., Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2012 Jun 1;302(11):  
Curran, et al.,, Harper, J. F. 2011, Disruption of the vacuolar calcium-ATPases in Arabidopsis results in the activation of a salicylic acid-dependent programmed cell death pathway, Frontiers in Plant Science  
Spalding, E., Harper, J. F. 2011, The ins and outs of cellular Ca transport., Current Opinion in Plant Biology  
Borusiac, et al., Harper, J. F. 2010, Disruption of the vacuolar calcium-ATPases in Arabidopsis results in the activation of a salicylic acid-dependent programmed cell death pathway., Plant Physiol. 154:1158-71  
Rajasekaran SA, Huynh TP, Wolle DG, Espineda CE, Inge LJ, Skay A, Lassman C, Nicholas SB, Harper JF, Reeves AE, Ahmed MM, Leatherman JM, Mullin JM, Rajasekaran AK. 2010, Na,K-ATPase subunits as markers for epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer and fibrosis., Mol Cancer Therapeutics 9:1515-24.  
Buescher E, Achberger T, Amusan I, Giannini A, Ochsenfeld C, Rus A, Lahner B, Hoekenga O, Yakubova E, Harper JF, Guerinot ML, Zhang M, Salt DE, Baxter IR 2010, Natural genetic variation in selected populations of Arabidopsis thaliana is associated with ionomic differences., PLoS One. 14;5(6):e11081  
Zinn, KE, M Tunc-Ozdemir, JF Harper, 2010, Temperature stress and plant sexual reproduction: uncovering the weakest links., Journal of Experimental Botany 61: 1959-1968  
Meyers, et al.,, Harper, J. F. 2009, Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinases Regulate Polarized Tip-Growth in Pollen Tubes., Plant Journal, 59, 528.  
Chang, et al.,, Harper, J. F. 2009, Proteomic profiling of tandem affinity purified 14-3-3 protein complexes in Arabidopsis thaliana., Proteomics, 9, 2967.  
Luhua, S., Ciftci-Yilmaz, S., Harper, J. F., Cushman, J. C., Mittler, R. 2008, Enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress in transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing proteins of unknown function., Plant Physiology, 148(1), 280-292.  
K., Harper, J. F., Winzeler, E. 2008, Gene expression signatures and small-molecule compounds link a protein kinase to Plasmodium falciparum motility., Nat Chem Bio, 4(6), 347-356.