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 Dr. Karen M. Snetselaar
Professor
Department of Biology
Director, Biology Graduate Program
Office - Rm 225 Science Center
Research Lab - Rm 206 Science Center
Phone: 610-660-1826
Lab: 610-660-3442
e-mail: ksnetsel@sju.edu
My personal web page is here.
Education:
- B.L.S (1989), from Iowa State University
- M.S. (1989) in Botany (Mycology), from Iowa State University
- Ph.D (1993) in Plant Pathology (Mycology), from University of Georgia.
Professional Experience:
- Assistant Professor (1993 - 2000), Associate Professor (2000 - 2003), and Professor (2003 - present) of Biology, Saint Joseph's University, Philaelphia, PA.
Courses Taught:
Research Interests:
Although I have worked with a number of different fungi, most work in the lab currently revolves around the fungus Ustilago maydis, which causes
smut disease of corn plants. Research students have been involved in several different projects. Field studies showed that pollination protects corn ears
from smut infection, and further field projects to study disease resistance are planned. An ongoing lab project carried out in collaboration with Dr. Michael McCann has resulted in isolation of dozens of U. maydis mutants
with developmental defects that prevent them from infecting plants. We are presently using molecular, genetic, and microscopic methods to analyze these mutants so we can learn more about the development of this
disease-causing fungus. Students working on a related project have generated temperature- sensitive mutants that we will use to study the cell cycle in U. maydis.
Recently students have begun investigating the signals controlling filament formation during mating and infection of the host by U. maydis. Aarthi
Gopinathna (MS'03, now in a Ph.D. program in Cell Biollogy at U. Penn) studied the role of the second messenger cAMP in filament formation and
found both positive and negative functions for it at various points in the developmental process. Carlos Carre, Jr. (MS'04) and Steve Lampro, '05
(now in a masters program at Thomas Jefferson University), examined the role of surface cues in appresorium development using leaf replicas and other approaches.
Two other students, Caroline Green '04 (now in PCOM medical school) and Lisa Murray, '06 (pursuing her MS in Biology at SJU in the Lankenau
program) continued the work started by Laura Gorgol, '03 (now in Cabrini College’s Campus Ministry), Ron Marchese, '04 (now in medical school)
and Kaitlin Petrella, '03 (a research associate at U. Penn), on the isolation and characterization of U. maydis from soil. They were joined in this
project by three elementary school teachers, Crystal Wierbowski, Sandy Whiteside and Mike Biddle, all from the Kearney Elementary School located in Philadelphia. They found that U. maydis exists in both a
spore-form and as a free-living yeast-like form in the soil.
Most recently, Lauren Vasta, '07 and Joe Jennings, '08, have worked on
the question of how the fungus chooses the sites of infection in the host plant. They began their work in the 2006 Summer Scholars program and are
contuing it in the spring of '07.
Visit the SJU Ustilago Research Page
Recent Presentations and Publications:
A selection of journal articles and abstracts from the past five years; undergraduate student authors are indicated with a * and M.S. students by **.
Kamper J, Kahmann R, Bolker M, Ma LJ, Brefort T, Saville BJ, Banuett F, Kronstad JW, Gold SE, Muller O, Perlin MH, Wosten HA, de Vries R, Ruiz-Herrera J, Reynaga-Pena CG, Snetselaar K, McCann M,
Perez-Martin J, Feldbrugge M, Basse CW, Steinberg G, Ibeas JI, Holloman W, Guzman P, Farman M, Stajich JE, Sentandreu R, Gonzalez-Prieto JM, Kennell JC, Molina L, Schirawski J, Mendoza-Mendoza A, Greilinger D,
Munch K, Rossel N, Scherer M, Vranes M, Ladendorf O, Vincon V, Fuchs U, Sandrock B, Meng S, Ho EC, Cahill MJ, Boyce KJ, Klose J, Klosterman SJ, Deelstra HJ, Ortiz-Castellanos L, Li W, Sanchez-Alonso P,
Schreier PH, Hauser-Hahn I, Vaupel M, Koopmann E, Friedrich G, Voss H, Schluter T, Margolis J, Platt D, Swimmer C, Gnirke A, Chen F, Vysotskaia V, Mannhaupt G, Guldener U, Munsterkotter M, Haase D,
Oesterheld M, Mewes HW, Mauceli EW, DeCaprio D, Wade CM, Butler J, Young S, Jaffe DB, Calvo S, Nusbaum C, Galagan J, Birren BW, 2006 Insights from the genome of the biotrophic fungal plant pathogen Ustilago maydis. Nature. Nov 2;444(7115):97-101.
Schirawski, J., Bohnert, H. U., Steinberg, G., Snetselaar, K., Adamikowa, L., and Kahmann, R. 2005. Endoplasmic reticulum glucosidase II is required for pathogenicity of Ustilago maydis. Plant Cell. 17(12):3532-43.
Mullin, J. M., Leatherman, J. M., Valenzano, M. C., Huerta, E. R., Verrechio, J., Smith, D. M., Snetselaar, K., Liu, M., Francis, M. K., and
Sell, C. 2005. Ras mutation impairs epithelial barrier function to a wide range of nonelectrolytes. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 16(12):5538-5550.
**Carre, Jr., C., M, McCann, and K. Snetselaar. 2004. Inducing Ustilago maydis infection structure in vitro. Meeting of the Mycological Society of America, Ashville, N.C.
**Dawley, M., **M. Seminack, M. McCann and K. Snetselaar. 2004. Characterization of a Co-enzyme A synthesis gene from Ustilago maydis.
Meeting of the Mycological Society of America, Ashville, N.C.
*Marchese, R., *J. McLaughlin, *L. Voisey, *L. Gorgol, M. McCann, and K. Snetselaar. 2004. Isolation of Ustilago maydis from soil. Meeting of
the Mycological Society of America, Ashville, N.C.
**Mothery, D., K. Snetselaar, and M. McCann. 2004. Functional complementation of an mRNA processing gene from Ustilago. Meeting of
the Mycological Society of America, Ashville, N.C.
Snetselaar, K. M., **A. Gopinathan, and M. McCann. 2004. Multiple roles of cAMP in filamentous growth of Ustilago maydis. Meeting of the
Mycological Society of America, Ashville, N.C.
*Fertala, J., and M. McCann. 2003. Cloning and characterization of the MET2 gene from Ustialgo maydis. Joint meeting of Mycological Society of
America and British Mycological Society. Asilomar, CA.
Snetselaar, K. M., **C. Carre, Jr., and M. McCann. 2003. Nuclear condition in Ustilago filaments and teliospores. Joint meeting of Mycological
Society of America and British Mycological Society. Asilomar, CA.
**Gopinathan, A., K. Snetselaar, and M. McCann. 2003. Ustilago maydis uac mutants elicit a host response in maize leaves. 22nd Fungal Genetics Conference, Asilomar, CA.
**Gopinathan, A., K. Snetselaar, and M. McCann (presented by **A. Gopinathan). 2002. Filaments formed by U. maydis cells unable to make
cAMP differ morphologically from mating and infection filaments. First International Ustilago maydis meeting, Marburgh, Germany.
Snetselaar, K.M. and M. McCann . 2002. Filamentous growth in Ustilago maydis. First International Ustilago maydis meeting, Marburgh, Germany.
Snetselaar, K. M., *M. A. Carfioli, and *K.M Cordisco. 2001. Pollination can protect maize ovaries from infection by Ustilago maydis, the corn smut fungus. Canadian Journal of Botany 79:1390-1399.
Snetselaar, K. M., and M. P. McCann. 2001. From bud to appressorium: Morphology of the Ustilago maydis transition from saprobic
to parasitic growth. Symposium presentation at the 2001 joint meeting of APS, MSA, SON. Abstract on line.
**Fischer, J. A., McCann, M.P., and Snetselaar, K. M. 2001. Methylation is involved in the U. maydis mating response. Fungal Genetics
and Biology. 34:21-35.
Snetselaar, K.M., and M. McCann. 2001. From bud to appressorium: Morphology of the Ustilago maydis transition from saprobic to parasitic growth. Inoculum 52:60.
*Rucker, E., *C. Carre, *J. Dougherty III, M. McCann and K. Snetselaar. 2001. Using auxotrophs of the corn smut fungus to identify
nutrients obtained from the plant by the pathogen during infection. In press. Proceedings National Conference on Undergraduate Research XV.
*Walmsley, D., M. McCann and K. Snetselaar. 2001. Using 2-D gel electrophoresis to identify proteins synthesized during mating in Ustilago maydis. In press. Proceedings National Conference on Undergraduate
Research XV.
Snetselaar, K. 2001. Early infection of maize by Ustilago maydis, presented to the Plant Pathology Department at Penn State University, State College, PA.
Snetselaar, K., S. Lee, *A. Nguyen and M. McCann. 2000. Using microdensitometry and image analysis to study nuclear cycle events in a plant
pathogenic fungus. Microsc. Microanal. 6: 686-687.
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