Maureen Hanson

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Maureen Hanson
Maureen Hanson.jpg
Alma mater Duke University (B.S)

Harvard University (Ph.D)

Harvard University (Postdoctoral Fellow)
AwardsLawrence Bogorad Award of the American Society of Plant Biologists (2006)
Cornell University Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Basic Research (2009)
Scientific career
FieldsPlant reproductive biology

Plant organelle biology

RNA editing

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
Institutions University of Virginia
Cornell University
Thesis The genetics and biochemistry of chloroplast ribosomes mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardi (1976)
Website https://hansonlab.org/ https://neuroimmune.cornell.edu/

Maureen Hanson is an American molecular biologist and Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. [1] She is a joint member of the Section of Plant Biology and Director of the Center for Enervating Neuroimmune Disease. Her research concerns gene expression in chloroplasts and mitochondria, photosynthesis, and the molecular basis of the disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

Contents

Early life and education

Hanson grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. She attended Duke University, where she received a B.S. degree in Botany. She completed a Ph.D. in Lawrence Bogorad's lab in the Department of Biology at Harvard University. [2] Subsequently, she held an National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship in Frederick M. Ausubel’s lab at Harvard.

Research and career

Hanson joined the faculty of the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, as Assistant Professor in 1979. There she studied the phenomenon of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), using the model system Petunia. With Ellora Young, she identified a mutant chimeric mitochondrial gene that encodes a toxic protein that results in abortion of pollen development. [3] Subsequently, most CMS-encoding genes have been found to be composed of abnormal chimeric gene fusions. [4] After she moved to Cornell in 1985 as Associate Professor, Stéphane Bentolila in her group used map-based cloning to find the dominant nuclear Restorer of Fertility (Rf) gene, [5] making Petunia the first plant to have both the CMS mitochondrial gene and nuclear restorer pair identified in the same species. The Petunia Rf gene was the first such gene to be identified as encoding a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein, part of a family now known to also be involved in organelle RNA editing and other types of RNA metabolism. Most of the Rf genes cloned from other species have been found to be PPR proteins.

Hanson’s group was the first to utilize GFP technology to label plastids and mitochondria in plants. As a result, Rainer Köhler in her group rediscovered plastid protrusions, [6] which had been observed as long ago as 1908, but not previously established as a genuine feature of plant cell biology. Hanson named these structures “stromules” and demonstrated that proteins flow through them and examined their tissue-specific abundance. [7] [8] Now it is known that these structures are involved in a number of phenomena, include plant defense responses. [9]

Hanson has also made many contributions to the understanding of C-to-U RNA editing in chloroplasts and plant mitochondria. [10] [11] Among these are the identification of several of the protein families whose members form the diverse set of editosomes, RNA/protein complexes that carry out editing in plant organelles. [12] [13] [14]

Hanson began working in the area of synthetic biology for improving photosynthesis in 2011. Since then, her lab has published on attempts to introduce cyanobacterial carboxysomes into plants and engineering Rubisco, with collaborating labs of Martin Parry (Lancaster, UK) and Stephen Long (U. Illinois). [15] [16] Her lab utilizes chloroplast transformation to modify plants. [17]

Due to personal interest in the disease, in 2009 Hanson initiated an additional research program on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Her group has increased the understanding of the disruptions at the molecular level that occur in this disease, which was long erroneously claimed to be a psychological illness. Her lab has demonstrated an altered gut microbiome [18] [19] and altered plasma metabolites, [20] [21] characterized mitochondrial genomes [22] and extracellular vesicles, observed abnormal cytokine networks, [23] and examined T cell metabolism in ME/CFS patients vs. controls [24]

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloroplast</span> Plant organelle that conducts photosynthesis

A chloroplast is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it in the energy-storage molecules ATP and NADPH while freeing oxygen from water in the cells. The ATP and NADPH is then used to make organic molecules from carbon dioxide in a process known as the Calvin cycle. Chloroplasts carry out a number of other functions, including fatty acid synthesis, amino acid synthesis, and the immune response in plants. The number of chloroplasts per cell varies from one, in unicellular algae, up to 100 in plants like Arabidopsis and wheat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symbiogenesis</span> Evolutionary theory holding that eukaryotic organelles evolved through symbiosis with prokaryotes

Symbiogenesis is the leading evolutionary theory of the origin of eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic organisms. The theory holds that mitochondria, plastids such as chloroplasts, and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells are descended from formerly free-living prokaryotes taken one inside the other in endosymbiosis. Mitochondria appear to be phylogenetically related to Rickettsiales bacteria, while chloroplasts are thought to be related to cyanobacteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastid</span> Plant cell organelles that perform photosynthesis and store starch

The plastid is a membrane-bound organelle found in the cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Examples include chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and leucoplasts.

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<i>Enterovirus</i> Genus of viruses

Enterovirus is a genus of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses associated with several human and mammalian diseases. Enteroviruses are named by their transmission-route through the intestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear gene</span> Gene located in the cell nucleus of a eukaryote

A nuclear gene is a gene that has its DNA nucleotide sequence physically situated within the cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. This term is employed to differentiate nuclear genes, which are located in the cell nucleus, from genes that are found in mitochondria or chloroplasts. The vast majority of genes in eukaryotes are nuclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of ME/CFS</span> Review of the topic

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Treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is variable and uncertain, and the condition is primarily managed rather than cured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controversies related to ME/CFS</span>

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is an illness with a long history of controversy. Some professionals within the medical community do not recognize ME/CFS as a genuine condition, nor is there agreement on its prevalence. There has been much disagreement over the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome, how it should be diagnosed, and how to treat it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinical descriptions of ME/CFS</span> Review of the topic

Clinical descriptions of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) vary. Different groups have produced sets of diagnostic criteria that share many similarities. The biggest differences between criteria are whether post-exertional malaise (PEM) is required, and the number of symptoms needed. The pathology of ME/CFS is unknown, and it can be a difficult condition to diagnose because there is no standard test, many symptoms are non-specific, and because doctors and patients may be unfamiliar with post-exertional malaise. Subgroup analysis suggests that, depending on the applied definition, CFS may represent a variety of conditions rather than a single disease entity.

Graded exercise therapy (GET) is a programme of physical activity that starts very slowly and gradually increases over time, intended as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome. Most public health bodies, including the CDC and NICE, consider it ineffective, and its safety is disputed. However, GET still enjoys support among a minority of clinicians and organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloroplast DNA</span> DNA located in cellular organelles called chloroplasts

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome</span> Medical condition

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating long-term medical condition. People with ME/CFS experience lengthy flare-ups of the illness following relatively minor physical or mental activity. This is known as post-exertional malaise (PEM) and is the hallmark symptom of the illness. Other core symptoms are a greatly reduced ability to do tasks that were previously routine, severe fatigue, and sleep disturbances. The baseline fatigue in ME/CFS does not improve much with rest. Orthostatic intolerance, memory and concentration problems, and chronic pain are common. About a quarter of people with ME/CFS are severely affected and unable to leave their bed or home.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-exertional malaise</span> Worsening of symptoms with activity

Post-exertional malaise (PEM), sometimes referred to as post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE), is a worsening of symptoms that occurs after minimal exertion. It is the hallmark symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and common in long COVID. PEM is often severe enough to be disabling, and is triggered by ordinary activities that healthy people tolerate. Typically, it begins 12–48 hours after the activity that triggers it, and lasts for days, but this is highly variable and may persist much longer. Management of PEM is symptom-based, and patients are recommended to pace their activities to avoid triggering PEM.

A plastid is a membrane-bound organelle found in plants, algae and other eukaryotic organisms that contribute to the production of pigment molecules. Most plastids are photosynthetic, thus leading to color production and energy storage or production. There are many types of plastids in plants alone, but all plastids can be separated based on the number of times they have undergone endosymbiotic events. Currently there are three types of plastids; primary, secondary and tertiary. Endosymbiosis is reputed to have led to the evolution of eukaryotic organisms today, although the timeline is highly debated.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-day CPET</span> Medical test for post-exertional malaise

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Andrew Melvin Ramsay (1901–1990) was a British physician, who is known for his research and advocacy on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic disease causing muscle weakness and cognitive dysfunction. Ramsay worked as a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in London during a mysterious 1955 disease outbreak of what later became known as ME. He studied the disease and similar outbreaks elsewhere. Work by Ramsay showed that although ME seldom caused death, the disease could be highly disabling.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maureen Hanson | Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics". mbg.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  2. ↑ National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir of Lawrence Bogorad
  3. ↑ Young, Ellora G.; Hanson, Maureen R. (1987-07-03). "A fused mitochondrial gene associated with cytoplasmic male sterility is developmentally regulated". Cell. 50 (1): 41–49. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(87)90660-x. ISSN   0092-8674. PMID   2885095. S2CID   22333195.
  4. ↑ Hanson, Maureen R.; Bentolila, Stéphane (2004-06-01). "Interactions of Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes That Affect Male Gametophyte Development". The Plant Cell. 16 (suppl 1): S154–S169. doi:10.1105/tpc.015966. ISSN   1040-4651. PMC   2643387 . PMID   15131248.
  5. ↑ Bentolila, S.; Alfonso, A. A.; Hanson, M. R. (2002-08-06). "A pentatricopeptide repeat-containing gene restores fertility to cytoplasmic male-sterile plants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 99 (16): 10887–10892. Bibcode:2002PNAS...9910887B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.102301599 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   125068 . PMID   12136123.
  6. ↑ Kohler, R. H. (1997-06-27). "Exchange of Protein Molecules Through Connections Between Higher Plant Plastids". Science. 276 (5321): 2039–2042. doi:10.1126/science.276.5321.2039. PMID   9197266.
  7. ↑ "Plastid tubules of higher plants are tissue-specific and developmentally regulated". Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 3 (3): 174. 2000. doi:10.1016/s1369-5266(00)80044-8. ISSN   1369-5266.
  8. ↑ Hanson, Maureen R.; Sattarzadeh, Amirali (2013-08-25). "Trafficking of Proteins through Plastid Stromules". The Plant Cell. 25 (8): 2774–2782. doi:10.1105/tpc.113.112870. ISSN   1040-4651. PMC   3784579 . PMID   23983219.
  9. ↑ Hanson, Maureen R.; Hines, Kevin M. (2018-01-01). "Stromules: Probing Formation and Function". Plant Physiology. 176 (1): 128–137. doi:10.1104/pp.17.01287. ISSN   0032-0889. PMC   5761818 . PMID   29097392.
  10. ↑ Lu, B.; Hanson, M. R. (1994-12-01). "A single homogeneous form of ATP6 protein accumulates in petunia mitochondria despite the presence of differentially edited atp6 transcripts". The Plant Cell. 6 (12): 1955–1968. doi:10.1105/tpc.6.12.1955. ISSN   1040-4651. PMC   160575 . PMID   7866035.
  11. ↑ Sun, Tao; Bentolila, Stephane; Hanson, Maureen R. (2016-11-01). "The Unexpected Diversity of Plant Organelle RNA Editosomes". Trends in Plant Science. 21 (11): 962–973. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2016.07.005 . ISSN   1360-1385. PMID   27491516.
  12. ↑ Bentolila, S.; Heller, W. P.; Sun, T.; Babina, A. M.; Friso, G.; van Wijk, K. J.; Hanson, M. R. (2012-05-29). "RIP1, a member of an Arabidopsis protein family, interacts with the protein RARE1 and broadly affects RNA editing". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (22): E1453–E1461. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1121465109 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   3365174 . PMID   22566615.
  13. ↑ Sun, T.; Germain, A.; Giloteaux, L.; Hammani, K.; Barkan, A.; Hanson, M. R.; Bentolila, S. (2013-03-19). "An RNA recognition motif-containing protein is required for plastid RNA editing in Arabidopsis and maize". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (12): E1169–E1178. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110E1169S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1220162110 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   3607000 . PMID   23487777.
  14. ↑ Sun, Tao; Shi, Xiaowen; Friso, Giulia; Van Wijk, Klaas; Bentolila, Stephane; Hanson, Maureen R. (2015-03-13). Copenhaver, Gregory P. (ed.). "A Zinc Finger Motif-Containing Protein Is Essential for Chloroplast RNA Editing". PLOS Genetics. 11 (3): e1005028. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005028 . ISSN   1553-7404. PMC   4359148 . PMID   25768119.
  15. ↑ Hanson, Maureen R.; Lin, Myat T.; Carmo‐Silva, A. Elizabete; Parry, Martin A. J. (2016). "Towards engineering carboxysomes into C3 plants". The Plant Journal. 87 (1): 38–50. doi:10.1111/tpj.13139. ISSN   1365-313X. PMC   4970904 . PMID   26867858.
  16. ↑ Lin, Myat T.; Occhialini, Alessandro; Andralojc, P. John; Devonshire, Jean; Hines, Kevin M.; Parry, Martin A. J.; Hanson, Maureen R. (2014). "β-Carboxysomal proteins assemble into highly organized structures in Nicotiana chloroplasts". The Plant Journal. 79 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1111/tpj.12536. ISSN   1365-313X. PMC   4080790 . PMID   24810513.
  17. ↑ Schmidt, Jennifer A.; McGrath, Justin M.; Hanson, Maureen R.; Long, Stephen P.; Ahner, Beth A. (2019-07-08). "Field-grown tobacco plants maintain robust growth while accumulating large quantities of a bacterial cellulase in chloroplasts". Nature Plants. 5 (7): 715–721. doi:10.1038/s41477-019-0467-z. ISSN   2055-0278. PMID   31285558. S2CID   195825707.
  18. ↑ Hanson, Maureen R.; Giloteaux, Ludovic (2017-04-01). "The gut microbiome in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis". The Biochemist. 39 (2): 10–13. doi: 10.1042/BIO03902010 . ISSN   0954-982X.
  19. ↑ Mandarano, Alexandra H.; Giloteaux, Ludovic; Keller, Betsy A.; Levine, Susan M.; Hanson, Maureen R. (2018-01-22). "Eukaryotes in the gut microbiota in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome". PeerJ. 6: e4282. doi: 10.7717/peerj.4282 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   5784577 . PMID   29375937.
  20. ↑ Germain, Arnaud; Ruppert, David; Levine, Susan M.; Hanson, Maureen R. (2018-12-06). "Prospective Biomarkers from Plasma Metabolomics of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Implicate Redox Imbalance in Disease Symptomatology". Metabolites. 8 (4): 90. doi: 10.3390/metabo8040090 . PMC   6315598 . PMID   30563204.
  21. ↑ Germain, Arnaud; Barupal, Dinesh K.; Levine, Susan M.; Hanson, Maureen R. (2020-01-14). "Comprehensive Circulatory Metabolomics in ME/CFS Reveals Disrupted Metabolism of Acyl Lipids and Steroids". Metabolites. 10 (1): 34. doi: 10.3390/metabo10010034 . PMC   7023305 . PMID   31947545.
  22. ↑ Billing-Ross, Paul; Germain, Arnaud; Ye, Kaixiong; Keinan, Alon; Gu, Zhenglong; Hanson, Maureen R. (2016-01-20). "Mitochondrial DNA variants correlate with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome". Journal of Translational Medicine. 14 (1): 19. doi: 10.1186/s12967-016-0771-6 . ISSN   1479-5876. PMC   4719218 . PMID   26791940.
  23. ↑ Giloteaux, Ludovic; O’Neal, Adam; Castro-Marrero, Jesús; Levine, Susan M.; Hanson, Maureen R. (2020-10-12). "Cytokine profiling of extracellular vesicles isolated from plasma in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot study". Journal of Translational Medicine. 18 (1): 387. doi: 10.1186/s12967-020-02560-0 . ISSN   1479-5876. PMC   7552484 . PMID   33046133.
  24. ↑ Mandarano, Alexandra H.; Maya, Jessica; Giloteaux, Ludovic; Peterson, Daniel L.; Maynard, Marco; Gottschalk, C. Gunnar; Hanson, Maureen R. (2020-02-10). "Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients exhibit altered T cell metabolism and cytokine associations". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 130 (3): 1491–1505. doi:10.1172/JCI132185. ISSN   0021-9738. PMC   7269566 . PMID   31830003.
  25. ↑ "New Members". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  26. ↑ "2021 NAS Election". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  27. ↑ Kronfeld, Shoshana (2017-03-28). "Announcing the 2017 ASPB Award Winners". Plant Science Today. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  28. ↑ "CALS Research and Extension Awards". CALS. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  29. ↑ "Excellence in Faculty Service". CALS. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  30. ↑ Ramanujan, Krishna (2006-09-05). "Plant biologists Maureen Hanson and Charles Stewart reap major awards for their research". Cornell Chronicle.
  31. ↑ "ASPB Pioneer Members".
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