Vernonica Franklin-Tong

Noni Franklin-Tong FRS
Born	Vernonica Elsa Tong London
Alma mater	University of Birmingham
Scientific career
Fields	Self-incompatibility Signalling Cytoskeleton Programmed cell death [1]
Institutions	Umeå University University of Edinburgh
Thesis	The genetics of self-incompatibility in Papaver rhoeas L.  (1986)
Website	www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/biosciences/franklin-tong-noni.aspx

Vernonica "Noni" Elsa Franklin-Tong FRS is an English plant cell biologist who is Emeritus Professor at the University of Birmingham. She is known for her studies on self-incompatibility in Papaver rhoeas . In 2021 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. ^{[2] [3]}

Early life and education

Franklin-Tong was born in London. ^[4] She was an undergraduate student at the University of Birmingham, where she majored in biological sciences. She remained at Birmingham for her graduate studies, where she completed a PhD on the genetics of self-incompatibility in Papaver rhoeas in 1986. ^[5]

Research and career

Franklin-Tong was awarded a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) advanced fellowship. ^[4] In 1997, she was appointed a lecturer at the University of Birmingham, and promoted to chair in 2004. Her research ^{[1] [6] [7]} investigates the cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the cell-cell recognition system of self-incompatibility in Papaver rhoeas. ^[8] Self-incompatibility prevents inbreeding through the recognition and inhibition of a flower's own pollen, ultimately determining the reproductive success of flowering plants. ^{[4] [3]}

Franklin-Tong developed an in vitro bioassay that allowed for the first investigations into the cell biology of self-incompatibility, unravelling the mechanisms that underpin the rejection of pollen that is not compatible. She identified an intricate intracellular signalling network that regulates this self-incompatibility and culminates in cell death. ^[4]

The pollen S-determinant (PrpS) can be functionally expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana , a model plant that is self-compatibile. ^[9] When transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana pollen is exposed to recombinant Papaver rhoeas a similar response occurs to those detected in incompatible Papaver rhoeas pollen. This indicates that PrpS is a species with no self-incompatibility that diverged over one hundred million years ago. ^[4]

Selected publications

• W G van Doorn; E P Beers; J L Dangl; et al. (15 April 2011). "Morphological classification of plant cell deaths". Cell Death & Differentiation . 18 (8): 1241–1246. doi:10.1038/CDD.2011.36. ISSN   1350-9047. PMC   3172093 . PMID   21494263. Wikidata   Q37865383.
• Vernonica E. Franklin-Tong (1 April 1999). "Signaling and the modulation of pollen tube growth". The Plant Cell (in English and English). 11 (4): 727–738. doi:10.1105/TPC.11.4.727. ISSN   1040-4651. PMID   10213789. Wikidata   Q95297242.
• Jason J. Rudd; Vernonica E. Franklin-Tong (July 2001). "Unravelling response-specificity in Ca2+ signalling pathways in plant cells". New Phytologist . 151 (1): 7–33. doi:10.1046/J.1469-8137.2001.00173.X. ISSN   0028-646X. Wikidata   Q104903614.
• Thomas Dresselhaus; Noni Franklin-Tong (July 2013). "Male-female crosstalk during pollen germination, tube growth and guidance, and double fertilization". Molecular Plant. 6 (4): 1018–36. doi:10.1093/MP/SST061. ISSN   1674-2052. PMID   23571489. Wikidata   Q26829569.

Personal life

Franklin-Tong was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. ^[4]

References

1. Vernonica Franklin-Tong publications indexed by Google Scholar
2. "Vernonica Franklin-Tong | Royal Society". royalsociety.org.
3. "Royal Society recognizes the outstanding contribution of local woman to science research". tenby-today.co.uk. Tenby Observer. Retrieved 2021-05-16.^{[ dead link ]}
4. "Professor Noni Franklin-Tong". birmingham.ac.uk. University of Birmingham. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
5. Tong, Vernonica Elsa (1986). The genetics of self-incompatibility in Papaver rhoeas L. (PhD thesis). University of Birmingham. OCLC   911146126.
6. Vernonica Franklin-Tong publications from Europe PubMed Central
7. Vernonica Franklin-Tong publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
8. "Breakthrough in breeding technologies". birmingham.ac.uk. University of Birmingham. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
9. Anon (2010). "Investigating the PrpS-PrsS (pollen & pistil SI determinant) interaction". ukri.org. UK Research and Innovation . Retrieved 2021-05-16.