2000 – 2007: Research Associate, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, NY
1999 – 2000: Research Associate, Department of Horticulture, Texas A&M University
1995 – 1999: Postdoctoral Fellow, Plant Science Division, University of Nottingham, UK
1991 – 1995: Ph.D., Plant Science Division, University of Nottingham, UK
1988 – 1991: B.Sc., Plant Physiology, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

Courses Taught:

HORT 403, Handling and Storage of Horticultural Crops

Research Interests:

Fleshy fruits are an essential component of the human diet providing sources of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. These nutritional attributes are only realized following a wide array of biochemical changes that serve to convert an inedible unripe fruit into a fruit that is nutrient rich and palatable. Fleshy fruits are highly diverse, they differ in size, shape, color, texture and flavor. However, despite this diversity there are evolutionary conserved changes that accompany ripening in many species including changes in color, increased softening, accumulation of sugars and the production of aroma compounds. The commonality of these processes suggest that there are underlying genetic mechanisms that regulate ripening in diverse species. The research goal of my laboratory is to contribute to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms that influence fruit ripening and quality. To achieve these goals we are using tomato as a model system coupled with forward genetic approaches to identify loci that impact ripening and quality. To date we have identified the genes for four loci that influence different aspects of the ripening process including ethylene response, timing of the onset of ripening and aspects of fruit quality. The genes that we have discovered are now the subject of current research using a range of genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches to ascertain their functions and identify how they participate in fruit ripening and plant development. In addition we are continuing our genetic approach through targeting several other loci that alter different aspects of fruit quality.  

Publications:

Barry CS, Giovannoni JJ. (2007) Ethylene and fruit ripening. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. 26: 143 – 159. 

Barry CS, Giovannoni JJ. (2006) Ripening in the tomato Green-ripe mutant is inhibited by ectopic expression of a protein that disrupts ethylene signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 103: 7923-7928.  

Barry CS, McQuinn R, Thompson AJ, Seymour GB, Grierson D, Giovannoni JJ (2005) Ethylene insensitivity conferred by the Green-ripe (Gr) and Never-ripe 2 (Nr-2) mutants of tomato. Plant Physiol 138: 267-275.

Adams-Phillips L, Barry C, Giovannoni J. (2004) Signal transduction systems regulating fruit ripening. Trends In Plant Science 9: 331-338.

Adams-Phillips L, Barry C, Kannan P, Leclercq J, Bouzayen M, Giovannoni J (2004) Evidence that CTR1-mediated ethylene signal transduction in tomato is encoded by a multigene family whose members display distinct regulatory features. Plant Mol Biol 54: 387-404.

Liu Y, Roof S, Ye Z, Barry C, Van Tuinen A, Vrebalov J, Bowler C, Giovannoni J (2004) Manipulation of light signal transduction as a means of modifying fruit nutritional quality in tomato. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101: 9897-9902.

Moeder W, Barry CS, Tauriainen A, Betz C, Tuomainen J, Utriainen M, Grierson D, Sandermann H, Langebartels C, Kangasjärvi J (2002) Ethylene synthesis regulated by bi-phasic induction of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase genes is required for H2O2 accumulation and cell death in ozone-exposed tomato. Plant Physiol 130: 1918-1926.

Barry CS, Fox EA, Yen H-C, Lee S, Ying T-J, Grierson D, Giovannoni JJ (2001) Analysis of the ethylene response in the epinastic (epi) mutant of tomato. Plant Physiol 127: 58-66.

Barry CS, Llop-Tous I, Grierson D (2000) The regulation of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase gene expression during the transition from system-1 to system-2 ethylene synthesis in tomato. Plant Physiol 123: 979-986.

Llop-Tous I, Barry CS, Grierson D (2000) Regulation of ethylene biosynthesis in response to pollination in tomato flowers. Plant Physiol. 123: 971-978.

Thompson AJ, Tor M, Barry CS, Vrebalov J, Orfila C, Jarvis MC, Giovannoni JJ, Grierson D, Seymour GB (1999) Molecular and genetic characterisation of a novel pleiotropic tomato-ripening mutant. Plant Physiol. 120: 383-389.

Griffiths A, Barry CS, Alpuche-Solis A, Grierson D (1999) Ethylene and developmental signals regulate expression of lipoxygenase genes during tomato fruit ripening. J. Ex. Bot. 50: 793-798.

Cooper W, Bouzayen M, Hamilton AJ, Barry CS, Rossall S, Grierson D (1998) Use of transgenic plants to study the role of ethylene and polygalacturonase during infection of tomato fruit by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Plant Pathology 47: 308-316.

Blume B, Barry CS, Hamilton AJ, Bouzayen M, Grierson D (1997) Identification of transposon-like elements in non-coding regions of tomato ACC oxidase genes. Mol. Gen. Genet. 254: 297-303.

Barry CS, Blume B, Bouzayen M, Cooper W, Hamilton AJ, Grierson D  (1996) Differential expression of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase gene family of tomato. Plant Journal 9: 525-535.

  DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE
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  East Lansing, MI  48824-1325

  This page was last edited in 10/01/07 .
  Please send your comments to Ms. Sandy Allen allens@msu.edu