Staff profile

Research Interests

I have a long-standing interest in plant developmental biology. My current research focuses on understanding the development of plant vascular tissue. The developing vasculature is characterised by coordinated cell division and differentiation, and high levels of tissue organization, making it an ideal model for studying developmental biology. The rates of cell division and differentiation are influenced by a range of developmental cues, which we aim to identify and characterise in my lab.

• Durham Centre for Crop Improvement Technology
• Molecular Plant Sciences

Chapter in book

• Etchells, J. P. & Turner, S. R. (2009). Lateral Meristems. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Wiley.

Edited book

• de Lucas, M. & Etchells, J. P. (2017). Xylem. Methods in Molecular Biology. Humana Press.

Journal Article

• Bagdassarian, K.S., Etchells, J.P. & Savage, N.S. (2023). A mathematical model integrates diverging PXY and MP interactions in cambium development. in silico Plants 5(1): diad003.
• Ghosh, S., Nelson, J.F., Cobb, G.M.C., Etchells, J.P. & de Lucas, M. (2022). Light regulates xylem cell differentiation via PIF in Arabidopsis. Cell Reports 40(3): 111075.
• Bagdassarian, K. S., Connor, K. A., Jermyn, I. H. & Etchells, J. P. (2020). Versatile method for quantifying and analyzing morphological differences in experimentally obtained images. Plant Signaling & Behavior 15: 1693092.
• Smit, M., McGregor, S., Sun, H., Gough, C., Bågman, A.-M., Soyars, C. L., Kroon, J. T. M., Gaudinier, A., Williams, C. J., Yang, X., Nimchuk, Z. L., Weijers, D., Turner, S. R., Brady, S. M. & Etchells, J. P. (2020). A PXY-Mediated Transcriptional Network Integrates Signaling Mechanisms to Control Vascular Development in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 32(2): 319-335.
• Wang, Ning, Bagdassarian, K. S., Doherty, R. E., Kroon, J. T., Connor, K. A., Wang, X. Y., Wang, W., Jermyn, I. H., Turner, S. R. & Etchells, J. P. (2019). Organ-specific genetic interactions between paralogues of the PXY and ER receptor kinases enforce radial patterning in Arabidopsis vascular tissue. Development 146(10): 177105.
• Campbell, L., Etchells, J. P., Cooper, M., Kumar, M. & Turner, S. R. (2018). An essential role for Abscisic acid in the regulation of xylem fibre differentiation. Development 145: dev.161992.
• Turco, G.M., Kajala, K., Kunde-Ramamoorthy, G., Ngan, C-Y., Olson, A., Deshphande, S., Tolkunov, D., Waring, B., Stelpflug, S., Klein, P., Schmutz, J., Kaeppler, S., Ware, D., Wei, C-L., Etchells, J.P. & Brady, S.M. (2017). DNA methylation and gene expression regulation associated with vascularization in Sorghum bicolor. New Phytologist 214(3): 1213-1229.
• Guo, X., Wang, J., Gardner, M., Fukuda, H., Kondo, Y., Etchells, J. P., Wang, X. & Goellner Mitchum, M. (2017). Identification of cyst nematode B-type CLE peptides and modulation of the vascular stem cell pathway for feeding cell formation. PLoS Pathogens 13(2): e1006142.
• Etchells, J. Peter, Mishra, Laxmi S., Kumar, Manoj, Campbell, Liam & Turner, Simon R. (2015). Wood Formation in Trees Is Increased by Manipulating PXY-Regulated Cell Division. Current Biology 25(8): 1050-1055.
• Etchells, J. P., Provost, C. M., Mishra, L. & Turner, S. R. (2013). WOX4 and WOX14 act downstream of the PXY receptor kinase to regulate plant vascular proliferation independently of any role in vascular organisation. Development 140(10): 2224-2234
• Etchells, J. P., Moore, L., Jiang, W. Z., Prescott, H., Capper, R., Saunders, N., Bhatt, A. M. & Dickinson, H. G. (2012). A role for BELLRINGER in cell wall development is supported by loss-of-function phenotypes. BMC Plant Biology 12: 212.
• Etchells, J. P., Provost, C. M. & Turner, S. T. (2012). Plant vascular cell division is maintained by an interaction between PXY and ethylene signalling. PLoS Genetics 8(11): e1002997.
• Etchells, J. P. & Turner, S. T. (2010). The PXY-CLE41 receptor ligand pair defines a multifunctional pathway that controls the rate and orientation of vascular cell division. Development 137(5): 767-774.
• Atanassov, I. I., Atanassov, I. I., Etchells, J. P. & Turner, S. R. (2009). A simple, flexible and efficient PCR-fusion/Gateway cloning procedure for gene fusion, site-directed mutagenesis, short sequence insertion and domain deletions and swaps. Plant Methods
• Pinon, V., Etchells, J. P., Rossignol, P., Collier, S. A., Arroyo, J. M., Martienssen, R. A. & Byrne, M. E. (2008). Three PIGGYBACK genes that specifically influence leaf patterning encode ribosomal proteins. Development 135(7): 1315-1324.
• Bhatt, A. M., Etchells, J. P., Canales, C., Lagodienko, A. & Dickinson, H. (2004). VAAMANA – A Bel 1 like Homeodomain Protein, interacts with KNOX proteins BP and STM and Regulates Inflorescence Stem Growth in Arabidopsis. Gene 103-111.

Other (Print)

• Turley, E.K. & Etchells, J.P. (2022). Laying it on thick: A study in secondary growth. Journal of Experimental Botany 73(3): 665-679.
• Bagdassarian, Kristine S, Brown, Catherine M, Jones, Ewan T & Etchells, Peter (2020). Connections in the cambium, receptors in the ring. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 57: 96-103.
• Ramachandran, P., Carlsbecker, A. & Etchells, J. P. (2017). Class III HD-ZIPs govern vascular cell fate: an HD view on patterning and differentiation. Journal of Experimental Botany 68(1): 55-69.
• Etchells, J. P. & Turner, S. R. (2017). Realizing pipe dreams – a detailed picture of vascular development. Journal of Experimental Botany 68(1): 1-4.
• Etchells, J. Peter, Smit, Margot E., Gaudinier, Allison, Williams, Clara J. & Brady, Siobhan M. (2016). A brief history of the TDIF-PXY signalling module: balancing meristem identity and differentiation during vascular development. New Phytologist 209(2): 474-484.
• Etchells, J. P. & Turner, S. R. (2010). Orientation of vascular cell divisions in Arabidopsis. Plant Signaling & Behavior 5(6): 730.

Patent

• Turner, S.R. Mishra, L.S. Kumar, M. & Etchells, J.P. (2016). Generation of biomass. US20180037900A1. Application filed: 1 September 2016. Granted: 30 November -0001
• Turner, S.R. & Etchells, J.P. (2014). Method for the alteration of plants using CLE polypeptides/peptides. US10023878B2. Application filed: 15 April 2014. Granted: 17 July 2018