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.

Journal Article

• Chomicki, G., Walker–Hale, N., Etchells, J. P., Ritter, E. J., & Weber, M. G. (2024). Diversity and development of domatia: Symbiotic plant structures to host mutualistic ants or mites. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 82, Article 102647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2024.102647
• Eswaran, G., Zhang, X., Rutten, J. P., Han, J., Iida, H., Lopez Ortiz, J., Mäkilä, R., Wybouw, B., Planterose Jiménez, B., Vainio, L., Porcher, A., Gavarron, M. L., Zhang, J., Blomster, T., Dolan, D., Smetana, O., Brady, S. M., Topcu, M. K., Ten Tusscher, K., Etchells, J. P., & Mähönen, A. P. (2024). Identification of cambium stem cell factors and their positioning mechanism. Science, 386(6722), 646-653. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj8752
• Bagdassarian, K., Etchells, J., & Savage, N. (2023). A mathematical model integrates diverging PXY and MP interactions in cambium development. in silico Plants, 5(1), Article diad003. https://doi.org/10.1093/insilicoplants/diad003
• Ghosh, S., Nelson, J., Cobb, G., Etchells, J., & de Lucas, M. (2022). Light regulates xylem cell differentiation via PIF in Arabidopsis. Cell Reports, 40(3), Article 111075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111075
• Turley, E., & Etchells, J. (2022). Laying it on thick: A study in secondary growth. Journal of Experimental Botany, 73(3), 665-679. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab455
• Bagdassarian, K. S., Brown, C. M., Jones, E. T., & Etchells, P. (2020). Connections in the cambium, receptors in the ring. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 57, 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2020.07.001
• Smit, M., McGregor, S., Sun, H., Gough, C., Bågman, A.-M., Soyars, C., Kroon, J., Gaudinier, A., Williams, C., Yang, X., Nimchuk, Z., Weijers, D., Turner, S., Brady, S., & Etchells, J. (2020). A PXY-Mediated Transcriptional Network Integrates Signaling Mechanisms to Control Vascular Development in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 32, 319-335. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00562
• Bagdassarian, K., Connor, K., Jermyn, I., & Etchells, J. (2020). Versatile method for quantifying and analyzing morphological differences in experimentally obtained images. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 15(1), Article 1693092. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2019.1693092
• Wang, N., Bagdassarian, K., Doherty, R., Kroon, J., Connor, K., Wang, X., Wang, W., Jermyn, I., Turner, S., & Etchells, J. (2019). Organ-specific genetic interactions between paralogues of the PXY and ER receptor kinases enforce radial patterning in Arabidopsis vascular tissue. Development, 146(10), Article 177105. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.177105
• Campbell, L., Etchells, J., Cooper, M., Kumar, M., & Turner, S. (2018). An essential role for Abscisic acid in the regulation of xylem fibre differentiation. Development, 145, Article dev.161992. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.161992
• Turco, G., 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., & Brady, S. (2017). DNA methylation and gene expression regulation associated with vascularization in Sorghum bicolor. New Phytologist, 214(3), 1213-1229. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14448
• Guo, X., Wang, J., Gardner, M., Fukuda, H., Kondo, Y., Etchells, J., 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), Article e1006142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006142
• Ramachandran, P., Carlsbecker, A., & Etchells, J. (2017). Class III HD-ZIPs govern vascular cell fate: an HD view on patterning and differentiation. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68(1), 55-69. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erw370
• Etchells, J., & Turner, S. (2016). Realizing pipe dreams – a detailed picture of vascular development. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erw482
• Etchells, J. P., Smit, M. E., Gaudinier, A., Williams, C. J., & Brady, S. 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. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13642
• Etchells, J. P., Mishra, L. S., Kumar, M., Campbell, L., & Turner, S. R. (2015). Wood Formation in Trees Is Increased by Manipulating PXY-Regulated Cell Division. Current Biology, 25(8), 1050-1055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.02.023
• Etchells, J., Provost, C., Mishra, L., & Turner, S. (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. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.091314
• Etchells, J., Provost, C., & Turner, S. (2012). Plant vascular cell division is maintained by an interaction between PXY and ethylene signalling. PLoS Genetics, 8(11), Article e1002997. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002997
• Etchells, J., Moore, L., Jiang, W., Prescott, H., Capper, R., Saunders, N., Bhatt, A., & Dickinson, H. (2012). A role for BELLRINGER in cell wall development is supported by loss-of-function phenotypes. BMC Plant Biology, 12, Article 212. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-12-212
• Etchells, J., & Turner, S. (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. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.044941
• Etchells, J., & Turner, S. (2010). Orientation of vascular cell divisions in Arabidopsis. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 5(6), https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.5.6.11665
• Pinon, V., Etchells, J., Rossignol, P., Collier, S., Arroyo, J., Martienssen, R., & Byrne, M. (2008). Three PIGGYBACK genes that specifically influence leaf patterning encode ribosomal proteins. Development, 135(7), 1315-1324. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.016469

Patent

• Turner, S., Mishra, L., Kumar, M., & Etchells, J. (2016). Generation of biomass
• Turner, S., & Etchells, J. (2014). Method for the alteration of plants using CLE polypeptides/peptides