I have been around: grew up in Chile and Mexico,
learned my ABC’s in California, did my BSc & MSc in Agriculture in Israel
(and had to learn Hebrew while doing that!). Then a PhD from Washington State
University on signal transduction in plants. Post-docs studying protein kinases
in cancer cells and signaling pathways in immunological responses at the NIH.
So, I have been studying
plants at the molecular, cellular and whole plant levels, both in laboratory
and field settings. Throughout my research career, I have applied molecular
and/or genomics tools to study various aspects of plant biology including
abiotic and biotic stress responses, secondary cell wall formation, fruit
ripening and yield, as well as responses to plant growth regulators and tropic
stimuli. My prime interest has been signal transduction and the control of gene
expression, both in plant and mammalian systems. At present, I am the Project
Manager for an applied genomics project at the University of British Columbia
led by Dr. Carl Douglas, developing genomics tools to enhance poplar
development as a feedstock for biofuels production. Consequently, over the last
several years, my interests have been mainly in the control of secondary cell
wall formation. In addition, before coming to Canada, I worked for several
years in vegetable breeding, developing tomato cultivars with enhanced shelf
life (less post-harvest losses) and resistant to severe insect-transmitted
viruses (reduced pesticide use). These were desert-grown tomatoes, and I could
take home the pick of the crop-the best salads!
I have lived in several
countries, love all kinds of ethnic food, and cook very good Mexican food. Love
to travel, hike, swim in the ocean (warm only),
watch all kinds of movies, and hang out with friends and family (and Ebby, our
little dog).
Select
publications:
McKown AD, Klápště J,
Guy RD, Geraldes A,
Porth I, Hannemann J, Friedmann M, Muchero W, Tuskan
G, Ehlting J, Cronk Q, El-Kassaby Y, Mansfield S, & CJ Douglas (2014)
Genome-wide association implicates numerous genes underlying ecological trait
variation in natural populations of Populus trichocarpa. New Phytologist (in
print).
Porth I, Klápště J, Skyba O, Hannemann J, McKown AD, Guy RD, DiFazio SP, Muchero W, Ranjan P, Tuskan GA, Friedmann MC, Ehlting J, Cronk QCB, El-Kassaby YA, Douglas CJ & SD Mansfield (2013) Genome-wide association mapping for wood characteristics in Populus identifies an array of candidate SNPs. New Phytolologist 200:710-726.
Li E, Bhargava A, Qiang W, Friedmann MC, Forneris N, Savidge RA, Johnson LA, Mansfield SD,
Ellis BE & CJ Douglas (2012) The Class II KNOX gene KNAT7 negatively
regulates secondary wall formation in Arabidopsis and is functionally conserved
in Populus. New Phytologist 194:102-115.
Geraldes AM, Pang J, Thiessen N, Cezard T, Moore
R, Zhao Y, Tam T, Wang S, Friedmann
M, Birol I, Jones S, Cronk Q & CJ Douglas (2011). SNP discovery in
Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) by population transcriptome
resequencing. Molec Ecology Res 11:81-92.
Gur A, Semel Y, Osorio S, Friedmann M, Seekh S, Ghareeb B, Mohammad A, Pleban T, Gera G,
Fernie AR, Zamir D (2011) Quantitative trait loci for yield in a tomato are
predominately expressed by the shoot. Theor Appl Genet 122:405-420.
Quilichini T, Friedmann
M, Samuels L & CJ Douglas (2010) ATP-binding cassette transporter G26
(ABCG26) is required for male fertility and pollen exine formation in
Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiology 154:678-690.
Friedmann M., Ralph SG, Aeschliman D, Zhuang J Ritland K,
Ellis BE, Bohlmann J & CJ Douglas (2007) Microarray gene expression
profiling of the developmental transition from primary to secondary growth and
constitutive defense in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
apical shoots. J Exp Bot 58: 593-614.
Friedmann, M, Lapidot, M, Cohen, S, & M Pilowsky (1998)
A novel source of resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV)
exhibiting a symptomless reaction to viral infection. J Amer Soc Hort Sci
123: 1004-1007.
Friedmann, M, Migone, TS, Russell, SM, & WJ Leonard
(1996). Different interleukin 2 b-chain tyrosines couple to at least two
signaling pathways and synergistically mediate interleukin 2-induced
proliferation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93: 2077-2082.
Nakamura
Y, Russell SM, Mess SA, Friedmann M,
Erdos M, Francois C, Jacques Y, Adelstein S
& WJ Leonard (1994) Heterodimerization of the interleukin-2
receptor and chain cytoplasmic domains is required for signaling. Nature
369:330-333.
Russell SM, Keegan AD, Harada N, Nakamura Y, Noguchi M, Leland P, Friedmann M, Miyajima A, Puri RK, Paul WE, & WJ Leonard (1993) The Interleukin-2 receptor g chain is a functional component of the Interleukin-4 receptor. Science 262: 1880-1883.
Friedmann
M, Thorlacius Holth L, Zoghbi YH & R
Reeves (1993) Organization, inducible-expression and chromosomal localization
of the human HMG-I(Y) non-histone protein gene.
Nucl Acid Res 21: 4259-4267
Friedmann M & BW Poovaiah (1991) Calcium and protein phosphorylation in
the transduction of gravity signal in corn roots. Plant Cell Physiol 32:
299-302.
