SHULAEV, VLADIMIR

PhD, Associate Professor
VBI RESEARCH FACULTY
1995 Ph.D., Plant Biology, Rutgers University, NJ
1987 Ph.D., Biological Sciences, Ukraine Academy of Sciences
1982 M.S., Genetics, Kiev State University


Email: vshulaev@vbi.vt.edu
Dr. V. Shulaev Research Group page

RESEARCH

Dr. Shulaev’s research focuses on studying the biochemical, cellular and molecular mechanisms of plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Susceptibility of crops to stresses—diseases, drought, high salinity, temperature, and others—significantly reduces global agriculture productivity. Efforts to improve plant stress tolerance through traditional breeding or genetic engineering have had limited success, due in part, to a poor understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying plant adaptive responses to stress. A more mechanistic understanding of the underlying plant responses to environmental stresses is essential in formulating future breeding and engineering strategies aimed at reducing crop losses.

Current research in Dr. Shulaev’s lab aims at comprehensive metabolic profiling of plant-derived chemicals involved in stress response in order to identify novel protective metabolites and genes involved in their biosynthesis and regulation. Environmental stress response in plants is an extremely complex trait controlled by multiple genes and affected by numerous external factors. Plants respond to stress by dramatically altering both primary and secondary metabolism. These metabolic changes result in biosynthesis of many specific chemicals designed to protect cells and organs from extreme environmental conditions and pathogens. Numerous plant metabolites are synthesized only in response to a specific stress factor. Many stress-related plant compounds are also traditionally used in pharmaceutical, health, food, cosmetic, agrochemical and other industries as nutritional supplements, antioxidants, pharmaceuticals, insecticides and other agents.

In the area of abiotic stress tolerance, major research focus is on understanding the basic mechanisms of plant adaptation to osmotic and oxidative stress using Arabidopsis thaliana as model system. Another research area includes investigation of early events in fungal pathogenesis using Arabidopsis interaction with various biotrophic and necrotrophic fungal pathogens. Early events in pathogen recognition are very important in determining the specificity of responses to different pathogens.

For analysis of plant metabolites two major analytical platforms are utilized: gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography linked to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Implementation of this dual platform allows simultaneous analysis of a large number of individual compounds with different size, polarity, and other physico-chemical properties. Use of Arabidopsis as model system permits rapid identification of genes involved in the biosynthesis and regulation of various classes of compounds. Knowledge of biosynthetic genes and global pathway regulators will improve our ability to manipulate metabolic fluxes toward production of specific products or even generate novel compounds with desired properties.

The ultimate goal of Dr.Shulaev’s research is the development of new stress-tolerant crops and improving methods of disease control. Biotechnological manipulation of stress metabolites can provide novel ways of engineering plants with desired agronomic traits or increased nutritional value. In addition, finding novel ways to regulate the levels and yield of specific phytochemicals, or identification of novel compounds for human use will be of great benefit and significant economic importance.

Selected Publications

Mittler, R, and Shulaev, V. (2002) Cell death in plant, yeast and bacterium In: Essentials of Apoptosis: A Guide for Basic and Clinical Research, Humana, Totowa, NJ. In Preparation.

Mittler, R., Lam, E., Shulaev, V., and Cohen, M. (1999) Signals controlling the expression of cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase during pathogen-induced programmed cell death in tobacco. Plant Mol. Biol., 39:1025-1035.

Ribnicky, D.M., Shulaev, V., and Raskin, I. (1998) Intermediates of salicylic acid biosynthesis in tobacco. Plant Physiology, 118:565-72.

Seskar, M., Shulaev, V., and Raskin, I. (1998) Endogenous methyl salicylate in pathogen-inoculated tobacco plants. Plant Physiology, 116:387-392.

Smirnov, S., Shulaev, V., and Tumer, N. (1997) Expression of pokeweed antiviral protein in transgenic plants induced virus resistance in grafted wild-type plants independently of salicylic acid accumulation and pathogenesis-related protein synthesis. Plant Physiology, 114:1113-1121.

Abad, M.S., Hakimi, S.M., Kaniewski, W.K., Rommens, C.M., Shulaev, V., Lam, E., and Shah, D.M. (1997) Characterization of acquired resistance in lesion-mimic transgenic potato expressing bacterio-opsin. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact., 10:635-645.

Shulaev, V., Silverman, P., and Raskin, I. (1997) Airborne signalling by methyl salicylate in plant pathogen resistance. Nature, 385:718-721.

Mittler, R., Shulaev, V., Seskar, M., Raskin, I., and Lam, E. (1996) Inhibition of programmed cell death in tobacco plants during a pathogen-induced hypersensitive response at low oxygen pressure. Plant Cell, 8:1991-2001.

Leon, J., Shulaev, V., Yalpani, N., Lawton, M.A., and Raskin, I. (1995) Benzoic acid 2-hydroxylase, a soluble monooxygenase from tobacco, catalyzes salicylic acid biosynthesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92:10413-10417.

Shulaev, V., Leon, J., and Raskin, I. (1995) Is salicylic acid a translocated signal of systemic acquired resistance in tobacco? Plant Cell., 7:1691-1701.

Mittler, R., Shulaev, V., and Lam, E. (1995) Coordinated activation of programmed cell death and defense mechanisms in transgenic tobacco plants expressing a bacterial proton pump. Plant Cell, 7:29-42.

Shulaev, V.K. (1995) Salicylic acid - an acquired resistance signal in plants. Doctoral thesis. Rutgers University.

Yalpani, N., Shulaev V., and Raskin, I. (1993) Endogenous salicylic acid levels correlate with accumulation of pathogenesis related proteins and virus resistance in tobacco. Phytopatology, 83:702-708.

Bannikova, V.P., Khvedinich, O.A., Kravets, E.A., Tarasenko, L.V., Shulaev, V.K., Ilchenko, K.V., and Maistrov, P.D. (1991) Basic cereal embryogenesis. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 243 pp.

Shulaev, V.K., Gumilevskaya, N.A., and Uspensky, G.B. (1991) Response to heat stress in developing wheat embryos. In: Proceedings of the XI International Symposium on Embryology and Seed Reproduction (3-7 July, 1990, Leningrad).

Shulaev, V.K., (1987) Studies on chromatin structure of male gametophyte's cells with response to their functional activity. Doctoral thesis. Kiev: Inst. of Botany, Ukraine Acad. Sci.

Karpova, L.V., Nikolaev, G.M., Tukeeva, M.J., Zubarev, V.A., Ermakov, I.P., and Shulaev, V.K. (1987) Water state during pollen grain swelling in Lilium regale Wils. Sov. Plant Physiol.-Engl.Transl., 23(3):436-422.

Shulaev, V.K. (1986) Chromatin structure of male gametophyte cells' nuclei of Lilium regale Wils. Ukr.Botan.Zhurn., 43(2):73-74.

Shulaev, V.K. (1985) Fluorescent probe acridin orange binding to chromatin of male gametophyte cells' nuclei of Lilium regale Wils. Ukr.Botan.Zhurn., 42(6):57-59.

Abstracts

Abad, M.S., Hakimi, S.M., Kaniewski, W.K., Rommens, C. M. T., Shulaev, V., Lam, E. and Shah, D. M. Characterization of acquired resistance in lesion mimic transgenic potato expressing bacterio-opsin. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, August 1997.

Seskar, M., Shulaev, V. and Raskin. I. Production of methyl salicylate in pathogen-inoculated tobacco plants. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, August 1997.

Ribnicky, D. M., Shulaev, V., Seskar, M., and Raskin, I. Benzaldehyde as an intermediate in salicylic acid biosynthesis in tobacco. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, August 1997.

Shulaev, V., Silverman, P., and Raskin, I. Methylsalicylate induces increased accumulation of salicylic acid, PR proteins and resistance to TMV in tobacco. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, July 1996.

Raskin, I., Leon, J., Lee, H, Shulaev, V., and Silverman, P. Signaling in plant pathogen interactions. Thirteenth Annual Symposium on Current Topics in Plant Biochemistry, Physiology and Molecular Biology at University of Missouri-Columbia, April 1994.

Shulaev, V., Leon, J., and Raskin, I. Systemic movement of salicylic acid in virus-inoculated tobacco. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, August 1994.

Leon, J., Shulaev, V., Lawton, M.A., and Raskin, I. Benzoic acid 2-hydroxylase, a putative cytochrome p450, catalyzes the biosynthesis of salicylic acid. American Society of Plant Physiologists annual Meeting, August 1994.

Raskin, I., Leon, J., Shulaev, V., and Lee, H. Disease resistance signals in plants. 22nd Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky Conference on Plant Molecular Biology. October 1994. (Koln, Germany).

Shulaev, V., Leon, J., Mettraux, J.-P., and Raskin, I. Systemic movement of salicylic acid in virus-inoculated tobacco. 22nd Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky Conference on Plant Molecular Biology. October 1994. (Koln, Germany).

Yalpani, N., Shulaev, V., and Raskin, I., Constitutive accumulation of salicylic acid and pathogenesis-related proteins correlates with increased resistance of tobacco to tobacco mosaic virus, Sixth International Symposium on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, July 1992.

Shulaev, V.K., Gumilevskaya N.A., and Uspensky, G.B. Response to heat stress in developing wheat embryos. Embryology and seed reproduction. Abstracts of the XI International Symposium, 1990, Leningrad: Nauka.

Shulaev, V.K., and Bannikova V.P. Chromatin basic proteins of lily male gametophyte cells' nuclei. Abstracts of the YIII Congress of the All-Union Botanical Society, Alma-Ata,1988. Moscow: Nauka.

Shulaev, V.K., and Bannikova V.P. Microfluorimetric investigations on lily male gametophyte cells' chromatin organization. In: Sexual reproduction of seed plants, ferrs and mosses All-Union Conference, 1986, Kishinev: Shtiinza.

Shulaev, V.K. Studies on fractional composition of basic proteins isolated from lily male gametophyte's nuclei chromatin. In: Abstracts of the 5 UOGIS Congress, 1986, Part 1, p.97. Kiev: Naukova dumka.

https://www.vbi.vt.edu/article/articleview/77


И трава с травою "говорит"...
.
Примерно 10 лет назад в околонаучной прессе появилось сенсационное сообщение: растения могут обмениваться информацией с человеком! На поверку это утверждение, разумеется, оказалось выдумкой. Но недавно вполне солидный научный журнал "Nature" поместил убедительную статью о том, что некоторые растения действительно могут передавать примитивную, но важную для них информацию.
Ботаники давно знали, что зимолюбка, или гаултерия (Gaulteria), содержит салициловую кислоту. Известно также, что листья табака (Nicotiana tabacum) начинают выделять салициловую кислоту, когда им угрожает болезнь. Нередко такой способ самозащиты выбирают некоторые растения, чтобы отпугнуть насекомых-вредителей.
В.Шулаев, П.Силверман и И.Раскин (V.Shulaev, P.Silverman, I.Ruskin; Ратгерсовский университет, Нью-Браунсуик, штат Нью-Джерси, США) в порядке эксперимента заразили группу растений вирусом табачной мозаики, которой так опасаются владельцы плантаций. Как только болезнь укоренилась, растения начали вырабатывать не только метилсалицилат, но еще и ряд белковых веществ, обладающих антимикробными свойствами. Экспериментаторы откачали воздух из камеры с подопытными растениями и впрыснули его в камеру с вполне здоровыми. Оказалось, здоровые растения сразу же начали вырабатывать в своих тканях салициловую кислоту и те же самые белковые вещества. Из этого ученые сделали вывод: некоторые растения действительно умеют подавать "сигнал", предупреждающий об инфекционной опасности.
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Nature. 1997. V.385. N 6618. P.718 (Великобритания).
http://vivovoco.rsl.ru/VV/NEWS/PRIRODA/PR_05_98.HTM


http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2000/07/10/daily11.html
July 11, 2000
Agritope adds to scientific staff
http://www.bizjournals.com/search/bin/search?t=por...2%22&f=byline&am=120_days&r=20
Agritope Inc. (Nasdaq:AGTO), Portland, Ore., announced its most recent round of expansion with the hiring of four new scientists.
Dr. Jonathan Lightner and Dr. Vladimir Shulaev will expand Agritope's research and development capabilities into biochemical genomics and plant pathology and stress physiology, while Dr. Xing Liang Liu and Dr. Medard Ng will support Agritope's existing cell biology, molecular biology and virology programs.
Said Adolph J. Ferro, president and chief executive officer: "With these additions, as well as the technical support staff we have hired, Agritope will be able to make rapid progress in new areas of research while continuing our ongoing efforts to discover new plant genes and to develop improved commercial plant varieties."
Dr. Jonathan Lightner joined Agritope as director of biochemical genomics. Dr. Lightner earned his Ph.D. in Plant Physiology in the Institute of Biological Chemistry at Washington State University, and prior to arriving at Agritope was in the Agricultural Biotechnology Group at E.I. DuPont de Nemours. His expertise is in the area of plant fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism. At Agritope he has established a high-throughput gene isolation program for cloning genes that regulate oil content and composition using the Agrinomics LLC, ACTTAG(TM)gene discovery platform.
Dr. Vladimir Shulaev joined Agritope as director of plant pathology and stress physiology. Dr. Shulaev received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the Ukraine Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Agritope, Dr. Shulaev led a plant disease resistance program at DEKALB Genetics Corporation and the Monsanto Company. Dr. Shulaev is directing several ongoing projects in plant disease resistance at Agritope, and developing a high-throughput gene isolation program for cloning genes that confer fungal resistance using the Agrinomics LLC, ACTTAG gene discovery platform.
Dr. Xing Liang Liu joined Agritope's cell biology group to isolate genes responsible for new plant morphologies identified in our ACTTAG gene discovery programs. Dr. Liu recently completed postdoctoral research in plant development at the University of Oregon, where he studied the genetic control of flowering.
Dr. Medard Ng will join Agritope's molecular biology group to expand the company's development of new gene discovery technologies. Dr. Ng is currently completing postdoctoral research with Dr. Martin Yanofsky at the University of California, San Diego, where he is studying the control of plant cell fate.
Agritope is an Oregon-based agricultural functional genomics and biotechnology company that develops improved plant products and provides technology to the agricultural industry. Its fruit and vegetable division specializes in the development of improved fruit, vegetable and flower varieties.


© 2000 American City Business Journals Inc.
Dr. Vladimir Shulaev joined Agritope as director of plant pathology and stress physiology. Dr. Shulaev received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the Ukraine Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Agritope, Dr. Shulaev led a plant disease resistance program at DEKALB Genetics Corporation and the Monsanto Company. Dr. Shulaev is directing several ongoing projects in plant disease resistance at Agritope, and developing a high-throughput gene isolation program for cloning genes that confer fungal resistance using the Agrinomics LLC, ACTTAG gene discovery platform.

vshulaev@vbi.vt.edu
Vladimir, Shulaev
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ, Blacksburg
VBI RESEARCH FACULTY
SHULAEV, VLADIMIR

PhD, Research Associate Professor

1995 Ph.D., Plant Biology, Rutgers University, NJ
1987 Ph.D., Biological Sciences, Ukraine Academy of Sciences
1982 M.S., Genetics, Kiev State University
vshulaev@vbi.vt.edu
http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/1/268
Cytosolic Ascorbate Peroxidase 1 Is a Central Component of the Reactive Oxygen Gene Network of Arabidopsis
Blacksburg, Va., February 25, 2004 -- Vladimir Shulaev, research associate professor at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, recently received a $175,373 equipment grant from Beckman Coulter Inc. of Fullerton, Calif. Shulaev will use the equipment to catalogue small biological molecules, called metabolites, in an effort to further our knowledge of human health, disease, and treatment.
Shulaev and other metabolomics researchers study the small molecules that carry out much of the business of biological cells. These molecules include lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, hormones, amino acids, and sugars, among others. Cataloging these molecules provides researchers the opportunity to find new disease markers, pinpoint drugs that cause organ damage, or highlight groups of people who might respond poorly to a given drug.
Shulaev will analyze the data from his research to identify and compare the differences in metabolites. "We hope to use metabolite profiles," said Shulaev, "as an indicator of disease states or find novel metabolites that can be used to improve human health and nutrition."
Shulaev is examining malaria in particular and hopes to use his research to find novel therapeutic targets to treat the disease. The equipment from Beckman Coulter has expanded the analytical platforms for VBI and will help to develop novel tools for metabolite profiling. "We are excited about Beckman Coulter's investment in bioinformatics in general as well as their good faith gesture to VBI," Shulaev said.
The equipment will be used to develop an integrated metabolomics platform to complement VBI's existing expertise in genomics and proteomics and to further strengthen its position among the leading bioinformatics research centers in the world. The equipment includes a BiomekÒ 2000 Automation Workstation, Capillary Electrophoresis System, centrifuge, and spectrophotometer.
Beckman Coulter Inc. is a leading provider of instrument systems and complementary products that simplify and automate laboratory processes. From integrated laboratory automation solutions to centrifuges and blood analyzers to diagnostic rapid-test kits, the company's products are used throughout the world in all phases of the battle against disease. Annual sales for the company totaled $2.06 billion in 2002. Beckman Coulter has offices in 130 countries around the world.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top 30 research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 170 academic degree programs.
VBI was created at Virginia Tech in 2000. VBI's research platform centers on understanding the "disease triangle" or host-pathogen-environment interactions. With bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary merger of information technology and biology, VBI researchers have interpreted and applied vast amounts of biological data generated from basic research. With almost $40 million in research funding at present, VBI researchers are working to find cures for many diseases of humans, crops, and animals; create high-yield, insect- and disease-resistant crops; and provide bioinformatics information and tools to support further discoveries. VBI's two facilities house the institute's solid core of bioinformatics research programs and services. Bioinformatics Facility I is located at the corner of Washington Street and Duckpond Drive on Virginia Tech's campus. VBI's Research Building XV is located adjacent to Virginia Tech's campus in the Corporate Research Center. For more information about VBI, visit https://www.vbi.vt.edu.
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Virginia Tech receives equipment from Beckman Coulter Inc.
By Neysa Call
Virginia Tech news