Nicholas C Carpita

Professor

Department: Botany and Plant Pathology
Phone: 765.494.4653
Fax: 765.494.0363
Office: Lilly Hall, Room 1-241
E-mail: carpita@purdue.edu

Area of Expertise: Plant Cell Biology - Structure and biosynthesis of the plant cell wall; gene discovery in cell wall biology; improvement of grasses as lignocellulosic bioenergy crops

We research the biochemistry and molecular biology of cell wall formation during cell development. Current programs include:

The biosynthesis of the maize mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)ß-D-glucan in vitro

Characterization of the cellulose synthase and cellulose synthase-like genes of cereals

Characterization of cell wall mutants in arabidopsis

Cellular aspects of phloem fiber initiation and development in flax

Determinants of cell-cell adhesion and wall softening during fruit ripening

Determinants of membrane-wall adhesion in response to osmotic stress

Novel inducible promoters in plants

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as a high through-put screen for cell wall mutants in arabidopsis and maize.

- Recent Publications

Sindhu, A., T. Langewisch, A. T. Olek, D. S. Multani, M. C. McCann, W. Vermerris, N. C. Carpita, & G. S. Johal (2007). Maize Brittle stalk2 encodes a COBRA-like protein expressed in early organ development but required for tissue flexibility at maturity. Plant Physiology.

Tine, M. A. S., C. O. Silva, D. U. deLima, N. C. Carpita, & M. S. Buckeridge (2006). Fine structure of a mixed-oligomer storage xyloglucan from seeds of Hymenaea courbaril. Carbohydrate Polymers, in press.

McCann, M. C., & N. C. Carpita (2006). Finding new cell-wall genes through infrared spectroscopy. In: Hayashi, T., ed., Frontiers in Plant Cell Walls.

Carpita, N. C. (2005). Starting a Life in Science with Debby Delmer: The synthesis of cellulose and other (1 -> 4)-beta-linked glucans. In: Hayashi, T., ed., Frontiers in Plant Cell Walls.

McCann, M. C., & N. C. Carpita (2005). Looking for invisible phenotypes in cell-wall mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Biosystems, 139(1), 80-83.

Yong, W., B. Link, R. OMalley, J. Tewari, C. T. HunterIII, C. A. Lu, X. Li, A. B. Bleecker, K. E. Koch, M. C. McCann, D. R. McCarty, S. E. Patterson, W. D. Reiter, C. Staiger, S. R. Thomas, W. Vermerris, & N. C. Carpita (2005). Genomics of plant cell wall biogenesis. Planta, 221, 747-751.

Carpita, N. C. (2004). The Mechanics of Plant Growth. [http://www.drkoop.com].

Carpita, N. C. (2004). Characterization of dynamic alterations in cell wall architecture of maize by Fourier transform infrared and near infrared spectroscopy. Annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists. http://216.133.76.127/pb2004/public/P57/7777.html

Carpita, N. C. (2004). Discriminant analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectra of cell wall mutants provide “spectrotypes” that define specific alterations in the synthesis and assembly of cellulose and matrix polysaccharides. Annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists. http://216.133.76.127/pb2004/public/P57/7703.html

Carpita, N. C. (2004). Deciphering the roles of xyloglucan galactosylation in the assembly of a functional plant cell wall. Annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists. http://216.133.76.127/pb2004/public/P57/7199.html