Dr Richard Macknight

Senior Lecturer
Macknight
  • Biochemistry Department
  • School of Medical Sciences
  • University of Otago
  • P.O. Box 56
  • 710 Cumberland St
  • Dunedin 9054 , New Zealand
  • Tel.: +64 3 479-5149
  • FAX: +64 3 479-7866
  • e-mail:richard.macknight@otago.ac.nz

My research group is focused on understand plant development, in particular on how flowering time is regulated and how seeds develop. We are currently using molecular-genetic approaches to:

  • Investigate the regulation of flowering in Arabidopsis and in the model legume, Medicago truncatula.
  • Identify and characterise imprinted genes.
  • Discover genes involved in Arabidopsis seed development.
  • Identify of genes for enhanced hybrid onion production.

Recent Publications

Liew LC, Hecht V, Laurie RE, Knowles CL, Vander Schoor JK, Macknight RC, Weller JL (2009) DIE NEUTRALIS and LATE BLOOMER 1 contribute to regulation of the pea circadian clock. Plant Cell 21: 3198-211.

Day RC, Müller S, Macknight RC. (2009) Identification of cytoskeleton-associated genes expressed during Arabidopsis syncytial endosperm development. Plant Signal Behav. 4:883-6.

Risk JM, Day CL, Macknight RC. (2009) Re-evaluation of abscisic acid (ABA) binding assays shows that GCR2 does not bind ABA. Plant Physiol, 150: 6-11.

Risk JM, Macknight RC, Day CL (2008) FCA does not bind abscisic acid. Nature. 456:E5-6.

Day RC, Herridge RP, Ambrose BA, Macknight RC.(2008)Transcriptome analysis of proliferating Arabidopsis endosperm reveals biological implications for the control of syncytial division, cytokinin signaling, and gene expression regulation. Plant Physiol. 148(4):1964-84.

Day, R.C., McNoe, L. and Macknight, R.C. (2007). Evaluation of global RNA amplification and its use for high throughput transcript analysis of laser-microdissected endosperm. International journal of Plant Genomics, 61028.

Day, R.C., McNoe, L. and Macknight, R.C. (2007). Transcript analysis of laser microdissected plant cells. Physiologia Plantarum, 129:267-282.

Day R, Grossniklaus U, Macknight R. (2005). Be more specific! Laser-assisted microdissection of plant cells. Trends in Plant Sciences, 10, 397-406

Winichayakul S, Beswick NL, Dean C, Macknight R. (2005). Components of the Arabidopsis autonomous floral promotion pathway, FCA and FY, are conserved in monocots. Functional Plant Biology 32,345–355

Hecht V, Foucher F, Ferrandiz C, Macknight R, Navarro C, Morin J, Vardy ME, Ellis N, Beltran JP, Rameau C, Weller JL. (2005). Conservation of Arabidopsis flowering genes in model legumes. Plant Physiol. 137: 1420-34