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Nasrallah carried out postdoctoral research at Cornell University from 1965-1967 and had a faculty position in Genetics at the [[State University of New York at Cortland|State University of New York Cortland]] from 1967 to 1985. He moved to Cornell as a Senior Research Associate in 1985 and joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1992 as a Professor of Plant Biology.
Nasrallah carried out postdoctoral research at Cornell University from 1965-1967 and had a faculty position in Genetics at the [[State University of New York at Cortland|State University of New York Cortland]] from 1967 to 1985. He moved to Cornell as a Senior Research Associate in 1985 and joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1992 as a Professor of Plant Biology.


Much of Nasrallah's research has focused on the study of [[Self-incompatibility|self-incompatibility]] in plants of the [[Brassicaceae]] (crucifer) family. Self-incompatibility (SI) is a post-pollination pre-zygotic genetic barrier widespread among [[Angiosperms|angiosperms]] which ensures [[outcrossing]] by preventing selfing and mating among relatives.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Charlesworth |first1=D |title=Self-Incompatibility |journal=F1000 Biol Rep |date=2010 |volume=2 |page=68 |doi=10.3410/B2-68 |doi-access=free |pmid=21173841 |pmc=2989624 }}</ref> In several plant families including crucifers, SI is controlled by one [[genetic locus]], designated the S locus, which exists as multiple variants, each of which encodes a distinct mating (SI) specificity. The highly selective SI barrier is based on the ability of cells of the [[Pistil|pistil]] to discriminate between "self" [[pollen]] (i.e. pollen grains that express the same SI specificity as that expressed in the pistil, whether the grains are derived from the same flower, the same plant, or other plants that express the same SI specificity as the pistil) and "nonself" pollen (i.e. pollen that expresses an SI specificity different from that expressed in the pistil). Thus, in pollinations with "nonself" pollen, pollen grains produce tubes that grow through the pistil to the ovary where they fertilize the ovules, leading to seed production. By contrast, "self" pollen is inhibited along the path of pollen tube growth, thus preventing self-fertilization and seed production. In crucifers, the inhibition of "self" pollen occurs at the surface of the stigma, a structure located at the tip of the [[pistil]] whose epidermal cells capture pollen, such that pollen grains fail to hydrate and germinate or only produce short tubes that cannot penetrate into the pistil<ref>{{cite book |last1=Franklin-Tong |first1=VE |title=Self-Incompatibility in Flowering Plants: Evolution, Diversity, and Mechanisms |date=2008 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-540-68485-5}}</ref>
Much of Nasrallah's research has focused on the study of [[Self-incompatibility|self-incompatibility]] in plants of the [[Brassicaceae]] (crucifer) family. Self-incompatibility is a genetic post-pollination pre-zygotic genetic barrier widespread among [[Angiosperms|angiosperms]] which ensures [[outcrossing]] by preventing selfing and mating among relatives.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Charlesworth |first1=D |title=Self-Incompatibility |journal=F1000 Biol Rep |date=2010 |volume=2 |page=68 |doi=10.3410/B2-68 |doi-access=free |pmid=21173841 |pmc=2989624 }}</ref>. Over the course of his career, Nasrallah's work has resulted in close to 100 publications as journal articles and book chapters.


As a doctoral student at Cornell, Nasrallah used a novel approach to the study of SI. Instead of the pollen-centric focus which at the time had been the norm in research aimed at identifying the molecular components of SI in various plant families,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=D |title=Serological reactions of pollen incompatibility substances |journal=Proceedings Fo the Royal Society London Series B Biological Sciences |date=1952 |volume=140 |issue=898 |pages=127–135 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1952.0049|pmid=13003917 |bibcode=1952RSPSB.140..127L |s2cid=7071084 }}</ref> he focused on investigating the contribution of the pistil (specifically the stigma in crucifers) to specificity in the SI response. His immunochemical analysis of the extracts of stigmas derived from self-incompatible [[Brassica oleracea]] plants expressing different SI specificities led him to identify the S locus-specific antigen, which was the first molecule encoded by an SI specificity-determining locus to be identified.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nasrallah |first1=ME |last2=Wallace |first2=DH |title=Immunochemical detection of antigens in self-incompatibility genotypes of cabbage |journal=Nature |date=1967 |volume=213 |issue=5077 |pages=700–701|doi=10.1038/213700a0 |bibcode=1967Natur.213..700N |s2cid=4174539 }}</ref> The success of this work would mark a paradigm shift in the study of SI across various plant families. Indeed, in subsequent years, identification of the pistil determinant of SI specificity preceded identification of the pollen specificity determinant by several years in various species of the [[Brassicaceae]], [[Solanaceae]], and [[Papaveraceae]].
As a doctoral student at Cornell, Nasrallah made a major contribution by devising a new approach to the molecular analysis of SI. Instead of the pollen-centric focus which at the time had been the norm in research aimed at identifying the molecular components of SI in various plant families,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=D |title=Serological reactions of pollen incompatibility substances |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B Biological Sciences |date=1952 |volume=140 |issue=898 |pages=127–135 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1952.0049|pmid=13003917 |bibcode=1952RSPSB.140..127L |s2cid=7071084 }}</ref> he focused on investigating the contribution of the stigma [[Stigma (botany)]]to the SI response, and thus identified the first molecule encoded by an SI-determining locus.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nasrallah |first1=ME |last2=Wallace |first2=DH |title=Immunochemical detection of antigens in self-incompatibility genotypes of cabbage |journal=Nature |date=1967 |volume=213 |issue=5077 |pages=700–701|doi=10.1038/213700a0 |bibcode=1967Natur.213..700N |s2cid=4174539 }}</ref> This molecule was then used as a launching pad for a detailed analysis of the [[Brassica]] SI-determining genetic locus, leading to the eventual identification of the female and male determinants of SI. This strategy of starting with identification of the female determinant of SI has been used for the molecular analysis of SI across various plant families.

In further research on the Brassicaceae SI system carried out by the Nasrallah team at Cornell, the S locus-specific antigen, subsequently designated the S-locus glycoprotein,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nasrallah |first1=JB |last2=Kao |first2=TH |last3=Chen |first3=CH |display-authors=etal|title=Amino acid sequences of glycoproteins encoded by three alleles at the S locus of Brassica oleracea |journal=Nature |date=1987 |volume=326 |issue=6113 |pages=617–619|doi=10.1038/326617a0 |bibcode=1987Natur.326..617N |s2cid=4308132 }}</ref> was used as a launching pad for a detailed analysis of the Brassica S locus, which determined that the S locus contains, not one gene, but two genes whose protein products determine specificity in the SI response. As a result of this work, S-locus variants, traditionally known as "S alleles", are now known as "S haplotypes". It is now well established that in the Brassicaceae, each S haplotype encodes matched variants of two proteins: the S-locus receptor kinase (SRK), a plasma membrane-spanning protein which is displayed at the surface of stigma epidermal cells<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stein |first1=JC |last2=Howlett |first2=B |last3=Boyes |first3=DC |display-authors=etal|title=Molecular cloning of a putative receptor protein kinase gene encoded at the self-incompatibility locus of Brassica oleracea |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA |date=1991 |volume=88 |issue=19 |pages=8816–8820 |doi=10.1073/pnas.88.19.8816 |doi-access=free |pmid=1681543 |pmc=52601 |bibcode=1991PNAS...88.8816S }}</ref>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takasaki |first1=T |last2=Hatakeyama |first2=K|last3=Suzuki |first3=G |display-authors=etal|title=The S receptor kinase determines self-incompatibility in Brassica stigma |journal=Nature |date=2000 |volume=403 |issue=6772 |pages=913–916 |doi=10.1038/35002628|pmid=10706292 |bibcode=2000Natur.403..913T |s2cid=4361474 }}</ref>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rea |first1=AC |last2=Nasrallah |first2=JB |title=In vivo imaging of the S-locus receptor kinase, the female specificity determinant of self-incompatibility, in transgenic self-incompatible Arabidopsis thaliana. |journal=Annals of Botany |date=2015 |volume=115 |issue=5 |pages=789–805 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcv008|pmid=25714818 |pmc=4373290 }}</ref> and the S-locus cystine-rich protein (SCR), a small protein which is a component of the outer coat of the pollen grain<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schopfer |first1=CR |last2=Nasrallah |first2=ME |last3=nasrallah |first3=JB |title=The male determinant of self-incompatibility in Brassica |journal=Science |date=1999 |volume=286 |issue=5445 |pages=1697–1700 |doi=10.1126/science.286.5445.1697|pmid=10576728 }}</ref>,.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takayama |first1=S |last2=Shiba |first2=H |last3=Iwano |first3=M |display-authors=etal|title=The pollen determinant of self-incompatibility in Brassica campestris |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA |date=2000 |volume=97 |issue=4 |pages=1920–1925 |doi=10.1073/pnas.040556397|doi-access=free |pmid=10677556 |pmc=26537 |bibcode=2000PNAS...97.1920T }}</ref> Further biochemical analysis demonstrated a highly selective S haplotype-specific receptor-ligand relationship between SRK and SCR<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kachroo |first1=A |last2=Schopfer |first2=CR |last3=Nasrallah |first3=ME |last4=Nasrallah |first4=JB |title=Allele-specific receptor-ligand interactions in Brassica self-incompatibility |journal=Science |date=2001 |volume=293 |issue=5536 |pages=1824–1826 |doi=10.1126/science.1062509|pmid=11546871 |bibcode=2001Sci...293.1824K |s2cid=21033636 }}</ref>,.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takayama |first1=S |last2=Shimosato |first2=H |last3=Shiba |first3=H |display-authors=etal|title=Direct ligand-receptor complex interaction controls Brassica self-incompatibility |journal=Nature |date=2000 |volume=413 |issue=6855 |pages=534–538 |doi=10.1038/35097104|pmid=11586363 |s2cid=4419954 }}</ref> Because SCR will only bind the extracellular domain of the SRK encoded in the same S haplotype, it is only in a "self" pollination that SRK is activated and a signaling cascade is triggered which ultimately leads to the rejection of "self" pollen.

While SRK and SCR were first identified in Brassica, functional orthologues of these genes were also identified in [[Arabidopsis lyrata]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kusaba |first1=M |last2=Dwyer |first2=K|last3=Hendershot |first3=J |display-authors=etal|title=Self-incompatibility in the genus Arabidopsis: Characterization of the S locus in the outcrossing A. lyrata and its autogamous relative A. thaliana |journal=Plant Cell |date=2001 |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=627–643 |doi=10.1105/tpc.13.3.627 |pmid=11251101|pmc=135518 }}</ref> and subsequently in all self-incompatible crucifer species that have been analyzed to date<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chantha |first1=SC |last2=Herman |first2=AC |last3=Platts |first3=AE |display-authors=etal |title=Secondary evolution of a self-incompatibility locus in the Brassicaceae genus Leavenworthia |journal=PLOS Biol |date=2013 |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=e1001560 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001560|doi-access=free |pmid=23690750 |pmc=3653793 }}</ref>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nasrallah |first1=JB |last2=Liu |first2=P |last3=Sherman-Broyles |first3=S |display-authors=etal|title=Epigenetic Mechanisms for Breakdown of Self-Incompatibility in Interspecific Hybrids |journal=Genetics |date=2007 |volume=175 |issue=4 |pages=1965–1973 |doi=10.1534/genetics.106.069393|pmid=17237505 |pmc=1855105 }}</ref>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neuffer |first1=B |last2=Bechsgaard |first2=J |last3=Paetsch |first3=M |display-authors=etal|title=S-alleles and mating system in natural populations of Capsella grandiflora (Brassicaceae) and its congeneric relatives |journal=Flora |date=2023 |volume=299 |doi=10.1016/j.flora.2022.152206|s2cid=254869961 }}</ref>,.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goubet |first1=PM |title=Contrasted patterns of molecular evolution in dominant and recessive self-incompatibility haplotypes in Arabidopsis |journal=PLOS Genetics |date=2012 |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=e1002495 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002495|doi-access=free |pmid=22457631 |pmc=3310759 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=F |title=Self-(in)compatibility inheritance and allele-specific marker development in yellow mustard ( Sinapis alba) |journal=Molecular Breeding |date=2014 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=187–196 |doi=10.1007/s11032-013-9943-8|pmid=24482603 |pmc=3890562 }}</ref> By contrast, non-functional versions of the SRK and SCR genes were found in several geographical accessions of the self-fertile model plant [[Arabidopsis thaliana]], suggesting that inactivation of these genes likely caused the switch to self-fertility in this species<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sherman-Broyles |first1=S |title=S locus genes and the evolution of self-fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana |journal=Plant Cell |date=2007 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=94–106 |doi= 10.1105/tpc.106.048199|pmid=17237349 |pmc=1820967 }}</ref>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boggs |first1=NA |last2=Nasrallah |first2=ME |last3=Nasrallah |first3=JB |title=Independent S-locus mutations caused self-fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana. |journal=PLOS Genetics |date=2009 |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=e1000426 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000426|doi-access=free |pmid=19300485 |pmc=2650789 }}</ref>,.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tsuchimatsu |first1=T |title=Patterns of polymorphism at the self-incompatibility locus in 1,083 Arabidopsis thaliana genomes |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |date=2017 |volume=34 |issue=8 |pages=1878–1889 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msx122|pmid=28379456 |pmc=5850868 }}</ref> In a landmark inter-specific transgenic complementation experiment, Nasrallah showed that the transgenic introduction of functional SRK-SCR gene pairs from self-incompatible A. lyrata into A. thaliana was sufficient to revert self-fertile A. thaliana to its ancestral state of SI.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nasrallah |first1=ME |last2=Liu |first2=P |last3=Nasrallah |first3=JB |title=Generation of self-incompatible Arabidopsis thaliana by transfer of two S locus genes from A. lyrata |journal=Science |date=2002 |volume=297 |issue=5579 |pages=247–249 |doi=10.1126/science.1072205|pmid=12114625 |bibcode=2002Sci...297..247N |s2cid=10606974 }}</ref> This pivotal experiment proved that SRK and SCR are the sole determinants, not only of SI specificity, but also of the out-crossing mode of mating in the Brassicaceae.


==Awards and Honors==
==Awards and Honors==

Revision as of 18:27, 29 February 2024

  • Comment: He might qualify, but this article needs extensive work. At the moment it has long sections, very technical, which only someone in the field will understand. What is not mentioned is that he has a significant number of highly cited papers. Rewrite please, cut the technical details and just focus on his impact in the field (without bragging). Then you will have a chance of passing WP:NPROF. Ldm1954 (talk) 20:18, 28 January 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Please make sure that pretty much everything (every material statement, anything potentially contentious, and all private personal details) is clearly supported by inline citations to reliable published sources. See WP:REFB / WP:ILC for advice.
    Please also remove the inline external links, which are not allowed. Convert to citations where relevant. DoubleGrazing (talk) 18:14, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Mikhail Elia Nasrallah is Professor Emeritus in the Plant Biology Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science] in the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.

Education

Nasrallah, a native of Kfarmishki, Lebanon, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and a certification in Agronomy [Ingénieur Agricole] from the American University of Beirut in 1960, a Master's degree in Horticulture from the University of Vermont in 1962, and a doctorate degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Cornell University in 1965.

Career and Research

Nasrallah carried out postdoctoral research at Cornell University from 1965-1967 and had a faculty position in Genetics at the State University of New York Cortland from 1967 to 1985. He moved to Cornell as a Senior Research Associate in 1985 and joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1992 as a Professor of Plant Biology.

Much of Nasrallah's research has focused on the study of self-incompatibility in plants of the Brassicaceae (crucifer) family. Self-incompatibility is a genetic post-pollination pre-zygotic genetic barrier widespread among angiosperms which ensures outcrossing by preventing selfing and mating among relatives.[1]. Over the course of his career, Nasrallah's work has resulted in close to 100 publications as journal articles and book chapters.

As a doctoral student at Cornell, Nasrallah made a major contribution by devising a new approach to the molecular analysis of SI. Instead of the pollen-centric focus which at the time had been the norm in research aimed at identifying the molecular components of SI in various plant families,[2] he focused on investigating the contribution of the stigma Stigma (botany)to the SI response, and thus identified the first molecule encoded by an SI-determining locus.[3] This molecule was then used as a launching pad for a detailed analysis of the Brassica SI-determining genetic locus, leading to the eventual identification of the female and male determinants of SI. This strategy of starting with identification of the female determinant of SI has been used for the molecular analysis of SI across various plant families.

Awards and Honors

Nasrallah received the American University of Beirut's highest scholastic honor, the Penrose Award, in 1960[4]; an award in Horticulture from the Burpee Foundation[5] in 1961; and an award from the American Institute of Biological Sciences[6] in 1970 in recognition of an outstanding research contribution related to a vegetable crop used for processing.

References

  1. ^ Charlesworth, D (2010). "Self-Incompatibility". F1000 Biol Rep. 2: 68. doi:10.3410/B2-68. PMC 2989624. PMID 21173841.
  2. ^ Lewis, D (1952). "Serological reactions of pollen incompatibility substances". Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B Biological Sciences. 140 (898): 127–135. Bibcode:1952RSPSB.140..127L. doi:10.1098/rspb.1952.0049. PMID 13003917. S2CID 7071084.
  3. ^ Nasrallah, ME; Wallace, DH (1967). "Immunochemical detection of antigens in self-incompatibility genotypes of cabbage". Nature. 213 (5077): 700–701. Bibcode:1967Natur.213..700N. doi:10.1038/213700a0. S2CID 4174539.
  4. ^ "Then and Now" (PDF). No. Summer 2009. American University of Beirut. 2009.
  5. ^ "The Burpee Foundation". The Burpee Foundation.
  6. ^ "AIBS Awards". aibs.org.
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