Dr Madelaine Bartlett

I am interested in the molecular underpinnings of plant diversity. Which genes control the development of plants? And how have these genes changed over the course of evolution?

My research group focuses specifically on the grasses to answer these fundamental questions about the genetic basis of plant development and morphological evolution. This remarkable family has diversified to occupy almost every terrestrial niche, and dominates many ecosystems. Multiple grass experimental systems allow us to dissect the molecular underpinnings of this diversity, and to reconstruct molecular and morphological evolution of key genes and traits.

Previous positions

2014 to 2024  -  Assistant Professor  -  University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Qualifications

2010  -  PhD in Plant Biology  -  University of California, Berkeley

2004  -  BSc in Genetics and Developmental Biology  -  University of the Witwatersrand

Key Publications

‘Plant growth and development: Experimental diversity is essential for dissecting plant diversity’, (2025), Current Opinion in Plant Biology, Vol. 83.

‘Developmental constraint underlies the replicated evolution of grass awns’, (2024), New Phytologist, Vol. 245, Issue 2.

‘Grass awns: Morphological diversity arising from developmental constraint’, (2024), Current Opinion in Plant Biology, Vol. 82.

‘Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology’, (2024), Development, Vol. 151, Issue 3.

‘GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) and SIX-ROWED SPIKE1 (VRS1) homologs share conserved roles in growth repression’, (2023), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 120.