Scholars

Shippen, Dorothy

Professor

Positions:

Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Single Page Bio

Profile Summary

dshippen@tamu.edu

1 979 862 2342

Co-author Network

Map of Science

Co-investigator Network

Websites

The Shippen Lab

overview

We are taking biochemical, molecular genetic and cytological approaches to study the structure, function and maintenance of telomeres. Telomeres are higher order nucleoprotein complexes that cap the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and play essential roles in conferring genome stability and cell proliferation capacity. The protective cap of the telomere is comprised of specific telomere binding proteins that regulate the length of telomeric DNA tract and allow the cell distinguish the chromosome terminus from a double-strand break. Telomeric DNA is synthesized by the action of telomerase, an unusual reverse transcriptase that replenishes telomeric DNA lost as a consequence of replication by conventional DNA polymerases. We have developed the genetically tractable flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system for studying telomeres in higher eukaryotes. With its sequenced genome, abundant genetic and transgenic tools, and extraordinarily high tolerance to genome instability, Arabidopsis has proven to be an excellent model for investigating fundamental processes in telomere biology. Current studies focus on defining the function and molecular evolution of telomere capping proteins and components of the telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex.

education and training

University of California, Berkeley - (Berkeley, California, United States), Postdoctoral Training
Ph.D. in , University of Alabama at Birmingham - (Birmingham, Alabama, United States) 1987
B.S. in , Auburn University - (Auburn, Alabama, United States) 1982

selected publications

Academic Articles88

Shakirov, E. V., Chen, J., & Shippen, D. E. (2022). Plant telomere biology: The green solution to the end-replication problem.. Plant Cell. 34(7), 2492-2504.
Campitelli, B. E., Razzaque, S., Barbero, B., Abdulkina, L. R., Hall, M. H., Shippen, D. E., Juenger, T. E., & Shakirov, E. V. (2022). Plasticity, pleiotropy and fitness trade-offs in Arabidopsis genotypes with different telomere lengths.. New Phytol. 233(4), 1939-1952.
Song, J., Castillo-González, C., Ma, Z., & Shippen, D. E. (2021). Arabidopsis retains vertebrate-type telomerase accessory proteins via a plant-specific assembly.. Nucleic Acids Res. 49(16), 9496-9507.
Choi, J. Y., Abdulkina, L. R., Yin, J., Chastukhina, I. B., Lovell, J. T., Agabekian, I. A., ... Purugganan, M. D. (2021). Natural variation in plant telomere length is associated with flowering time.. Plant Cell. 33(4), 1118-1134.
Castillo-Gonzlez, C., & Shippen, D. E. (2020). Change and HOAP for the best.. Elife. 9, e64945.

Chapters3

Nelson, A., Beilstein, M. A., & Shippen, D. E. (2014). Plant Telomeres and Telomerase. Molecular Biology. 25-49. Springer Nature.
Nelson, A., Beilstein, M. A., & Shippen, D. E. (2013). Nucleus and Genome: Telomeres. Molecular Biology. 1-21. Springer Nature.
Lamb, J. C., Shakirov, E. V., & Shippen, D. E. (2012). Plant Telomeres. PLANT CYTOGENETICS: GENOME STRUCTURE AND CHROMOSOME FUNCTION. 143-191. Springer Nature.

Conference Papers3

Song, X., Surovtseva, Y. V., Leehy, K., Boltz, K., & Shippen, D. E. (2009). A CST-like complex protects chromosome ends in Arabidopsis. CHROMOSOME RESEARCH. 17(4), 546-546.
Melek, M., Greene, E. C., Bednenko, J., & Shippen, D. E. (1996). Telomerase interactions with DNA: Chromosome healing and telomere maintenance.. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL. 7, 983-983.
SHIPPEN, D. E., & PRICE, C. M. (1994). NOVEL ROLES FOR THE TELOMERE PROTEIN IN DNA-REPLICATION. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY. 110-110.