Damon R. Lisch

Sorghum ANTHRACNOSE RESISTANCE GENE3 Is a Non-Coding RNA That Confers Fungal Resistance through Enhanced Cell Death

This study identifies a non-coding RNA gene, ARG3, responsible for fungal resistance in sorghum through enhanced cell death and confirms its role via transcript silencing.

Heritable changes of epialleles in maize can be triggered in the absence of DNA methylation

The paper shows hybridization in maize triggers global changes in trans-chromosomal methylation and demethylation, which can be maintained in subsequent generations, independent of Mop1 function.

RNA-directed DNA methylation prevents rapid and heritable reversal of transposon silencing under heat stress in Zea mays.

This study shows that DNA methylation in maize prevents heat-induced, heritable changes in histone modifications that silence transposons, even after methylation is restored.

siRNA-mediated de novo silencing of Ac/Ds transposons is initiated by alternative transposition in maize

The paper shows that alternative transposition generates inverted duplications that produce siRNAs, leading to heritable silencing of maize Ac/Ds transposons.

Silencing of Mu elements in maize involves distinct populations of small RNAs and distinct patterns of DNA methylation

The paper investigates how silencing of Mu elements in maize involves distinct small RNA populations and methylation patterns, revealing two distinct pathways in de novo methylation.