Jeff Brotherton

Dr. Brotherton retired in May 2016.

Dr. Brotherton began teaching at Converse in 2012.  He is a biochemist with particular expertise in plant biochemistry and biotechnology.   Much of Dr. Brotherton’s career involved analysis of the biochemical consequences of genetically modified plant species.  This work was done in collaboration with a large research group at the University of Illinois that contributed to the development of methods used to produce genetically modified corn and soybeans.  He holds numerous publications and two patents related to this work.   He was awarded two Fulbright Scholar Awards that supported his teaching at the University of Zambia from 1985-1990 and biotechnology training in Zambia from 2003-2004.  At Converse Dr. Brotherton directs a research project elucidating the function of a putative tryptophan pathway gene that may contribute to the regulation of secondary product biosynthesis.  Students working on this project use microarray data, proteomics data, knockout mutants, antibody-based detection, high performance liquid chromatography, and enzyme assays.

Primary teaching responsibilities were Biochemistry and General Chemistry.

Referred Publications since 2000:

Brotherton JE., M.R. Jeschke, P.J. Tranel and J.M. Widholm (2007)  Identification of Arabidopsis thaliana variants with differential glyphosate responses.  Journal of Plant Physiology 164:1337-1345.

Inaba, Y., J.E. Brotherton, A. Ulanov and J.M. Widholm (2007)  Expression of a feedback insensitive anthranilate synthase gene from tobacco increases free tryptophan in soybean plants. Plant Cell Reports 26:1763-1771.

Tsai, F.Y., J.E. Brotherton and J.M. Widholm (2005)  Overexpression of the feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase gene in tobacco caused tryptophan accumulation. Plant Cell Reports 23: 548-556.

Cho, H.J., J.E. Brotherton and J.M. Widholm (2004)  Use of tobacco feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase geen (ASA2) as a selectable marker for legume hairy root transformation. Plant Cell Reports 23: 104-113.

Papanikou E., J.E. Brotherton and J.M. Widholm (2004)  Length of time in tissue culture can affect the selected glyphosate resistance mechanism.  Planta 218: 589-598.

Widholm, J.M., A.R. Chinnala, J-H. Ryu, H-S. Song, T. Eggett and J.E. Brotherton (2001) Glyphosate selection of gene amplification in suspension cultures of three plant species.  Physiol. Plant. 112: 540-545.

Zhang, X-H., J.E. Brotherton, J.M. Widholm and A.R. Portis (2001)  Targeting a nuclear anthranilate synthase α-subunit gene to the tobacco plastid genome results in enhanced tryptophan biosynthesis.  Return of a gene to its native, pre-endosymbiotic origin. Plant Physiol. 127: 131-141.

Cho, H-J., J.E. Brotherton, H-S. Song and J.M. Widholm (2000)  Increasing tryptophan synthesis in a forage legume Astragulus sinicus by expressing the tobacco feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase (ASA2) gene.  Plant Physiol. 123: 1069-1076.