Anu Singh-Cundy , PhD
Associate Professor · She/her/hers
About
I grew up in northern India, and spent much of my youth birding and botanizing in the Himalayas. As an undergraduate at Delhi University, I got interested in cell and molecular biology. At Western, I study cell-cell interactions in plants, with a focus on a gene family called HD-AGPs. My students and I have shown that HD-AGPs are multi-functional extracellular proteins that evolve rapidly and have a role to play in breeding barriers between sister species.
Research Interests
Plant cell biology, especially pollen-pistil interactions; regulation of pollen tube growth; post-pollination gene expression; and, biochemistry of the plant extracellular matrix and its remodeling during vegetative and reproductive development.
Educational & Professional Experience
Education:
Penn State, University Park 1988-1993, Post-doctoral associate, Molecular and Cell Biology
Cornell University, Ithaca 1988, Ph.D., Plant biology
Delhi University, Delhi 1980, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Appointments:
2003-present Associate Professor, Biology Department, Western Washington University
1996-2003 Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Western Washington University
1994-1996 Research Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology Program, Department of Biology, Utah State University
1988-1992 Post-doctoral associate with Prof. Teh-hui Kao, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Penn State
1982-1988 Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant/McKnight Foundation Fellow, Cornell University; Ph.D. Advisor: Prof. Dominick J. Paolillo, Jr.
Recent Publications
Publications (WWU graduate students: bold font; WWU undergraduates: italics):
Callaway, TD and Singh-Cundy, A. 2019. HD-AGPs as Speciation Genes: Positive selection in a proline-rich domain in non-hybridizing species of Petunia, Solanum, and Nicotiana. Plants 8:211.
Twomey, CM, Brooks, JK, Corey, JM, and Singh-Cundy, A. 2013. Characterization of PhPRP1, a histidine domain arabinogalactan protein from Petunia hybrida pistils. J Plant Physiol 170:1384-1388.
Holden, J, Marty, JA and Singh-Cundy, A. 2003. Pollination-induced ethylene promotes the early phase of pollen tube growth in Petunia inflata. J Plant Physiol 160: 261-269
Lubliner, N and Singh-Cundy, A. 2003. Characterization of the pollen growth transition (PGT) in self-incompatible Petunia inflata. Plant Reprod 15: 243-253
Karunanadaa, B, Singh, A and Kao, TH 1994. Characterization of a predominantly pistil-expressed gene encoding a γ-thionin-like protein of Petunia inflata. Plant Mol Biol. 26: 459-464
Lee, HS, Singh, A and Kao, TH 1992. RNase X2, a pistil-specific ribonuclease from Petunia inflata, shares sequence similarity with solanaceous S-proteins. Plant Mol. Biol. 20: 1131-1141
Singh, A and Kao, TH 1992. Gametophytic self-incompatibility systems: molecular, cellular and evolutionary aspects. Int. Rev. Cytol. 140: 449-483
Singh, A, Evensen, KB and Kao, TH 1992. Ethylene production following compatible and incompatible pollinations in Petunia inflata. Plant Physiol. 99: 61-68
Singh, A, Ai, Y and Kao, TH 1991. Characterization of ribonuclease activity of three S-allele-associated proteins of Petunia inflata. Plant Physiol. 96: 38-45
Ai, Y, Singh, A, Coleman, CE, Ioerger, TR, Kheyr-Pour, A and Kao, TH 1990. Self-incompatibility in Petunia inflata: isolation and characterization of cDNAs encoding three S-allele-associated proteins. Plant Reprod. 3: 130-138