Alphabetical Listing

Kendal Hirschi, Ph.D.

Professor of Pediatrics
Professor of Human and Molecular Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine

kendalh@bcm.tmc.edu

Curriculum Vitae

• Appointments
• Education
• Research Experience
• Teaching
• Grants and Awards
• Publications
• Invited Talks
• Research Collaborations
• Downloadable list of news stories about the latest calcium transport activity in carrots. (carrotstories.xls)

Appointments:

Education:

B.S. Biochemistry - University of Arizona, 1984
M.S. Microbiology - Arizona State University, 1988
Ph.D. Plant Pathology - University of Arizona, 1993

Research Experience:

2002
Associate Professor, Depts of Pediatrics and Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine

2002
Associate Professor, Dept of Horticulture, Texas A&M

2001-2002
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Horticulture, Texas A&M

1997-2002
Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, CNRC

1993-1997
Postdoctoral Fellow, Whitehead Institute, MIT
Research Interests: Molecular genetic analyses of ion transport in plants. Supervisor: Dr. Gerald Fink

1988-1993
Graduate Research Associate, University of Arizona
Dissertation: Molecular characterization of virulence determinants in the phytopathogenic fungus Nectria haematococca MP VI. Supervisor: Dr. Hans VanEtten

1986-1988
Research and Teaching Assistant, Arizona State University
Thesis: Construction and analysis of deletions within the promoter region of the Bacillus subtilis glnRA gene. Supervisor: Dr. Harold Schreier

1985-1986
Research Technician, University of Arizona Nutrition Dept. Supervisor: Dr. Patsy Brannon

USDA CRIS: Nutrient Transporters in Plants 99-04.

NSF 2010: Identification of Plant Transporters 9/02-9/06.

Travel and Accommodations for NSF Plant Biochemistry Course, WSU (1995).

NSF Travel Awards for Plant Membrane Biology Meetings in Regensbrug, Germany (1995) and Cambridge, England (1998).

MIT Course Instructor (1995). Chosen to teach advanced undergraduates a full semester course in plant genetics and molecular biology.

Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship (1993-1996).

NIH RO1 Plant Ion Homeostasis 5/98-5/03.

Philip Morris USA Cadmium accumulation in tobacco 5/01-5/04.

International Advisory Committee, Intracellular Signaling in Plant and Animal Systems 2001.

Teaching:

Publications:

Jay Morris, Keli M. Hawthorne, Tim Hotze, Steven A. Abrams, and Kendal D. Hirschi Nutritional impact of elevated calcium transport activity in carrots PNAS published January 17, 2008, 10.1073/pnas.0709005105 (Agricultural Sciences)

Shigaki T, Rees I, Nakhleh L, Hirschi KD. Identification of the three distinct phylogenetic groups of CAX cation/proton antiporters. J Mol Evol. 2006, 63(6):815-825.

Shigaki, T. and Hirschi, KD (2006). Diverse Functions and Molecular Properties Emerging for CAX Cation/H+ Exchangers in Plants. Plant Biol. 8: 419-429. (full text)

Cheng, N.H., Liu, J,Z., Brock A., Nelson, R.A., Hirschi KD (2006). AtGRXcp, an Arabidopsis chloroplastic glutaredoxin, is critical for protection against protein oxidative damage. J. Biol. Chem. doi:10.1074/jbc.M601354200. (full text)

V. Koren’kov, S. Park, N.-H. Cheng, C. Sreevidya, J. Lachmansingh, J. Morris, K. Hirschi, G. J. Wagner (2006). Enhanced Cd2+-selective root-tonoplast-transport in tobaccos expressing Arabidopsis cation exchangers. DOI: 10.1007/s00425-006-0352-7.

Kim CK, Han J-S, Lee H-S, Oh J-Y, Shigaki T, Park SH, Hirschi KD. Expression of an Arabidopsis CAX2 variant in potato tubers increases calcium levels with no accumulation of manganese. Plant Cell Rep. 2006; 25(11), 1226-1232.

Cheng N-H, Liu J-Z, Brock A, Nelson RS, Hirschi KD. AtGRXcp and Arabidopsis chloroplastic glutaredoxin, is critical for protection against protein oxidative damage. J Biol Chem. 2006; 281(36):26280-26288.

Bock, KW, Honys D, Ward JM, Padmanaban S, Nawrocki EP, Hirschi KD, Twell D, Sze H (2006). Integrating Membrane Transport with Male Gametophyte Development and Function through Transcriptomics. Plant Physiol. 140: 1151-1168. (full text)

Park S, Li J, Pittman JK, Berkowitz GA, Yang H, Undurraga S, Morris J, Hirschi KD, Gaxiola RA (2005). Up-regulation of a H⁺-pyrophosphatase (H⁺-PPase) as a strategy to engineer drought-resistant crop plants. PNAS. 102: 18830-18835. (full text)

Shigaki T, Vyzasatya RR, Sivitz AB, Ward JM, Sze H, Hirschi KD. The Cre-loxP recombination-based reporter system for plant transcriptional expression studies. Plant Molecular Biology. 2005; 58(1):65-73.

Park S, Cheng NH, Pittman JK, Yoo KS, Park J, Smith RH, Hirschi KD (2005). Increased Calcium Levels and Prolonged Shelf Life in Tomatoes Expressing Arabidopsis H⁺/Ca²⁺ Transporters. Plant Phys. First published on October 21, 2005; 10.1104/pp.105.06626. (full text)

Shigaki T, Kole M, Ward JM, Sze H, Hirschi KD (2005). Cre-loxP recombination vectors for the expression of Riken Arabidopsis full-length cDNAs in plants. BioTechniques 39: 301-303. (full text)

Shigaki T, Barkla BJ, Miranda-Vergara MC, Zhao J, Pantoja O, Hirschi KD (2005). Identification of a crucial histidine involved in metal transport activity in the Arabidopsis cation/H⁺ exchanger CAX1. J. Biol. Chem. 280:30136-30142. (full text)

Cheng NH, Pittman JK, Shigaki T, Lachmansingh J, LeClere S, Lahner B, Salt DE, Hirschi KD (2005). Functional Association of Arabidopsis CAX1 and CAX3 Is Required for Normal Growth and Ion Homeostasis. Plant Phys. 138:2048-2060. (full text)

Pittman JK, Shigaki T, Hirschi KD (2005). Evidence of differential pH regulation of the Arabidopsis vacuolar Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiporters CAX1 and CAX2. FEBS Letters 579: 2648-2656. (full text)

Park S, Kang TS, Kim CK, Han JS, Kim S, Smith RH, Pike LM, Hirschi KD (2005). Genetic Manipulation for Enhancing Calcium Content in Potato Tuber. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53: 5598-5603. (full text)

Shigaki T, Vyzasatya RR, Sivitz AB, Ward JM, Sze H, Hirschi KD (2005). The Cre-loxP recombination-based reporter system for plant transcriptional expression studies. Plant Molecular Biology, 58: 65-73. (full text)

Han J-S, Kim CK, Park SH, Hirschi KD, Mok L-G (2005). Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria Standl.) Plant Cell Reports 23: 692-698. (full text)

Kim K-M, Park Y-H, Kim CK, Hirschi KD, Sohn J-K (2005). Development of transgenic rice plants overexpressing the Arabidopsis H⁺/Ca²⁺ antiporter CAX1 gene. Plant Cell Reports 23: 678-682. (full text)

Pittman JK, Shigaki T, Marshall JL, Morris JL, Cheng NH, Hirschi KD (2004). Functional and regulatory analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana CAX2 cation transporter. Plant Molecular Biology (2004) 56: 959-971.

Park S, Kim C, Pike L, Smith R, and Hirschi KD (2004). Increased calcium in carrots by expression of an Arabidopsis H⁺/Ca²⁺ transporter. Molecular Breeding 14: 275-282. (full text)

Pittman J, Cheng N, Shigaki T, Kunta M, Hirschi KD (2004). Functional dependence on calcineurin by variants of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar H⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger Vcx1p. Molecular Microbiology 54: 1104–1116. (full text)

Hirschi KD (2004). The Calcium Conundrum. Both Versatile Nutrient and Specific Signal. Plant Phys. 136: 2338-2342. (full text)

Sze H, Padmanaban S, Cellier F, Honys D, Cheng N, Bock K, Conejero G, Li X, Twell D, Ward JM, and Hirschi KD (2004). Expression Patterns of a Novel AtCHX Gene Family Highlight Potential Roles in Osmotic Adjustment and K1 Homeostasis in Pollen Development. Plant Phys. 136: 2532-2547. (full text)

Cheng N, Liu J, Nelson S, Hirschi KD (2004). Characterization of CXIP4, a novel Arabidopsis protein that activates the H⁺/Ca²⁺ antiporter, CAX1. FEBS Letters. 559: 99-106
. (full text)

Cheng N, Pittman JK, Zhu K, and Hirschi KD (2004). The Protein Kinase SOS2 Activates the Arabidopsis H⁺/Ca²⁺ Antiporter CAX1 to Integrate Calcium Transport and Salt Tolerance. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 2922-2926. (full text)

Hirschi KD (2003). Strike while the ionome is hot: making the most of plant genomic advances. Trends in Biotechnology 21: 520-521. (full text)

Hirschi KK, Burt JM, Hirschi KD, Cuiping D (2003). Gap Junction Communication Mediates Transforming Growth Factor-ß Activation and Endothelial-Induced Mural Cell Differentiation. Circulation Research, 93: 429-437. ( full text)

Magidin M, Pittman, JK, Hirschi KD, and Bartel B (2003). ILR2, a novel gene involved in IAA conjugate sensitivity and metal transport in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Journal 35: 523-534.

Park SH, Morris JL, Park J, Hirschi KD, and Smith RH(2003). Efficient and genotype-independent Agrobaterium-mediated tomato transformation. J Plant Physiol. 160: 1253-1257.

Hirschi KD (2003). Insertional mutants: a foundation for assessing gene function.Trends in Plant Sciences 8: 205-207. (full text)

Pittman JK and Hirschi KD (2003). Don't shoot the (second) messenger: endomembrane transporters and binding proteins modulate cytosolic Ca²⁺ levels. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 6: 257-262. (full text)

Shigaki T, Pittman JK, and Hirschi KD (2003). Manganese Specificity Determinants in the Arabidopsis Metal/H⁺ Antiporter CAX2. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 6610-6617. (full text)

Cheng N and Hirschi KD (2003). Cloning and Characterization of CXIP1, a Novel PICOT Domain-containing Arabidopsis Protein That Associates with CAX1. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 6503-6509.
(full text)

Cheng N, Pittman JK, Barkla B, Shigaki T, and Hirschi KD (2003).
The Arabidopsis cax1 Mutant Exhibits Impaired Ion Homeostasis, Development, and Hormonal Responses and Reveals Interplay among Vacuolar Transporters.Plant Cell 15: 347-364. (full text)

Pittman JK, Sreevidya C, Shigaki T, Ueoka-Nakanishi H, and Hirschi KD (2002). Distinct N-terminal regulatory domains of Ca²⁺ /H⁺ antiporters. Plant Physiol. 130: 104-1062. (full text)

Pittman JK, Shigaki T, Cheng N, and Hirschi KD (2002). Mechanism of N-terminal autoinhibition in the Arabidopsis Ca²⁺ /H⁺ antiporter CAX1. J Biol Chem 277: 26452-26459. (full text)

Gaxiola R, Fink G and Hirschi KD (2002). Genetic Manipulation of Vacuolar Proton Pumps and Transporters in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 129: 967-973. (full text)

Shigaki T, and Hirschi KD (2002). Chimeric Gene Construction Without Reference to Restriction Sites. Biotechniques 32: 36-39. (full text)

Shigaki T, Sreevidya C, and Hirschi KD (2002). Analysis of the Ca²⁺ domain in Arabidopsis H⁺/Ca²⁺ antiporters. Plant Molecular Biology 50: 475-483.

Cheng N, Pittman JK, Shigaki T, and Hirschi KD (2001). Characterization of CAX4: an Arabidopsis H⁺/Cation Antiporter. Plant Physiol. 128: 1245-1254. (full text)

Shigaki T, Cheng N, Pittman JK, and Hirschi KD (2001). Structural determinants of Ca²⁺ transport in the Arabidopsis Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiporter CAX. J Biol Chem 276: 43152-43159. (full text).

Shigaki T and Hirschi KD (2001). Use of Class IIS Restriction Enzymes for Site-Directed Mutagenesis: variations on Phoenix Mutagenesis. Analytical Biochemistry 298: 118-120. (full text)

Pittman JK and Hirschi KD (2001). Regulation of CAX1, an Arabidopsis Ca²⁺/H⁺ Antiporter: Identification of an N-terminal Autoinhibitory Domain. Plant Physiology 127: 1020-1029. (full text)

Hirschi KD (2001). Vacuolar H⁺ /Ca²⁺ transport: Who's directing the traffic? Trends in Plant Sciences 6: 100-104. (full text)

Hirschi KD, Miranda ML, and Wilganowski N (2001). Phenotypic Changes in Arabidopsis Caused by Expression of a Yeast Vacuolar Ca²⁺ /H⁺ Antiporter. Plant Molecular Biology 46: 57-65.

Mäser P, Thomine S, Schroeder J, Ward J, and Hirschi KD, Sze H, et al. (2001). Phylogenetic Relationships within Cation Transporter Families of Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 126: 1646-1667. (full text)

Hirschi KD, Kreps JA, and Hirschi KK (2001). Molecular Approaches to Studying Nutrient Metabolism and Function: An Array of Possibilities J Nutr 131: 1605S-1609S. (full text)

Shigaki T and Hirschi KD (2000). Cloning and Characterization of CAX-like Genes in Plants: implications for functional diverstiy. Gene 257: 291-298. ( full text)

Hirschi KD, Korenkov V, Wilganowski N, and George Wagner (2000). Expression of Arabidopsis CAX2 in Tobacco: Altered Metal Accumulation and Increased Manganese Tolerance. Plant Physiol 124: 125-134. ( full text)

Diener A and Hirschi KD (2000). Heterologous Expression for Dominant-Like Gene Activity. Trends in Plant Sciences 5: 10-11. ( full text)

Hirschi KD (1999). Expression of Arabidopsis CAX1 in Tobacco: Altered Calcium Homeostasis and Increased Stress Sensitivity. Plant Cell 11: 2113-2122. ( full text)

Kontoyiannis D, Sagar N, and Hirschi KD (1999). Overexpression of ERG11p by the regulatable GAL1 promoter confers fluconazole resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo 43:2798-2800. ( full text)

George H, Hirschi KD, and VanEtten HD (1998). Biocemical properties of the products of cytochrome P450 genes (PDA) encoding pisatin demethylase activity in Nectria haematococca MP VI. Arch Microbiol 170: 147-154.

Hirschi KD, Zhen R, Cunningham KW, Rea PA, and Fink GR (1996). CAX1, a H⁺ /Ca²⁺ Antiporter from Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci 93: 8782-8786. (full text)

Hirschi KD, VanEtten HD (1996). Expression of the pisatin detoxifying genes (PDA) of Nectria haematococca in Vitro and in Planta. Mol Plant-Microbe Interactions 9: 483-491.

Schreier H, Rostkowski CA, Nomellini JF, and Hirschi KD (1991). Identification of DNA sequences involved in regulating Bacillus subtilis glnRA expression by the nitrogen source. J Mol Biol 220: 241-253.

Schreier HJ, Hirschi KD, and Rostkowski C A (1990). Cis-acting sequences regulating glnRA expression in Bacillus subtilis. In: Genetics and Biotechnology of Bacilli. 3: 81-87.

Schreier HJ, Brown SW, Hirschi KD, Nomellini JF, and Sonenshein AL (1989). Regulation of glutamine synthetase gene expression in Bacillus subtilis by the product of the glnR gene. J Mol Biol 210: 51-63.

Brannon P, Hirschi KD, and Korc M (1988). Effects of epidermal growth factor, insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 on rat pancreatic acinar cells cultured in serum-free medium. Pancreas 3: 41-48.

2006 Invited Talks:

"Calcium Transporters- what’s next?"
Instituto de Biotecnología UNAM
Cuernavaca, Mexico
February 23, 2006

"Session Chair and Organizer"
2nd Pan-American Plant Membrane Biology
South Padre, TX
May 17-21, 2006

2005 Invited Talks:

"Molecular biology and food biotechnology"
American Bakers Association
Houston, Texas
January 25, 2006

"Exploiting the Pore to Improve Plant Nutrition"
University of Arizona Department of Plant Science
Tucson, Arizona
September 12th, 2005

"Step One: Increasing the Calcium Levels in Plants"
Texas Produce Convention
South Padre Island, Texas
August 11th, 2005

"Reduction of the Cadmium Content of Tobacco"
Philip Morris USA Genomics Symposium
Richmond, Virginia
June 22, 2005

"A recipe for plant improvement"
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
April 6, 2005

2004 Invited Talks:

"CAX genes and Calcium Homeostasis"
NSF Calcium in Plants Workshop
San Antonio, Texas
March 13, 2004

"Plant Calcium Homeostasis and the CAX Transporters"
Dartmouth
Hanover, New Hampshire
April 29, 2004

"Update on Calcium Fortified Plants"
Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center Retreat
Houston, Texas
June 7, 2004

"Reduction of the Cadmium Content of Tobacco"
Philip Morris USA Genomics Symposium
Richmond, Virginia
June 9, 2004

"Regulation of Membrane Transport"
13th International Workshop on Plant Membrane Biology
Montpellier, France
July 2004

"Regulation of proton pumps by vacuolar proton dependent transporters"
Conacyt-Symposium
Mexico City, Mexico
October 29, 2004

"Genetic Engineering to Improve Calcium Content In Spinach"
National Spinach Council
San Antonio, Texas
December 16th, 2004

2003 Invited Talks:

Analysis of Arabidopsis Calcium Transporters
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut
April 4, 2003

A Recipe for Crop Improvement: A pinch of weeds and a dash of yeast
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
April 24, 2003

Give and Take: Interplay among vacuolar calcium transporters
1st Pan-American Plant Membrane Biology Workship
Cuernavaca, Mexico
May 29, 2003

Discovery of CAX genes from Arabidopsis and transformation into tobacco
Philip Morris USA Genome Research Project
Richmond, VA
June 12, 2003

"A Recipe for Vegetable Improvement"
Texas A&M Department of Horticulture
College Station, TX
September 4, 2003

Plant calcium signal transduction
Emory University Department of Physiology
Atlanta, GA
September 25, 2003

Contributions of Genomics to Human Nutrition (colloquium speaker)
American Society for Horticultural Sciences
Providence, RI
October 2, 2003

A recipe for Crop Improvement: A dash or yeast and a pinch of weeds
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Raleigh, NC
October 27, 2003

Regulation and Function of Calcium Transporters
Dynamic Vacuoles in Plants
Okazaki, Japan
Novemember 26, 2003

2002 Invited Talks:

"Calcium and metal transport across the plant vacuole"
Instituto de Biotecnología UNAM
Cuernavaca, Mexico
January 14, 2002

"Genetic approaches to altering mineral content in plants"
University of Massachusetts
Plant Biology
Amherst, Mass
February 14, 2002

"From lab bench to kitchen table: boosting calcium content in agriculturally important crops"
Texas A&M Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center
College Station, Texas
February 22, 2002

"Calcium transport into the plant vacuole: is there an auxin connection?"
University of Texas Dept of Cell and Molecular Biology
Austin, Texas
February 26, 2002

"Nutritional genomics"
University of California Davis
USDA/ARS
Davis, California
March 12, 2002

Altering the Nutrient Status of Plants
Texas A&M University, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences
March 28, 2002

Baylor College of Medicine
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics
Houston, Texas
"Using yeast and weeds to manipulate mineral content in agriculturally important plants"
April 2, 2002

"Manipulating ion transport in plants"
Dartmouth College Dept of Biological Sciences
Hanover, New Hampshire
April 5, 2002

Exploiting Arabidopsis CAX genes for reducing leaf cadmium content in tobacco: Molecular Aspects.
Philip Morris USA, Richmond, Virginia
June 2002

Cellular Basis of Adaptation to Salt and Water Stress in Plant
"Regulation of plant H+/Ca2+ transporters"
Queen's College
Oxford, UK
July 15, 2002

2001 Invited Talks:

"Characterization of CAX genes"
University of Tennessee Department of Botany
February 26, 2001

"Ion transport into the Plant Vacuole"
University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences
March 26, 2001

"Phytochemicals in Fruits and Vegetables to Improve Human Health"
Texas A&M
Department of Horticulture
April 3, 2001

"Calcium and Metal Transport in Plants: characterization Danforth Center
St. Louis, Mo.
of the CAX genes"
May 30, 2001

Philip Morris
Richmond Va.
June 14, 2001

"Calcium Transport around the Plant Vacuole: characterization of the CAX Genes"
Signaling in Plants and Animals
Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University
September 10, 2001

"The role of CAX genes in Vacuolar Ca²⁺ /H⁺ X Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants
La Paz, Mexico
antiport"
October 28, 2001

Research Collaborations:

Erin Connolly, Univeristy of South Carolina, Biological Sciences

Heven Sze, University of Maryland, Dept. Cell Biology and Mol. Genetics

George Wagner, University of Kentucky, Department of Agronomy

Karen Hirschi, Baylor College of Medicine, Dept of Pediatrics and Cell and Molecular Biology

Roberta Smith, Texas A&M, Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center

John Ward, University of Minnesota, Biological Sciences

Roberto Gaxiola, University of Conneticut, Plant Molecular Genetics, Department of Plant Science