Bastiaan Bargmann

To meet the increasing demands for quantity and quality of food for a developing and growing global population in an ever more rapidly changing environment, we need to adapt the crops we depend on to become more sustainable. New breeding techniques are key to speeding up the development and refinement of novel traits. Research in the lab is based on experience in the regeneration of whole plants from single cells, i.e. protoplasts, and the use of state-of-the-art genome-editing technology. Fundamentally, we want to understand and improve the reliability of processes involved in the embryogenic and organogenic recovery of fertile plants from protoplast culture, focusing on cell-identity establishment and growth-regulator signaling. This work will be conducted both in model systems (e.g. Arabidopsis thaliana) and in relevant crop species. Furthermore, we want to establish and enhance next-generation breeding technologies, particularly gene-editing through CRISPR-Cas9 and related molecular tools, in order to increase precision, efficacy, and applicability in plants. Such tools can thus be employed to improve crop traits and accelerate breeding programs to develop varieties with characteristics that better suit growers, processors, and consumers. Although more traditional transgenic methodology will also be used for exploratory and proof-of-concept approaches, part of the aim in the use of protoplasts is to generate non-transgenic products with only transient expression of the genome-modifying tools.

• CSES4344: Crop Physiology and Ecology
• CSES5344: Advanced Crop Physiology

Assistant Professor | 2018 – present
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Research Scientist | 2014 – 2018
Cibus US LLC

Postdoctoral scholar | 2011 – 2014
Estelle lab
University of California San Diego

Postdoctoral scholar | 2006 – 2011
Birnbaum lab
New York University

1. Brooks MD, Reed KM, Krouk G, Coruzzi GM, Bargmann BO. (2022) The TARGET System: Rapid Identification of Direct Targets of Transcription Factors by Gene Regulation in Plant Cells. Transcription Factor Regulatory Networks (pp. 1-12). New York, NY: Springer US. https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-0716-2815-7_1
2. Procko C, Lee T, Borsuk A, Bargmann BOR, Dabi T, Nery JR, Estelle M, Baird L, O’Connor C, Brodersen C, Ecker JR, Chory J (2022) Leaf cell-specific and single-cell transcriptional profiling reveals a role for the palisade layer in UV light protection. The Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac167
3. Reed KM, Bargmann BOR (2021) Protoplast Regeneration and Its Use in New Plant Breeding Technologies. Frontiers in Genome Editing 3:. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgeed.2021.734951
4. Gonzalez JH, Taylor JS, Reed KM, Wright RC, Bargmann BOR (2021) Temporal Control of Morphogenic Factor Expression Determines Efficacy in Enhancing Regeneration. Plants 10:2271. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112271
5. Beard KM, Boling AWH, Bargmann BOR (2021) Protoplast isolation, transient transformation, and flow-cytometric analysis of reporter-gene activation in Cannabis sativa L. Industrial Crops and Products 164:113360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113360
6. Laimbeer FPE, Bargmann BOR, Holt SH, Pratt T, Peterson B, Doulis AG, Buell CR, Veilleux RE (2020) Characterization of the F Locus Responsible for Floral Anthocyanin Production in Potato. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 10:3871–3879. https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.120.401684
7. Mishra AK, Bargmann BO, Tsachaki M, Fritsch C and Sprecher, SG. (2016) Functional genomics identifies regulators of the phototransduction machinery in the Drosophila larval eye and adult ocelli. Developmental Biology, 410(2), pp.164-177.
8. Wu MF, Yamaguchi N, Xiao J, Bargmann B, Estelle M, Sang Y and Wagner D. (2015) Auxin-regulated chromatin switch directs acquisition of flower primordium founder fate. Elife, 4, p.e09269.
9. Azoulay‐Shemer T, Palomares A, Bagheri A, Israelsson‐Nordstrom M, Engineer CB, Bargmann BO, Stephan AB and Schroeder JI. (2015) Guard cell photosynthesis is critical for stomatal turgor production, yet does not directly mediate CO2‐and ABA‐induced stomatal closing. The Plant Journal, 83(4), pp.567-581.
10. Adrian J, Chang J, Ballenger CE, Bargmann BO, Alassimone J, Davies KA, Lau OS, Matos JL, Hachez C, Lanctot A, Vatén A, Birnbaum KD and Bergmann DC. (2015) Transcriptome dynamics of the stomatal lineage: birth, amplification, and termination of a self-renewing population. Developmental Cell, 33(1), pp.107-118.
11. Yu H, Zhang Y, Moss BL, Bargmann BO, Wang R, Prigge M, Nemhauser JL and Estelle M. (2015) Untethering the TIR1 auxin receptor from the SCF complex increases its stability and inhibits auxin response. Nature Plants, 1(3).
12. Coruzzi G, Birnbaum K, Bargmann B, Krouk G, inventors; New York University, assignee. Transgenic Plants And A Transient Transformation System For Genome-Wide Transcription Factor Target Discovery. United States Patent Application, US 14/457,402. 2014 Aug 12.
13. Bargmann BO, Birnbaum KD and Brenner ED. (2014) An undergraduate study of two transcription factors that promote lateral root formation. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 42(3), pp.237-245. 
14. Para A, Li Y, Marshall-Colón A, Varala K, Francoeur NJ, Moran TM, Edwards MB, Hackley C, Bargmann BO, Birnbaum KD, McCombie WR, Krouk G and Coruzzi GM. (2014) Hit-and-run transcriptional control by bZIP1 mediates rapid nutrient signaling in Arabidopsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(28), pp.10371-10376.
15. Bargmann BO and Estelle, M. (2014) Auxin perception: in the IAA of the beholder. Physiologia Plantarum, 151(1), pp.52-61.
16. Bargmann BO, Vanneste S, Krouk G, Nawy T, Efroni I, Shani E, Choe G, Friml J, Bergmann DC, Estelle M, Birnbaum KD. (2013) A map of cell type-specific auxin responses. Molecular Systems Biology, 9:688.
17. Bargmann BO, Marshall-Colon A, Efroni I, Ruffel S, Birnbaum KD, Coruzzi GM, Krouk G. (2013) TARGET: a transient transformation system for genome-wide transcription factor target discovery. Molecular Plant, May;6(3):978-80.
18. Evrard A, Bargmann BO, Birnbaum KD, Tester M, Baumann U, Johnson AA. (2012) Fluorescence-activated cell sorting for analysis of cell type-specific responses to salinity stress in Arabidopsis and rice. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2012;913:265-76.
19. Fernandez AG*, Bargmann BO*, Mis EK, Edgley ML, Birnbaum KD, Piano F. (2012) High-throughput fluorescence-based isolation of live C. elegans larvae. Nature Protocols, Jul 19;7(8):1502-10. (*shared first author)
20. Fernandez AG, Mis EK, Bargmann BO, Birnbaum KD, Piano F. (2010). Automated sorting of live C. elegans using laFACS. Nature Methods, 2010 Jun;7(6):417-8.
21. Bargmann BO and Birnbaum KD (2010). Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting of Plant Protoplasts. Journal of Visualized Experiments. http://www.jove.com/index/details.stp?id=1673, doi: 10.3791/1673
22. Bargmann BO and Birnbaum KD. (2009) Positive fluorescent selection permits precise, rapid, and in-depth overexpression analysis in plant protoplasts. Plant Physiology, 149(3):1231-9.
23. Bargmann BO, Laxalt AM, ter Riet B, Testerink C, Merquiol E, Mosblech A, Leon-Reyes A, Pieterse CM, Haring MA, Heilmann I, Bartels D, Munnik T. (2009) Reassessing the role of phospholipase D in the Arabidopsis wounding response. Plant Cell and Environment, 32(7):837-50.
24. Bargmann BO, Laxalt AM, ter Riet B, van Schooten B, Merquiol E, Testerink C, Haring MA, Bartels D, Munnik T. (2009) Multiple PLDs required for high salinity and water deficit tolerance in plants. Plant and Cell Physiology, 50(1):78-89. 
25. Bargmann BO, Munnik T. (2006) The role of phospholipase D in plant stress responses. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 9(5):515-22.
26. Bargmann BO, Laxalt AM, Riet BT, Schouten E, van Leeuwen W, Dekker HL, de Koster CG, Haring MA, Munnik T. (2006) LePLDbeta1 activation and relocalization in suspension-cultured tomato cells treated with xylanase. The Plant Journal, 45(3):358-68.
27. Dhonukshe P, Bargmann BO and Gadella TW Jr. (2006) Arabidopsis tubulin folding cofactor B interacts with alpha-tubulin in vivo. Plant and Cell Physiology, 47(10):1406-11.
28. de Jong CF, Laxalt AM, Bargmann BO, de Wit PJ, Joosten MH and Munnik T. (2004) Phosphatidic acid accumulation is an early response in the Cf-4/Avr4 interaction. The Plant Journal, 39(1):1-12.
29. Boorsma A, de Nobel H, ter Riet B, Bargmann B, Brul S, Hellingwerf KJ and Klis FM. (2004) Characterization of the transcriptional response to cell wall stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast, 15;21(5):413-27.
30. See my Google Scholar profile: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uKaecHkAAAAJ&hl=en