- PhD (in progress) Botany, UBC (2008-present)
- MSc Cell Biology, McGill University (2006-2008)
- BSc (honours) Cell and Developmental Biology, UBC (2002-2006)
Research
In a broad sense, I am interested in intracellular trafficking and secretion. I am particularly interested in polarized secretion and in the factors governing the establishment and maintenance of organelle identity.
My previous work, both my MSc in Tamara Western’s lab at McGill University, and my undergraduate honours thesis in Lacey Samuels’ lab at UBC, were focused on polarized pectin secretion in the seed coat of Arabidopsis.
Currently, I am studying lipid export from plant cells. My model systems include the cuticular wax-secreting epidermal cells of Arabidopsis thaliana and Sorghum bicolor, and the essential oil-secreting glands of peppermint. All three of these plant cell types secrete extraordinarily large volumes of lipids during particular time-points in their developments. However, the mechanisms of this transport have not yet been elucidated. I am using a combination of approaches including light and electron microscopy, reverse genetics, and biochemistry to characterize the molecular mechanisms behind plant lipid export.
Publications
Boutté, Y.*, Jonsson, K.*, McFarlane, H.E., Johnson, E., Gendre, D., Swarup, R., Friml, J., Samuels, A.L., Robert, S., and Bhalerao, R.P. 2013. ECHIDNA-mediated secretory trafficking of auxin carriers for differential cell elongation in Arabidopsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Accepted – in press.
* YB & KJ contributed equally to this work.
Gendre, D.*, McFarlane, H.E.*, Johnson, E., Mouille, G., Sjödin, A., Oh, J., Levesque-Tremblay, G., Watanabe, Y., Samuels, A.L., and Bhalerao, R.P. 2013. Evolutionarily conserved ECH/YIP4 complex mediates the secretion of cell wall polysaccharides in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell 25: 2633-2646. [view abstract]
* DG & HEM contributed equally to this work.
Sampathkumar, A., Gutierrez, R., McFarlane, H.E., Bringmann, M., Lindeboom, J.J., Emons, A.M., Samuels, A.L., Ketelaar, T., Ehrardt, D.W., and Persson, S. 2013. Patterning and lifetime of plasma membrane-localized cellulose synthase is dependent on actin organization in Arabidopsis interphase cells. Plant Physiology 162:675-688. [view abstract]
- featured article
Lam, P.*, Zhao, L.*, McFarlane, H.E., Aiga, M., Lam, V., Hooker, T.S., and Kunst, L. 2012. RDR1 and SGS3, components of RNA-mediated gene silencing, are required for regulation of cuticular wax biosynthesis in developing stems of Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 159: 1385-1395. [view abstract]
* PL & LZ contributed equally to this work
Samuels, A.L. and McFarlane, H.E. 2012. Plant cell wall secretion and lipid traffic at membrane contact sites of the cell cortex. Protoplasma 249: S19-S23. [view abstract]
Harpaz-Saad, S.*, McFarlane, H.E.*, Xu, S., Divi, U.K., Forward, B., Western, T.L., and Kieber, J.J. 2011. Cellulose synthase via the FEI2 RLK/SOS5 pathway and CELLULOSE SYNTHASE 5 is required for the structure of seed coat mucilage in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal 68: 941-953. [view abstract]
* SHS & HEM contributed equally to this work
- cover image & featured article
McFarlane, H.E., Shin, J.J., Bird, D.A., and Samuels, A.L. 2010. ABCG transporters, which are required for export of diverse cuticular lipids, dimerize in different combinations. The Plant Cell 22: 3066-3075. [view abstract]
Young, R.E., McFarlane, H.E., Hahn, M.G., Western, T.L., Haughn, G.W. and Samuels, A.L. 2008. Analysis of the Golgi apparatus in Arabidopsis seed coat cells during polarized secretion of pectin-rich mucilage. The Plant Cell 20: 1623-1638. [view abstract]
McFarlane, H.E., Wasteneys, G.O., Young, R.E. and Samuels, A.L. 2008. The cortical microtubule cytoskeleton in Arabidopsis seed coat cells marks a plasma membrane domain of high vesicle fusion. Planta 227: 1363-1375. [view abstract]
McFarlane, H.E., Wasteneys, G.O., Young, R.E. and Samuels, A.L. 2008. The cortical microtubule cytoskeleton in Arabidopsis seed coat cells marks a plasma membrane domain of high vesicle fusion. Planta 227: 1363-1375. [view abstract]
Funding
My research is funded by an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship D3, a Canadian L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Postgraduate Scholarship, a Four Year Graduate Fellowship from UBC, and a UBC Botany entrance scholarship.
Other Interests
Outside of the lab, I play ice hockey and soccer and I am a keen knitter. I am also involved in a variety of mentoring and science outreach activities; I am a program coordinator for UBC Let's Talk Science, and I volunteer with Actua mentoring and the L'Oréal-UNESCO Foundation for Women in Science.
Find Heather: [email] [G+] [LinkedIn] [Google Scholar] [F1000]
