Education

Ph.D. in Botany, University of British Columbia, 1998

Current position

Associate Professor, Department of Biology, McGill University (2009- present)

Publications

1. Faisal, T. R., Hristozov, N., Western, T. L., Rey, A. D. and Pasini, D. (2014). Computational study of the elastic properties of Rheum rhabarbarum tissues via surrogate models of tissue geometry. J Struct Biol 185(3): 285-294.
   
2. Kong, Y., Zhou, G., Abdeen, A. A., Schafhauser, J., Richardson, B., Atmodjo, M. A., Jung, J., Wicker, L., Mohnen, D., Western, T. and Hahn, M. G. (2013). GALACTURONOSYLTRANSFERASE-LIKE5 is involved in the production of Arabidopsis seed coat mucilage. Plant Physiol 163(3): 1203-1217.
   
3. Voiniciuc, C., Dean, G. H., Griffiths, J. S., Kirchsteiger, K., Hwang, Y. T., Gillett, A., Dow, G., Western, T. L., Estelle, M. and Haughn, G. W. (2013). Flying saucer1 is a transmembrane RING E3 ubiquitin ligase that regulates the degree of pectin methylesterification in Arabidopsis seed mucilage. Plant Cell 25(3): 944-959.
   
4. Esfandiari, E., Jin, Z., Abdeen, A., Griffiths, J. S., Western, T. L. and Haughn, G. W. (2013). Identification and analysis of an outer-seed-coat-specific promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Mol Biol 81(1-2): 93-104.
   
5. Faisal, T. R., Hristozov, N., Rey, A. D., Western, T. L. and Pasini, D. (2012). Experimental determination of Philodendron melinonii and Arabidopsis thaliana tissue microstructure and geometric modeling via finite-edge centroidal Voronoi tessellation. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 86(3 Pt 1): 031921.
   
6. Romano, J. M., Dubos, C., Prouse, M. B., Wilkins, O., Hong, H., Poole, M., Kang, K. Y., Li, E., Douglas, C. J., Western, T. L., Mansfield, S. D. and Campbell, M. M. (2012). AtMYB61, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, functions as a pleiotropic regulator via a small gene network. New Phytol 195(4): 774-786.
   
7. Haughn, G. W. and Western, T. L. (2012). Arabidopsis Seed Coat Mucilage is a Specialized Cell Wall that Can be Used as a Model for Genetic Analysis of Plant Cell Wall Structure and Function. Front Plant Sci 3: 64.
   
8. Harpaz-Saad, S., Western, T. L. and Kieber, J. J. (2012). The FEI2-SOS5 pathway and CELLULOSE SYNTHASE 5 are required for cellulose biosynthesis in the Arabidopsis seed coat and affect pectin mucilage structure. Plant Signal Behav 7(2): 285-288.
   
9. Western, T. L. (2012). The sticky tale of seed coat mucilages: production, genetics, and role in seed germination and dispersal. Seed Sci. Res. 22, 1-25.
   
10. Harpaz-Saad, S.¹, McFarlane, H. E.¹, Xu, S., Divi, U. K., Forward, B., Western, T. L.² and Kieber, J. J.²(2011). Cellulose synthesis via the FEI2 RLK/SOS5 pathway and cellulose synthase 5 is required for the structure of seed coat mucilage in Arabidopsis. Plant J 68(6): 941-953. (¹Co-first authors; ²Co-corresponding authors)
    
11. Kaneda, M., Schuetz, M., Lin, B. S., Chanis, C., Hamberger, B., Western, T. L., Ehlting, J. and Samuels, A. L. (2011). ABC transporters coordinately expressed during lignification of Arabidopsis stems include a set of ABCBs associated with auxin transport. J Exp Bot 62(6): 2063-2077.
    
12. Pang, C. Y., Wang, H., Pang, Y., Xu, C., Jiao, Y., Qin, Y. M., Western, T. L., Yu, S. X. and Zhu, Y. X. (2010). Comparative proteomics indicates that biosynthesis of pectic precursors is important for cotton fiber and Arabidopsis root hair elongation. Mol Cell Proteomics 9(9): 2019-2033.
    
13. Arsovski, A. A., Haughn, G. W. and Western, T. L. (2010). Seed coat mucilage cells of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for plant cell wall research. Plant Signal Behav 5(7): 796-801.
    
14. Arsovski, A. A., Popma, T. M., Haughn, G. W., Carpita, N. C., McCann, M. C. and Western, T. L. (2009). AtBXL1 encodes a bifunctional beta-D-xylosidase/alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase required for pectic arabinan modification in Arabidopsis mucilage secretory cells. Plant Physiol 150(3): 1219-1234.
    
15. Arsovski, A. A., Villota, M. M., Rowland, O., Subramaniam, R. and Western, T. L. (2009). MUM ENHANCERS are important for seed coat mucilage production and mucilage secretory cell differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. J Exp Bot 60(9): 2601-2612.
    
16. McEwen, L. A., Schmid, R. F., Vogel, J., Western, T. and Harrison, P. (2009). Evaluation of the redesign of an undergraduate cell biology course. CBE-Life Sciences Education 8(1): 72-78.
    
17. 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. Plant Cell 20(6): 1623-1638.
    
18. Dean, G. H., Zheng, H., Tewari, J., Huang, J., Young, D. S., Hwang, Y. T., Western, T. L., Carpita, N. C., McCann, M. C., Mansfield, S. D. and Haughn, G. W. (2007). The Arabidopsis MUM2 gene encodes a beta-galactosidase required for the production of seed coat mucilage with correct hydration properties. Plant Cell 19(12): 4007-4021.
    
19. Western, T. L. (2006). Changing spaces: the Arabidopsis mucilage secretory cells as a novel system to dissect cell wall production in differentiating cells This review is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Plant Cell Biology. Botany 84(4): 622-630.
    
20. Pighin, J. A., Zheng, H., Balakshin, L. J., Goodman, I. P., Western, T. L., Jetter, R., Kunst, L. and Samuels, A. L. (2004). Plant cuticular lipid export requires an ABC transporter. Science 306(5696): 702-704.
    
21. Western, T. L., Young, D. S., Dean, G. H., Tan, W. L., Samuels, A. L. and Haughn, G. W. (2004). MUCILAGE-MODIFIED4 encodes a putative pectin biosynthetic enzyme developmentally regulated by APETALA2, TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1, and GLABRA2 in the Arabidopsis seed coat. Plant Physiol 134(1): 296-306.
    
22. Western, T. L., Cheng, Y., Liu, J. and Chen, X. (2002). HUA ENHANCER2, a putative DExH-box RNA helicase, maintains homeotic B and C gene expression in Arabidopsis. Development 129(7): 1569-1581.
    
23. Western, T. L., Burn, J., Tan, W. L., Skinner, D. J., Martin-McCaffrey, L., Moffatt, B. A. and Haughn, G. W. (2001). Isolation and characterization of mutants defective in seed coat mucilage secretory cell development in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 127(3): 998-1011.
    
24. Western, T. L., Skinner, D. J. and Haughn, G. W. (2000). Differentiation of mucilage secretory cells of the Arabidopsis seed coat. Plant Physiol 122(2): 345-356.
    
25. Western, T. L. and Haughn, G. W. (1999). BELL1 and AGAMOUS genes promote ovule identity in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J 18(3): 329-336.