Tanya Renner

Ph.D. Candidate

Chelsea D. Specht Laboratory

Plant and Microbial Biology Department

University of California, Berkeley

431 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720

Curriculum Vitae

(A) Professional Preparation

San Diego State UniversityBiology B.S. 2006

University of California, BerkeleyPlant Biology Current

(B) Appointments

NSF Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP) 2008-Present

Graduate student researcher, Dept. of Plant & Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley 2006-Present

Bonner Fellow, Conservation and Research of Endangered Species (CRES) 2006

Undergraduate honors researcher, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University 2005-2006

Undergraduate researcher, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University 2004-2005

(C) Publications

Renner T, Specht CD (2011) A sticky situation: assessing adaptations for plant carnivory in the Caryophyllales utilizing stochastic character mapping. International Journal of Plant Science. Under review.

Renner T, BraggJ, Driscoll HE, Cho J, Jackson AO, SpechtCD (2009) Virus-induced gene silencing in the culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale): an effective mechanism for down-regulating gene expression in tropical monocots. Molecular Plant. Vol. 2, No. 5 pp. 1084-1094.

Romanov MN, TuttleEM, HouckML, ModiWS, Chemnick LG, Korody ML, Stremel MorkEM, Otten C, RennerT, JonesKC, DandekarS, DaY, NISC Comparative Sequencing Program, GreenED, MagriniV, HickenbothamMT, GlasscockJ, McGrathS, MardisER, RyderOA (2009) The value of avian genomics to the conservation of wildlife. BMC Genomics. Vol. 10 (Supplement 2): S10.

Rensing S, Lang D, Zimmer A,Terry A, Salamov A,Shapiro H,Nishiyama T,Perroud P, Lindquist E,

Kamisugi Y, Tanahashi T, Sakakibara K, Fujita T, Oishi K, Shin-I T, Kuroki Y,Toyoda A, Suzuki Y, Hashimoto S, Yamaguchi K, Sugano S, Kohara Y, Fujiyama A, Anterola A,Aoki S, Ashton N, Barbazuk W,Barker E, Bennetzen JL, Blankenship R, Cho SH, Dutcher SK, Estelle M, Fawcett J, Gundlach H, Hanada K, Heyl A, Hicks KA, Hughes J, Lohr M, Mayer K, Melkozernov A, Murata T, Nelson DR, Pils B, Prigge M, Reiss B, Renner T, Rombauts S, Rushton PJ, Sanderfoot A, Schween G, Shiu S, Stueber K, Theodoulou FL, Tu H, Van de Peer Y, Verrier PJ, Waters E, Wood A, Yang L, Cove D, Cuming AC, Hasebe M, Lucas S, Mishler BD, Reski R, Grigoriev IV, Quatrano RS, Boore JL (2008) The genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants. Science. Vol. 319, No. 5859 pp. 64-69.

Renner T, Waters ER (2007) Comparative genomic analysis of the Hsp70s from five

diverse photosynthetic eukaryotes. Cell Stress & Chaperones: Vol. 12, No. 2 pp. 172–185.

(D) Awards and Honors

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) 2010

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) 2008

(E) Synergistic Activities

Societies:Botanical Society of America, Society of Systematic Biologists, Society for the Study of Evolution, Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society.

Graduate Student Instructor:

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology:

PMB 107 (Plant Morphology). Fall semester 2010.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Integrative Biology:

Biology 1b (Plants/Fungi, Ecology and Evolutionary biology). Fall semester 2008.

Mentorship:

High school student

Teaching applications of genetics and laboratory techniques to students of an 2006

underrepresented group in science at CRES.

Undergraduates

Sarah Starkey (UCB), evolution of carnivorous plants in the order Caryophyllales 2007-2008

Irene Liao (UCB), testing Allium for susceptibility to the barley stripe mosaic virus 2009-2010

(BSMV) and modified infectious RNA transcripts.

Josephine Wong (UCB), identifying class I chitinases in the order Caryophyllales. 2010-2011

Ivet Ramiriz-Oritz (UCB), identifying glucanases in the order Caryophyllales. 2010

Shayla Saltzman (UCB), RNA extraction from Dionaea muscipula. 2011

Doctoral students

Juliana Cho (Plant Biology, UCB), testing of monocot Zingiber officinale for 2007-2008

susceptibility to the barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) and modified infectious

RNA transcripts.

Candice Cherk (Plant Biology, UCB), utilizing modified infection RNA 2008

transcripts to study the role of genes in floral development.

Exhibits and Public Education:

  • High school students to the laboratory, 2011. Introducing lab techniques including DNA extraction from strawberries to students at the high school level in the Specht laboratory.
  • Mickaboo Basic Bird Course, 2010-current (3-hour class, once monthly). Teaching basic bird care and behavior for the public as requirement to complete initial step to foster or adopt a companion parrot from Mickaboo, a SF Bay Area Companion Parrot Rescue.
  • Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society, guest speaker, 2010. Dangerously Beautiful: Carnivorous Plant Glands and their Digestive Enzymes.
  • CRES Seminar, guest speaker, 2010. Sticky Situations: Plant Adaptations for Carnivory in the Caryophyllales. Seminar for the researchers/staff at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and the general public. Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center.
  • Evolution Conference, research presentation, 2010. Plant Adaptations for Carnivory in the Caryophyllales.
  • The Bone Room Presents, guest speaker, 2010. Carnivores That Know Their Roots. Seminar for the general public at The Bone Room—a natural history store in Albany, California.
  • Botany-The Students’ Perspective, profile outreach site maintained by the Botanical Society of America (BSA), 2009.
  • Botany Conference, research presentation, 2009. The Evolution of Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales.
  • Volunteers of the Garden at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, guest speaker, 2008. The Evolution Carnivorous Plants and Chitinases in the Caryophyllales.
  • Botany Conference, poster, 2008. Chitinases and the Evolution of Plant Carnivory.
  • PMB 24, guest lecturer, 2008. Carnivorous Plant Diversity. University of California at Berkeley.
  • Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society, educational fact cards for annual show, 2007.
  • CRES Seminar, speaker, 2006. Bonner Fellow research/results. Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center.

(F) Collaborators & Other Affiliations

Collaborators: Anterola A (SIU), Aoki S (NU), Ashton N (UR), Barbazuk W (DDPSC), Barker E (UR),

Bennetzen JL (UG), Blankenship R (WU), Boore JL (JGI), Bragg J (USDA), Chemnick LG (CRES), Cho J (UCB), Cho SH (WU), Cove D (WU), Cuming AC (UL), DaY (UM), DandekarS (UCLA), Dutcher SK (WU), Driscoll, HE (UCB), Estelle M (IU), Fawcett J (GU), Fujita T (HU), Fujiyama A (RIKEN), GlasscockJ (WU), GreenED (NISC), Grigoriev IV (JGI), Gundlach H (MIPS/IBI), Hanada K (MSU), Hasebe M (NIBB), Hashimoto S (UT), Heyl A (FU), HickenbothamMT (WU), Hicks KA (MPI), HouckML (CRES), Hughes J (JLU), Jackson AO (UCB), JonesKC (GIS), Kamisugi Y (WU), Kohara Y (GUASM), Korody ML (ISU), Kuroki Y (KU), Lang D (UF), Lindquist E (JGI), Lohr M (JGU), Lucas S (JGI), MagriniV (WU), MardisER (WU), Mayer K (MIPS/IBI), McGrathS (WU), Melkozernov A (ASU), Mishler BD (UCB), ModiWS (CRES), Murata T (NIBB), Nelson DR (UTM), NISC Comparative Sequencing Program (NISC), Nishiyama T (KU), Oishi K (NIG), Otten C (CRES), Perroud P (WU), Pils B (Würzburg U.), Prigge M (GU), Quatrano RS (WU), Reiss B (MPI), Rensing S (UF), Reski R (UF), Romanov MN (CRES), Rombauts S (GU), Rushton PJ (UV), RyderOA (CRES), Sakakibara K (MU), Salamov A (JGI), Sanderfoot A (UM), Schween G (UF), Shapiro H (JGI), Shin-I T (KU), Shiu S (MSU), Specht CD (UCB), Starkey, S (UCB), Stremel MorkEM (CRES), Stueber K (MPI), Sugano S (UT), Suzuki Y (UT), Tanahashi T (NIBB), Terry A (JGI), Theodoulou FL (RR), Toyoda A (RIKEN), Tu H (JGI), TuttleEM (ISU), Van de Peer Y (GU), Verrier PJ (RR), Walters G (MBG), Waters E (SDSU), Wood A (SIU), Yamaguchi K (KU), Yang L (UG), Zimmer A (UF).

Graduate Advisors: Chelsea D. Specht (UCB), Tom Bruns (UCB), Rasmus Nielson (UCB)