My lab studies RNA processing in plants, with an emphasis on mRNA 3' end formation and polyadenylation.  The approaches we take are multi-faceted, and include genetic, molecular, and biochemical ones.  The specific projects being pursued revolve around questions pertaining to mehanisms of mRNA 3' end formation, and to the connections between this process and regulatory events.  Extensive use is made of the model organisms Arabidopsis thaliana, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1996 - Present, Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky

1990 - 1996, Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky

1985 - 1990, Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky

1982 - 1985, Postdoctoral Scientist, The Rockefeller University

Recognition

2017 - AAAS Fellow (Biological Sciences Section)

2015 - University of Kentucky Research Professor

Recent Publications

Stevens, A. T., Howe, D. K., and Hunt, A. G. (2018) Characterization of mRNA polyadenylation in the Apicomplexa. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0203317.

Azzouz-Olden, F., Hunt, A., and DeGrandi-Hoffman, G. (2018) Transcriptional response of honey bee (Apis mellifera) to differential nutritional status and Nosema infection. BMC Genomics 19, 628.

Chakrabarti, M., Dinkins, R. D., and Hunt, A. G. (2018) Genome-wide atlas of alternative polyadenylation in the forage legume red clover. Scientific Reports 8, 11379.

Wang, C., Liu, R., Lim, G-H., de Lorenzo, L., Yu, K., Zhang, K., Hunt, A. G., Kachroo, A., and Kachroo, P. (2018) Pipecolic acid confers systemic immunity by regulating free radicals. Science Advances 4, eaar4509.

Majee, M., Kumar, S., Kathare, P. K., Wu, S., Gingerich, D., Nayak, N. R., Salaita, L., Dinkins, R. D., Martin, K., Goodin, M., Dirk, L. M. A., Lloyd, T. D., Zhu, L., Chappell, J., Hunt, A. G., Vierstra, R., Huq, E., and Downie, A. B. (2018) A KELCH F-BOX Protein Positively Influences Seed Germination by Targeting PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR1.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 115 (17), E4120-E4129.

de Lorenzo, L., Sorenson, R, Bailey-Serres, J., and Hunt, A. G. (2017) Noncanonical alternative polyadenylation contributes to gene regulation in response to hypoxia.  The Plant Cell 29, 1262-1277.

Majee, M., Wu, S., Salaita, L., Gingerich, D., Dirk, L. M. A., Chappell J., Hunt, A. G., Vierstra, R., and Downie, A. B. (2017) The Genetic Structure in a misannotated locus positively influencing Arabidopsis Seed Germination is revealed using surrogate splicing. Plant Gene 10, 74-85.

Chakrabarti, M., Dinkins, R. D., and Hunt, A. G. (2016) De novo transcriptome assembly and dynamic spatial gene expression analysis in red clover (Trifolium pratense).  The Plant Genome 9, published online March 11, 2016.  doi:10.3835/plantgenome2015.06.0048.

Bell, S. A., Brown, A., Chen, S., and Hunt, A. G. (2016) Experimental genome-wide determination of RNA polyadenylation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.  PLoS ONE 11: e0146107.

Lim, G-H., Shine, M. B., de Lorenzo, L., Yu, K., Navarre, D., Hunt, A. G., Lee, J-y., Kachroo, A., and Kachroo, P. (2016).  Plasmodesmata localizing proteins regulate transport and signaling during systemic immunity. Cell Host and Microbe 19, 541-549.

Ma, L., Pati, P. K., Liu, M., Li, Q. Q., and Hunt, A. G. (2014) High throughput determination of polyadenylation sites in plants. Methods 67, 74-83.

Wu, X., Gaffney, B, Li, Q. Q., and Hunt, A. G. (2014) Genome-wide determination of poly(A) sites in Medicago truncatula: evolutionary conservation of alternative poly(A) site choice. BMC Genomics 15, 615.

Liu, M., Xu, R., Merrill, C., Von Lanken, C., Hunt, A. G., and Li, Q. Q. (2014) Integration of developmental and hormonal signals via a  polyadenylation factor in Arabidopsis. PloS ONE, 9(12): e115779.

Recent Invited Reviews and Book Chapters

Addepalli, B., Rao, S., and Hunt, A. G. (2015) Phage Display Library Screening for Identification of Interacting Protein Partners. in Polyadenylation in Plants – Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1255. A. G. Hunt and Q. Q. Li, eds. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4939-2174-4. pp. 147-158.

Pati, P. K., Ma., L., and Hunt, A. G. (2015) Genome-wide determination of poly(A) site choice in plants. in Polyadenylation in Plants – Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1255. A. G. Hunt and Q. Q. Li, eds. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4939-2174-4. pp. 159-174.

Von Lanken, C. and Hunt, A. G. (2015) Transient expression using Agroinfiltration to study polyadenylation in plants. in Polyadenylation in  Plants – Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1255. A. G. Hunt and Q. Q. Li, eds. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4939-2174-4. pp. 127-133.

Ma, L. and Hunt, A. G. (2015) A 3’ RACE protocol to confirm polyadenylation sites. in Polyadenylation in Plants – Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol.1255. A. G. Hunt and Q. Q. Li, eds. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4939-2174-4. pp. 135-144.

Hunt, A. G. (2015) A rapid, simple, and inexpensive method for the preparation of strandspecific RNA-Seq libraries. in Polyadenylation in Plants – Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1255. A. G. Hunt and Q. Q. Li, eds. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4939-2174-4. pp. 195-208.

Chakrabarti, M. and Hunt, A. G. (2015) CPSF30 at the Interface of Alternative Polyadenylation and Cellular Signaling in Plants. Biomolecules 5(2), 1151-1168.