Biography of June B. Nasrallah
- Christen Brownlee, Science Writer
As Darwin observed more than 100 years ago (1), so-called “self-incompatible” plants are sterile with respect to their own or closely related pollen but can become fertilized and produce seed with pollen from other strains. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remained an enigma until the 1980s, when June Nasrallah and colleagues at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) turned their attention to the problem. Using a combination of genetics, cell biology, and molecular analysis, Nasrallah's team demonstrated that recognition of self-related pollen is determined by highly specific interactions between the SRK receptor kinase, which is expressed exclusively in the stigma epidermal cells that capture pollen, and its ligand, SCR, which is expressed exclusively in pollen (2–5).
In recognition of the decades of research leading up to this accomplishment, Nasrallah was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. Her Inaugural Article, published in this issue of PNAS, describes mutagenesis studies on SCR and interprets how these mutations change the ligand's interaction with its receptor (6). These studies not only provide a basic foundation for plant genetics and evolutionary research, but also have the capacity to transform and improve plant breeding techniques.
A Family Effort
Nasrallah was born and raised June Bowman in Beirut, Lebanon. She developed a taste for science in high school, where the school principal took great care to expose students to the extensive school gardens she had established. “Lots of interesting biology goes on in the flowers,” the principal would reiterate every spring while she conducted tours of the gardens. “Also,” Nasrallah recalls, “biology was one of the few courses where we did hands-on experiments. We actually thought about how biological systems worked, so it was a very different experience from the rest of the curriculum.”
After high school, Nasrallah continued studying biology at the American …
