Natalie Breakfield

Before coming to Duke, I earned a Master's degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Marilyn Yoder's lab. My project was the characterization and crystallization of two plant cell wall digesting enzymes (pectate lyases). I later worked as a lab technician at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Saint Louis, Missouri in Chris Taylor's lab. My project there involved the plant parasitic root knot nematode and its interaction with Arabidopsis plants.

At Duke, I joined Philip Benfey's lab in the Biology department. My main project involves the use of Arabidopsis roots, which contain radially symmetrical cell layers that grow from the tip (allowing the developmental age of the cell to be known from the distance from the root tip). I am using FACS to isolate individual GFP labeled cell layers, and then using Solexa sequencing to examine the miRNA populations found within several cell types and developmental stages. It has been hypothesized that every cell type in every developmental stage will have a unique miRNA signature, and we hope to identify and characterize these miRNAs that are active within root development.

In my free time, I like to read, bike, and spend time with my husband and three children.

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