Priscilla Glenn

I'm a

About - Plant Geneticist/Agronomist

Hi, my name is Dr. Priscilla Glenn and I am currently a Post-doc in the Mullet lab at Texas A&M University, studying bioenergy sorghum. I am creating a public compendium of our RNA data and researching genes within the flowering pathway. I graduated with my doctorate from UC Davis and my research focused on identifying and incorporating alleles to improve wheat yield. I desire to uncover the connection between genetic variation, desirable phenotypic traits, and varying field environments. Utilizing both tradition breeding methods and genomic selection, I am driven to apply these traits to advance genetic gain and phenotypic improvements to suit the grower’s needs. After my postdoc, I am interested in working in the seed industry in a position which combines genetics, breeding, and/or field work.

To read more about my journey into agriculture, check out this article from the UC Davis Plant Breeding Center.

Image of Glenn
  • Hobbies: Crochet, Reading, DND, Board games, Video games
  • Interests: Dragons, Cats, King Arthur, Star Wars & Star Trek
  • City: College Station, TX

Education


2022

Doctorate of Horticulture & Agronomy

University of California at Davis, Davis, CA
GPA 3.93/4.0

Classes: MGT 290/298 - Food & Ag Industry Immersion/Exposure, PLS 222 - Advanced Plant Breeding, BIT 160 - Plant Biotechnology, GGG 201D - Quant & Population Genetics, PLS 220 - Genomics & Plant Biotech, PLS 222 - Advanced Plant Breeding, PLB 111 - Plant Physiology, PBI 220 - Plant Development, GGG 201B – Genomics, HRT 200 A/B - Hort & Agron: Principles/Practices, SSC 100 - Principles Soil Sci



2017

Bachelor of Biology & Chemistry Minor

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
Graduated Summa cum laude
GPA 3.92/4.0

Experience

Bioenergy Sorghum (2024)

Compiling a compendium of RNA data and elucidating the flowering time pathway.

Population Genetics (2023)

Analyzed single-cell ATAC data for sperm aneuploidy rates. Simulated the impact of drift and selection among populations with skewed sex ratios.

Congressional Visit (2022)

Advocated successfully to CA senators & representatives to continue funding the Agriculture & Food Research Initiative

FT-A2 / bZIPC1 (2017-2022)

Improved wheat yield potential by identifying, characterizing, and incorporating an FT2 allele and it's interacter for increased grain number.

BASF Breeding Intern (Summer 2021)

Experienced broad-based exposure to the day-to-day activities of the BASF hybrid-wheat research program.

Iron & Zinc Pasta Levels (2019-2020)

Analyzed seed and pasta end-use quality of lines containing a novel gene which improved iron and zinc levels without hindering yield nor pasta quality.

MSCI (2014-2017)

Analyzed gene expression data from Tribolium beetles to determine if it supports meiotic sex chromosome inactivation

Fire Blight (Summer 2016)

Determined if Fire Blight was attractive to D. Melanogaster and set up procedure for future experiments for other potential FB vectors

Maize Ribo-seq (Summer 2015)

Analyzed Ribosome profiling data and RNA-seq data in Maize to determine the translational efficiency of genes related to C4 photosynthesis.

Publications

1) Lamb A, Kurtz E, Glenn P, McKinley B, Mullet J. (2024). Bioenergy Sorghum Nodal Root Bud Development: Morphometric, Transcriptomic and Gene Regulatory Network Analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1456627

2) Glenn P, Woods DP, Zhang J, Gabay G, Odle N, Dubcovsky J. (2023) Wheat bZIPC1 interacts with FT2 and contributes to the regulation of spikelet number per spike. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 136, 237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-023-04484-x

3) Glenn P, Zhang J, Brown-Guedira G, Dewitt N, Cook JP, Li K, Akhunov E, Dubcovsky J. (2022). Identification and characterization of a natural polymorphism in FT-A2 associated with increased number of grains per spike in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 135, 679–692. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-021-03992-y

4) Glenn P, Hjelmen CJ, Gafford-Gaby RD, Shum A, Blackmon H. (2023). The fitness of the rare sex is destined to decline. (in prep, PNAS)

Other

Host of the WheatCAP Fall 2020 Webinar Series, "Wheat Breeding from Plow-to-Plate". These educational videos can be found HERE and cover a range of topics.

Skills

Wet-Lab

  • Traditional & molecular breeding
  • Experimental design and analysis
    (lab, greenhouse & field)
  • Trait Introgression
  • DNA & RNA extraction
  • Illumina/NGS library prep
  • PRC & real time PCR
  • Marker primer assay design/ optimization
  • Sequencing
  • Direct Yeast 2 hybrid
  • Gateway cloning
  • In situ preparation
  • Gel extraction

Computational

  • R & RStudio - advanced
  • Python - intermediate
  • Perl - beginner
  • SQL - beginner
  • Differential Expression
  • Phylogenetic analysis
  • Mesquite
  • MrBayes
  • Gene Ontology
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop

Soft

  • Oral & written communication
  • Conflict management
  • Manuscript writing
  • Leadership
  • Task delegation
  • Team management
  • Time management
  • Mentoring
  • Public speaking