Research Interests
The lab takes an interdisciplinary "systems-based" approach to investigate how complex living systems are created and operate. Using plants as a system of study, we are seeking to understand how cells come together to create organs which are greater than the sum of their parts. The functional relevance of cellular configurations and their capacity to process information are being quantitatively examined using network and computational approaches. This research, which lies at the interface between developmental biology, mathematics, physics and computer science, is bridging gaps in our understanding of complex life, and has application for the reprogramming and rational design of multicellular systems. In particular, the development of crops with enhanced abilities to response their variable environmental conditions
Biography
PhD 2006 University of Guelph, Canada
BSc 2001 University of Guelph, Canada
Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute
- Mitchell, Jack, Mukhtar, Nur K., Bassel, George, 2021. Low temperature stimulates spatial molecular reprogramming of the Arabidopsis seed germination programme. Seed Science Research, 30 (1), pp. 2-12
- Chustecki, Joanna M., Gibbs, Daniel J., Bassel, George, Johnston, Iain G., 2021. Network analysis of Arabidopsis mitochondrial dynamics reveals a resolved tradeoff between physical distribution and social connectivity. Cell Systems, 12 (5), pp. 419-431.e4
- Dorone, Yanniv, Boeynaems, Steven, Flores, Eduardo, Jin, Benjamin, Hateley, Shannon, Bossi, Flavia, Lazarus, Elena, Pennington, Janice G., Michiels, Emiel, De Decker, Mathias, Vints, Katlijn, Baatsen, Pieter, Bassel, George, Otegui, Marisa S., Holehouse, Alex S., Exposito-Alonso, Moises, Sukenik, Shahar, Gitler, Aaron D., Rhee, Seung Y., 2021. A prion-like protein regulator of seed germination undergoes hydration-dependent phase separation. Cell, 184 (16), pp. 4284-4298.e27
- 'Graeff, Moritz, 'Rana, Surbhi, 'Wendrich, Jos R., 'Dorier, Julien, 'Eekhout, Thomas, 'Aliaga Fandino, Ana Cecilia, 'Guex, Nicolas, 'Bassel, George, 'De Rybel, Bert, 'Hardtke, Christian S., 2021. 'A single-cell morpho-transcriptomic map of brassinosteroid action in the Arabidopsis root. Molecular Plant, 14 (12), pp. 1985-1999
- Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Johnston, Iain G., Bassel, George, 2020. Efficient vasculature investment in tissues can be determined without global information. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 17 (165)
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Wolny, Adrian, Cerrone, Lorenzo, Vijayan, Athul, Tofanelli, Rachele, Barro, Amaya Vilches, Louveaux, Marion, Wenzl, Christian, Strauss, Sören, Wilson-Sánchez, David, Lymbouridou, Rena, Steigleder, Susanne S., Pape, Constantin, Bailoni, Alberto, Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Bassel, George, Lohmann, Jan U., Tsiantis, Miltos, Hamprecht, Fred A., Schneitz, Kay, Maizel, Alexis et al (Select to open full list), 2020. Accurate and versatile 3D segmentation of plant tissues at cellular resolution. eLife, 9
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Altmann, Melina, Altmann, Stefan, Rodriguez, Patricia A., Weller, Benjamin, Elorduy Vergara, Lena, Palme, Julius, Marín-de la Rosa, Nora, Sauer, Mayra, Wenig, Marion, Villaécija-Aguilar, José Antonio, Sales, Jennifer, Lin, Chung-Wen, Pandiarajan, Ramakrishnan, Young, Veronika, Strobel, Alexandra, Gross, Lisa, Carbonnel, Samy, Kugler, Karl G., Garcia-Molina, Antoni, Bassel, George et al (Select to open full list), 2020. Extensive signal integration by the phytohormone protein network. Nature, 583 (7815), pp. 271-276
- Xu, Hao, Lantzouni, Ourania, Bruggink, Tonko, Benjamins, Rene, Lanfermeijer, Frank, Denby, Katherine J., Schwechheimer, Claus, Bassel, George, 2020. A molecular signal integration network underpinning Arabidopsis seed germination. Current Biology, 30 (19), pp. 3703-3712
- Montenegro-Johnson, Thomas, Strauss, Soeren, Jackson, Matthew D. B., Walker, Liam, Smith, Richard S., Bassel, George, 2019. 3DCellAtlas Meristem : a tool for the global cellular annotation of shoot apical meristems. Plant Methods, 15 (1)
- Mimault, Matthias, Ptashnyk, Mariya, Bassel, George, Dupuy, Lionel X., 2019. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics for root growth mechanics. Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, 105, pp. 20-30
- Bassel, George, 2019. Multicellular systems biology : quantifying cellular patterning and function in plant organs using network science. Molecular Plant, 12 (6), pp. 731-742
- Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Bassel, George, 2019. Plant behaviour in response to the environment : information processing in the solid state. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 374 (1774)
- Jackson, Matthew D. B., Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Kierzkowski, Daniel, Strauss, Soeren, Xu, Hao, Landrein, Benoit, Hamant, Olivier, Smith, Richard S., Johnston, Iain G., Bassel, George, 2019. Global topological order emerges through local mechanical control of cell divisions in the arabidopsis shoot apical meristem. Cell Systems, 8 (1), pp. 53-65.e3
- Hartman, Sjon, Liu, Zeguang, van Veen, Hans, Vicente, Jorge, Reinen, Emilie, Martopawiro, Shanice, Zhang, Hongtao, van Dongen, Nienke, Bosman, Femke, Bassel, George, Visser, Eric J. W., Bailey-Serres, Julia, Theodoulou, Frederica L., Hebelstrup, Kim H., Gibbs, Daniel J., Holdsworth, Michael J., Sasidharan, Rashmi, Voesenek, Laurentius A. C. J., 2019. Ethylene-mediated nitric oxide depletion pre-adapts plants to hypoxia stress. Nature Communications, 10 (1)
- Sánchez-Montesino, Rocío, Bouza-Morcillo, Laura, Marquez, Julietta, Ghita, Melania, Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Gómez, Luis, Holdsworth, Michael J., Bassel, George, Oñate-Sánchez, Luis, 2019. A regulatory module controlling GA-mediated endosperm cell expansion is critical for seed germination in arabidopsis. Molecular Plant, 12 (1), pp. 71-85
- Bassel, George, 2018. Information processing and distributed computation in plant organs. Trends in Plant Science, 23 (11), pp. 994-1005
- Johnston, Iain G., Bassel, George, 2018. Identification of a bet-hedging network motif generating noise in hormone concentrations and germination propensity in Arabidopsis. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 15 (141)
- Topham, Alexander T., Taylor, Rachel E., Yan, Dawei, Nambara, Eiji, Johnston, Iain G., Bassel, George, 2017. Temperature variability is integrated by a spatially embedded decision-making center to break dormancy in Arabidopsis seeds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114 (25), pp. 6629-6634
- Jackson, Matthew D. B., Xu, Hao, Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Stamm, Petra, Bassel, George, 2017. Topological analysis of multicellular complexity in the plant hypocotyl. eLife, 6
- Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Bassel, George, 2017. Bridging scales in plant biology using network science. Trends in Plant Science, 22 (12), pp. 1001-1003
- Jackson, Matthew D. B., Duran-Nebreda, Salva, Bassel, George, 2017. Network-based approaches to quantify multicellular development. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 14 (135)
- Souza, Nátali Maidl, Topham, Alexander T., Bassel, George, 2017. Quantitative analysis of the 3D cell shape changes driving soybean germination. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68 (7), pp. 1531-1537
- Mitchell, Jack, Johnston, Iain G., Bassel, George, 2017. Variability in seeds : biological, ecological, and agricultural implications. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68 (4), pp. 809-817
- Finch-Savage, William E., Bassel, George, 2016. Seed vigour and crop establishment : extending performance beyond adaptation. Journal of Experimental Botany, 67 (3), pp. 567-591
- Stamm, Petra, Topham, Alexander T., Mukhtar, Nur Karimah, Jackson, Matthew D. B., Tomé, Daniel F. A., Beynon, Jim L., Bassel, George, 2016. The transcription factor ATHB5 affects GA-mediated plasticity in hypocotyl cell growth during seed germination. Plant Physiology, 173 (1), pp. 907-917
- Vesty, Eleanor F., Saidi, Younousse, Moody, Laura A., Holloway, Daniel, Whitbread, Amy, Needs, Sarah, Choudhary, Anushree, Burns, Bethany, McLeod, Daniel, Bradshaw, Susan J., Bae, Hansol, King, Brian Christopher, Bassel, George, Simonsen, Henrik Toft, Coates, Juliet C., 2016. The decision to germinate is regulated by divergent molecular networks in spores and seeds. New Phytologist, 211 (3), pp. 952-966
- Bassel, George, 2016. To grow or not to grow?. Trends in Plant Science, 21 (6), pp. 498-505
- Hossain, Mohammad R., Bassel, George, Pritchard, Jeremy, Sharma, Garima P., Ford-Lloyd, Brian V., 2016. Trait specific expression profiling of salt stress responsive genes in diverse rice genotypes as determined by modified significance analysis of microarrays. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7
- Nieuwland, Jeroen, Stamm, Petra, Wen, Bo, Randall, Ricardo S., Murray, James A. H., Bassel, George, 2016. Re-induction of the cell cycle in the Arabidopsis post-embryonic root meristem is ABA-insensitive, GA-dependent and repressed by KRP6. Scientific Reports, 6 (1)
- Bassel, George, Smith, Richard S., 2016. Quantifying morphogenesis in plants in 4D. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 29, pp. 87-94
- Abbas, Mohamad, Berckhan, Sophie, Rooney, Daniel J., Gibbs, Daniel J., Vicente Conde, Jorge, Sousa Correia, Cristina, Bassel, George, Marín-de la Rosa, Nora, León, José, Alabadí, David, Blázquez, Miguel A., Holdsworth, Michael J., 2015. Oxygen sensing coordinates photomorphogenesis to facilitate seedling survival. Current Biology, 25 (11), pp. 1483-1488
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Barbier de Reuille, Pierre, Routier-Kierzkowska, Anne-Lise, Kierzkowski, Daniel, Bassel, George, Schüpbach, Thierry, Tauriello, Gerardo, Bajpai, Namrata, Strauss, Sören, Weber, Alain, Kiss, Annamaria, Burian, Agata, Hofhuis, Hugo, Sapala, Aleksandra, Lipowczan, Marcin, Heimlicher, Maria B., Robinson, Sarah, Bayer, Emmanuelle M., Basler, Konrad, Koumoutsakos, Petros, Roeder, Adrienne H K. et al (Select to open full list), 2015. MorphoGraphX : a platform for quantifying morphogenesis in 4D. eLife, 4
- Montenegro-Johnson, Thomas D., Stamm, Petra, Strauss, Soeren, Topham, Alexander T., Tsagris, Michail, Wood, Andrew T.A., Smith, Richard S., Bassel, George, 2015. Digital single-cell analysis of plant organ development using 3DCellAtlas. The Plant Cell, 27 (4), pp. 1018-1033
- Bassel, George, 2015. Accuracy in quantitative 3D image analysis. The Plant Cell, 27 (4), pp. 950-953
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Gibbs, Daniel J., Md Isa, Nurulhikma, Movahedi, Mahsa, Lozano-Juste, Jorge, Mendiondo, Guillermina M., Berckhan, Sophie, Marín-de la Rosa, Nora, Conde, Jorge Vicente, Correia, Cristina Sousa, Pearce, Simon P., Bassel, George, Hamali, Bulut, Talloji, Prabhavathi, Tomé, Daniel F. A., Coego, Alberto, Beynon, Jim, Alabadí, David, Bachmair, Andreas, León, José, Gray, Julie E. et al (Select to open full list), 2014. Nitric oxide sensing in plants is mediated by proteolytic control of group VII ERF transcription factors. Molecular Cell, 53 (3), pp. 369-379
- Gibbs, Daniel J., Voß, Ute, Harding, Susan A., Fannon, Jessica, Moody, Laura A., Yamada, Erika, Swarup, Kamal, Nibau, Candida, Bassel, George, Choudhary, Anushree, Lavenus, Julien, Bradshaw, Susan J., Stekel, Dov J., Bennett, Malcolm J., Coates, Juliet C., 2014. AtMYB93 is a novel negative regulator of lateral root development in Arabidopsis. New Phytologist, 203 (4), pp. 1194-1207
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Gibbs, Daniel J., Md Isa, Nurulhikma, Movahedi, Mahsa, Lozano-Juste, Jorge, Mendiondo, Guillermina M., Berckhan, Sophie, Marín-de la Rosa, Nora, Vicente Conde, Jorge, Sousa Correia, Cristina, Pearce, Simon P., Bassel, George, Hamali, Bulut, Talloji, Prabhavathi, Tomé, Daniel F. A., Coego, Alberto, Beynon, Jim, Alabadí, David, Bachmair, Andreas, León, José, Gray, Julie E. et al (Select to open full list), 2014. Nitric oxide sensing in plants is mediated by proteolytic control of group VII ERF transcription factors. Molecular Cell, 53 (3), pp. 369-379
- Yoshida, Saiko, Barbier de Reuille, Pierre, Lane, Brendan, Bassel, George, Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw, Smith, Richard S., Weijers, Dolf, 2014. Genetic control of plant development by overriding a geometric division rule. Developmental Cell, 29 (1), pp. 75-87
- Bassel, George, Stamm, P., Mosca, G., Barbier de Reuille, P., Gibbs, D. J., Winter, R., Janka, A., Holdsworth, M. J., Smith, R. S., 2014. Mechanical constraints imposed by 3D cellular geometry and arrangement modulate growth patterns in the Arabidopsis embryo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111 (23), pp. 8685-8690
- Dekkers, Bas J.W., Pearce, Simon, van Bolderen-Veldkamp, R.P., Marshall, Alex, Widera, Pawel, Gilbert, James, Drost, Hajk-Georg, Bassel, George, Müller, Kerstin, King, John R., Wood, Andrew T.A., Grosse, Ivo, Quint, Marcel, Krasnogor, Natalio, Leubner-Metzger, Gerhard, Holdsworth, Michael J., Bentsink, Leónie, 2013. Transcriptional dynamics of two seed compartments with opposing roles in Arabidopsis seed germination. Plant Physiology, 163 (1), pp. 205-215
- Bassel, George, Gaudinier, Allison, Brady, Siobhan M., Hennig, Lars, Rhee, Seung Y., De Smet, Ive, 2012. Systems analysis of plant functional, transcriptional, physical interaction, and metabolic networks. The Plant Cell, 24 (10), pp. 3859-3875
- Martínez-Andújar, Cristina, Pluskota, Wioletta E., Bassel, George, Asahina, Masashi, Pupel, Piotr, Nguyen, Theresa T., Takeda-Kamiya, Noriko, Toubiana, David, Bai, Bing, Górecki, Ryszard J., Fait, Aaron, Yamaguchi, Shinjiro, Nonogaki, Hiroyuki, 2012. Mechanisms of hormonal regulation of endosperm cap-specific gene expression in tomato seeds. The Plant Journal, 71 (4), pp. 575-586
- Gonzalez-Guzman, Miguel, Pizzio, Gaston A., Antoni, Regina, Vera-Sirera, Francisco, Merilo, Ebe, Bassel, George, Fernández, Maria A., Holdsworth, Michael J., Perez-Amador, Miguel Angel, Kollist, Hannes, Rodriguez, Pedro L., 2012. Arabidopsis PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors play a major role in quantitative regulation of stomatal aperture and transcriptional response to Abscisic Acid. The Plant Cell, 24 (6), pp. 2483-2496
- Dekkers, Bas J. W., Willems, Leo, Bassel, George, van Bolderen-Veldkamp, R. P. (Marieke), Ligterink, Wilco, Hilhorst, Henk W. M., Bentsink, Leónie, 2011. Identification of reference genes for RT?qPCR expression analysis in Arabidopsis and tomato seeds. Plant and Cell Physiology, 53 (1), pp. 28-37
- Gibbs, Daniel J., Lee, Seung Cho, Md Isa, Nurulhikma, Gramuglia, Silvia, Fukao, Takeshi, Bassel, George, Correia, Cristina Sousa, Corbineau, Françoise, Theodoulou, Frederica L., Bailey-Serres, Julia, Holdsworth, Michael J., 2011. Homeostatic response to hypoxia is regulated by the N-end rule pathway in plants. Nature, 479 (7373), pp. 415-418
- Bassel, George, Glaab, Enrico, Marquez, Julietta, Holdsworth, Michael J., Bacardit, Jaume, 2011. Functional network construction in Arabidopsis using rule-based machine learning on large-scale data sets. The Plant Cell, 23 (9), pp. 3101-3116
- Bassel, George, Lan, H., Glaab, E., Gibbs, D. J., Gerjets, T., Krasnogor, N., Bonner, A. J., Holdsworth, M. J., Provart, N. J., 2011. Genome-wide network model capturing seed germination reveals coordinated regulation of plant cellular phase transitions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108 (23), pp. 9709-9714
- Nonogaki, Hiroyuki, Bassel, George, Bewley, J. Derek, 2010. Germination?still a mystery. Plant Science, 179 (6), pp. 574-581
- Martin, Ruth C., Asahina, Masashi, Liu, Po-Pu, Kristof, Jessica R., Coppersmith, Jennifer L., Pluskota, Wioletta E., Bassel, George, Goloviznina, Natalya A., Nguyen, Theresa T., Martínez-Andújar, Cristina, Arun Kumar, M.B., Pupel, Piotr, Nonogaki, Hiroyuki, 2010. The microRNA156 and microRNA172 gene regulation cascades at post-germinative stages in Arabidopsis. Seed Science Research, 20 (2), pp. 79-87
- Martin, Ruth C., Asahina, Masashi, Liu, Po-Pu, Kristof, Jessica R., Coppersmith, Jennifer L., Pluskota, Wioletta E., Bassel, George, Goloviznina, Natalya A., Nguyen, Theresa T., Martínez-Andújar, Cristina, Arun Kumar, M.B., Pupel, Piotr, Nonogaki, Hiroyuki, 2010. The regulation of post-germinative transition from the cotyledon- to vegetative-leaf stages by microRNA-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING PROTEIN LIKE13 in Arabidopsis. Seed Science Research, 20 (2), pp. 89-96
- Usadel, Bjorn, Obayashi, Takeshi, Mutwil, Marel, Giorgi, Federico M., Bassel, George, Tanimoto, Mimi, Chow, Amanda, Steinhauser, Dirk, Persson, Staffen, Provart, Nicholas J., 2009. Co-expression tools for plant biology : opportunities for hypothesis generation and caveats. Plant, Cell & Environment, 32 (12), pp. 1633-1651
- Sliwinska, Elwira, Bassel, George, Bewley, J. Derek, 2009. Germination of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds is not completed as a result of elongation of the radicle but of the adjacent transition zone and lower hypocotyl. Journal of Experimental Botany, 60 (12), pp. 3587-3594
- Bassel, George, Fung, Pauline, Chow, Tsz-fung Freeman, Foong, Justin A., Provart, Nicholas J., Cutler, Sean R., 2008. Elucidating the germination transcriptional program using small molecules. Plant Physiology, 147 (1), pp. 143-155
- Bassel, George, Mullen, Robert T., Bewley, J. Derek, 2006. ABI3 expression ceases following, but not during, germination of tomato and Arabidopsis seeds. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57 (6), pp. 1291-1297
- Gong, Xuemei, Bassel, George, Wang, Aoxue, Greenway, John S., Bewley, J. Derek, 2005. The emergence of embryos from hard seeds is related to the structure of the cell walls of the micropylar endosperm, and not to Endo-ß-mannanase activity. Annals of Botany, 96 (7), pp. 1165-1173
- Bassel, George, Zielinska, Elzbieta, Mullen, Robert T., Bewley, J. Derek, 2004. Down-regulation of DELLA genes is not essential for germination of tomato, soybean, and Arabidopsis seeds. Plant Physiology, 136 (1), pp. 2782-2789
- Bassel, George, Mullen, Robert T., Bewley, J. Derek, 2001. a-Galactosidase is synthesized in tomato seeds during development and is localized in the protein storage vacuoles. Canadian Journal of Botany, 79 (12), pp. 1417-1424
- 'Davis, Gwendolyn V., 'Smith, Richard S., 'Bassel, George, 2022. 'Measuring intercellular interface area in plant tissues using quantitative 3D image analysis. In Benitez-Alfonso, Y.; Heinlein , M. (eds.), Plasmodesmata, Humana Press, New York, NY, pp. 457-464
- Stamm, Petra, Strauss, Soeren, Montenegro-Johnson, Thomas D., Smith, Richard, Bassel, George, 2016. In silico methods for cell annotation, quantification of gene expression, and cell geometry at single-cell resolution using 3DCellAtlas. In Plant Hormones, New York, NY, Humana Press, pp. 99-123
- Bassel, George, Holdsworth, Michael J., Provart, Nicholas J., 2011. Seed bioinformatics. In Kermode, A. (ed.), Seed Dormancy, Humana Press, pp. 403-419
- Bassel, George, Provart, Nicholas J., 2008. Gene expression analyses for elucidating mechanisms of hormonal action in plants. In Cutler, S.; Bonetta , D. (eds.), Plant Hormones, Totowa, NJ, Humana Press, pp. 21-37
| Title | Funder | Award start | Award end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do plant organs and computers process information in the same way? Full RPG by George Bassel | Leverhulme Trust | 01 Apr 2020 | 31 Mar 2023 |
| Synchronization of crop seed germination. Grant transfer in George Bassel | BBSRC | 28 Oct 2019 | 31 Jan 2023 |