
Rob Martienssen
Professor & HHMI Investigator
William J. Matheson Professor
Cancer Center Member
Ph.D., Cambridge University, 1986
martiens@cshl.edu | 516-367-8322
Faculty ProfileChromosomes are covered with chemical modifications that help control gene expression. I study this secondary genetic code - the epigenome - and how it is guided by small mobile RNAs in plants and fission yeast. Our discoveries impact plant breeding and human health, and we use this and other genomic information to improve aquatic plants as a source of bioenergy.
Epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation—chemical and conformational changes to DNA and the chromatin that bundles it—have had an important impact on genome organization and inheritance and on cell fate. These mechanisms are conserved in eukaryotes and provide an additional layer of information superimposed on the genetic code. Robert Martienssen, a pioneer in the study of epigenetics, investigates mechanisms involved in gene regulation and stem cell fate in yeast and model plants including Arabidopsis and maize. He and his colleagues have shed light on a phenomenon called position-effect variegation, caused by inactivation of a gene positioned near densely packed chromosomal material called heterochromatin. They have discovered that small RNA molecules arising from repeating genetic sequences program that heterochromatin. Martienssen and colleagues have described a remarkable process by which “companion cells” to sperm in plant pollen grains provide them with instructions that protect sperm DNA from transposon damage. They found that some of these instructions, or epigenetic marks, could be inherited in the next generation. These marks, and the small RNA responsible that guide them, can sense the number of chromosomes inherited from pollen and may allow Arabidopsis, a flowering plant, to produce egg cells without meiosis, an important step toward a long-time goal of plant breeding: generating clonal offspring to perpetuate hybrid vigor. The lab has also shown that when RNA polymerase II has transcribed a stretch of DNA, the RNA interference mechanism causes the enzyme to release its hold on the DNA and fall away. This allows the replication fork to progress smoothly and the DNA strands to be copied; histone-modifying proteins, which follow right along, establish heterochromatin. Martienssen’s group also continues to work on problems related to the creation of plant-based biofuels. As part of a collaborative project to generate a high-quality full genome map of the oil palm plant, Martienssen and his colleagues identified a transposon whose modification controls the yield of oil palm trees. This discovery will increase yields and should lessen the environmental burden of oil palm production, which often threatens already endangered rainforest lands.
Martienssen named 2020 Royal Society winner
Rob Martienssen wins Martin Gibbs Medal for plant research
CSHL’s Rob Martienssen honored with prestigious Barbara McClintock Prize
Plant scientist Rob Martienssen receives prestigious appointment as HHMI-GBMF Investigator
“Breakthrough of the Year” for 2002
The dance of epigenetic inheritance
September 27, 2023
Making sure chromosomes get passed down correctly is hard work. Watch, through fluorescent and cryogenic lenses, how two proteins make it happen.
How plants pass down genetic memories
August 28, 2023
Thirty years ago, CSHL’s Rob Martienssen discovered plant gene DDM1. Now, he’s identified just how the DDM1 protein helps control inheritance.
The CSHL School of Biological Sciences’ class of 2023
May 7, 2023
The School of Biological Sciences awarded 11 Ph.D. degrees this year. Here, the graduates reflect on their time and experiences at CSHL.
The tiny plant tackling climate change
December 8, 2022
The humble aquatic duckweed plant has enormous potential as a new source of healthy protein, low-carbon biofuels, and other bioproducts.
President’s essay: Foundations for the future
May 25, 2022
Strategically designed to spark scientific exchange and inspiration, CSHL is a unique research and education environment for advancing science.
Martienssen elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 28, 2022
CSHL Professor and HHMI Investigator Rob Martienssen joins the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Do you have the dirt on plant research?
March 31, 2022
New research is constantly sprouting. Take this quiz and test your plant knowledge.
Stabilizing chromosomes to tackle tumors
March 17, 2022
Dicer and its partner BRD4 stabilize chromosomes. Targeting this pair could provide new therapeutic opportunities against cancer.
In the Field: A Barbara McClintock–inspired novel
December 2, 2021
1983 Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock continues to inspire many today. In 2021, author Rachel Pastan published a novel based on her life and legacy.
CSHL Ph.D. program: Graduating class of 2021
August 22, 2021
The CSHL School of Biological Sciences awarded Ph.D. degrees to seven students this year, who describe some of their experiences.
All Publications
Oncogene-like addiction to aneuploidy in human cancers
25 Aug 2023 | Science | 381(6660):eadg4521
Girish, Vishruth, Lakhani, Asad, Thompson, Sarah, Scaduto, Christine, Brown, Leanne, Hagenson, Ryan, Sausville, Erin, Mendelson, Brianna, Kandikuppa, Pranav, Lukow, Devon, Yuan, Monet, Stevens, Eric, Lee, Sophia, Schukken, Klaske, Akalu, Saron, Vasudevan, Anand, Zou, Charles, Salovska, Barbora, Li, Wenxue, Smith, Joan, Taylor, Alison, Martienssen, Robert, Liu, Yansheng, Sun, Ruping, Sheltzer, Jason
Chromatin remodeling of histone H3 variants by DDM1 underlies epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation
24 Aug 2023 | Cell | 186(19):4100-4116.e15
Lee, Seung, Adams, Dexter, Ipsaro, Jonathan, Cahn, Jonathan, Lynn, Jason, Kim, Hyun-Soo, Berube, Benjamin, Major, Viktoria, Calarco, Joseph, LeBlanc, Chantal, Bhattacharjee, Sonali, Ramu, Umamaheswari, Grimanelli, Daniel, Jacob, Yannick, Voigt, Philipp, Joshua-Tor, Leemor, Martienssen, Robert
The genome of the Wollemi pine, a critically endangered "living fossil" unchanged since the Cretaceous, reveals extensive ancient transposon activity
24 Aug 2023 | bioRxiv
Stevenson, Dennis, Ramakrishnan, Srividya, Alves, Cristiane, Coelho, Laís, Kramer, Melissa, Goodwin, Sara, Ramos, Olivia, Eshel, Gil, Sondervan, Veronica, Frangos, Samantha, Zumajo-Cardona, Cecilia, Jenike, Katherine, Ou, Shujun, Wang, Xiaojin, Lee, Yin, Loke, Stella, Rossetto, Maurizio, McPherson, Hannah, Nigris, Sebastiano, Moschin, Silvia, Little, Damon, Katari, Manpreet, Varala, Kranthi, Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis, Ambrose, Barbara, Croft, Larry, Coruzzi, Gloria, Schatz, Michael, McCombie, W, Martienssen, Robert
Pseudouridine guides germline small RNA transport and epigenetic inheritance
3 Aug 2023 | bioRxiv
Herridge, Rowan, Dolata, Jakub, Migliori, Valentina, de Santis Alves, Cristiane, Borges, Filipe, Van Ex, Frédéric, Lin, Ann, Bajczyk, Mateusz, Leonardi, Tommaso, Hendrick, Alan, Schorn, Andrea, Kouzarides, Tony, Martienssen, Robert
Retrotransposon addiction promotes centromere function via epigenetically activated small RNAs
3 Aug 2023 | bioRxiv
Shimada, Atsushi, Cahn, Jonathan, Ernst, Evan, Lynn, Jason, Grimanelli, Daniel, Henderson, Ian, Kakutani, Tetsuji, Martienssen, Robert
Teosinte Pollen Drive guides maize domestication and evolution by RNAi
3 Aug 2023 | bioRxiv
Berube, Benjamin, Ernst, Evan, Cahn, Jonathan, Roche, Benjamin, de Santis Alves, Cristiane, Lynn, Jason, Scheben, Armin, Siepel, Adam, Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey, Kermicle, Jerry, Martienssen, Robert
Chromatin remodeling of histone H3 variants underlies epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation
2 Aug 2023 | bioRxiv
Lee, Seung, Adams, Dexter, Ipsaro, Jonathan, Cahn, Jonathan, Lynn, Jason, Kim, Hyun-Soo, Berube, Benjamin, Major, Viktoria, Calarco, Joseph, LeBlanc, Chantal, Bhattacharjee, Sonali, Ramu, Umamaheswari, Grimanelli, Daniel, Jacob, Yannick, Voigt, Philipp, Joshua-Tor, Leemor, Martienssen, Robert
Duckweeds
6 Feb 2023 | Current Biology | 33(3):R89-R91
Mateo-Elizalde, Cristian, Lynn, Jason, Ernst, Evan, Martienssen, Rob
Oncogene-like addiction to aneuploidy in human cancers
10 Jan 2023 | bioRxiv
Girish, Vishruth, Lakhani, Asad, Scaduto, Christine, Thompson, Sarah, Brown, Leanne, Hagenson, Ryan, Sausville, Erin, Mendelson, Brianna, Lukow, Devon, Yuan, Monet, Kandikuppa, Pranav, Stevens, Eric, Lee, Sophia, Salovska, Barbora, Li, Wenxue, Smith, Joan, Taylor, Alison, Martienssen, Robert, Liu, Yansheng, Sun, Ruping, Sheltzer, Jason
Engineering Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Duckweed (Lemna japonica)
09 Oct 2022 | Plant Biotechnology Journal
Liang, Yuanxue, Yu, Xiao‐Hong, Anaokar, Sanket, Shi, Hai, Dahl, William, Cai, Yingqi, Luo, Guangbin, Chai, Jin, Cai, Yuanheng, Mollá‐Morales, Almudena, Altpeter, Fredy, Ernst, Evan, Schwender, Jorg, Martienssen, Robert, Shanklin, John