Zachary Lippman
Professor & HHMI Investigator
Jacob Goldfield Professor of Genetics
Director of Graduate Studies
Ph.D., Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2004
lippman@cshl.edu | 516-367-8897
My research team studies the genes that determine when and where, and thus how many, flowers are produced on plants. Flowers form on branches called inflorescences, which originate from stem cells. By studying the genes that control how stem cells become inflorescences, we are able to manipulate flower production to improve crop yields.
Zachary Lippman’s research focuses on the process of flowering and flower production in plants, which are major contributors to reproductive success and crop yield. Specifically, Lippman’s research program integrates development, genetics, genomics, and gene editing to explore the mechanisms that determine how plant stem cells become shoots and flowers. The lab takes advantage of extensive natural and mutant variation in inflorescence production and architecture in tomato and related nightshade species (e.g. potato, pepper, groundcherry) to explore how differences in these processes explain the remarkable diversity in the architectures of flower-bearing shoots (inflorescences) observed in nature and agriculture. Recent discoveries on the genes and networks underlying this diversity have led to broader questions on the significance of genomic structural variation, gene redundancy, and epistasis in development, domestication, and breeding. Based on our fundamental discoveries, Lippman is developing and applying innovative concepts and tools for crop improvement.
How evolved is your knowledge?
January 26, 2023
Test your knowledge of evolution with this quiz, inspired by the March 2023 performances of Isabella Rossellini’s play, Darwin’s Smile, at CSHL.
Tomato cousin’s coolest quirk
January 25, 2023
Take an up-close look at what CSHL Professor Zachary Lippman describes as “one of the coolest evolutionary novelties to emerge in plants.”
Reinvigorating CSHL’s Ph.D. program
December 13, 2022
Graduate student turned director of graduate studies, Zachary Lippman shares his vision for the CSHL School of Biological Sciences.
CSHL groundcherry research bears new fruits
October 31, 2022
New genetic blueprints for two types of groundcherry may help strengthen food supplies and reveal how plants evolve.
Lippman named director of CSHL School of Biological Sciences
October 27, 2022
A former student and faculty member at the School of Biological Sciences, Lippman takes on the new role effective December 1, 2022.
Do you have the dirt on plant research?
March 31, 2022
New research is constantly sprouting. Take this quiz and test your plant knowledge.
For plant geneticists, some genes are double the trouble
March 28, 2022
It pays to check whether genetic tweaks that improve one kind of crop could get foiled by backup genes in a different crop.
Tools of the trade at CSHL: The greenhouse
September 13, 2021
The greenhouse provides a beautiful space for hundreds of experimental plants to grow all year round, which could allow scientists to build better crops so
Using “guilt by association” to classify cells
July 14, 2021
Using a new computational statistics tool, CSHL researchers classify cells to understand how an organism functions.
Zach Lippman elected to the National Academy of Sciences
April 29, 2021
CSHL Professor & HHMI Investigator Zach Lippman is honored for his work on plant genetics and crop improvement.
Selected Publications
Rapid customization of Solanaceae fruit crops for urban agriculture
23 Dec 2019 | Nature Biotechnology | 38:182-188
Kwon, C, Heo, J, Lemmon, Z, Capua, Y, Hutton, S, Van Eck, J, Park, S, Lippman, Z
Revolutions in agriculture chart a course for targeted breeding of old and new crops
5 Sep 2019 | Science | 366(6466)
Eshed, Y, Lippman, Z
Duplication of a domestication locus neutralized a cryptic variant that caused a breeding barrier in tomato
6 May 2019 | Nature Plants | 5(5):471-497
Soyk, S, Lemmon, Z, Sedlazeck, F, Jimenez-Gomez, J, Alonge, M, Hutton, S, Van Eck, J, Schatz, M, Lippman, Z
All Publications
Automated assembly scaffolding using RagTag elevates a new tomato system for high-throughput genome editing
15 Dec 2022 | Genome Biology | 23(1):258
Alonge, Michael, Lebeigle, Ludivine, Kirsche, Melanie, Jenike, Katie, Ou, Shujun, Aganezov, Sergey, Wang, Xingang, Lippman, Zachary, Schatz, Michael, Soyk, Sebastian
Establishing Physalis as a Solanaceae model system enables genetic reevaluation of the inflated calyx syndrome
21 Oct 2022 | The Plant Cell
He, Jia, Alonge, Michael, Ramakrishnan, Srividya, Benoit, Matthias, Soyk, Sebastian, Reem, Nathan, Hendelman, Anat, Van Eck, Joyce, Schatz, Michael, Lippman, Zachary
Newly Discovered Alleles of the Tomato Antiflorigen Gene SELF PRUNING Provide a Range of Plant Compactness and Yield
28 Jun 2022 | International Journal of Molecular Sciences | 23(13):7149
Kang, Min-Sung, Kim, Yong, Heo, Jung, Rajendran, Sujeevan, Wang, Xingang, Bae, Jong, Lippman, Zachary, Park, Soon
Identification of Genetic Factors Controlling the Formation of Multiple Flowers Per Node in Pepper (Capsicum spp.)
9 May 2022 | Frontiers in Plant Science | 13:884338
Kim, Youngin, Kim, Geon, Han, Koeun, Lee, Hea-Young, Jo, Jinkwan, Kwon, Jin-Kyung, Lemmon, Zachary, Lippman, Zachary, Kang, Byoung-Cheorl
Newly discovered alleles of the tomato antiflorigen gene SELF PRUNING provide a range of plant compactness and yield
17 Apr 2022 | International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Kang, Min-Sung, Kim, Yong, Heo, Jung, Rajendran, Sujeevan, Wang, Xingang, Bae, Jong, Lippman, Zachary, Park, Soon
Dynamic evolution of small signalling peptide compensation in plant stem cell control
28 Mar 2022 | Nature Plants
Kwon, Choon-Tak, Tang, Lingli, Wang, Xingang, Gentile, Iacopo, Hendelman, Anat, Robitaille, Gina, Van Eck, Joyce, Xu, Cao, Lippman, Zachary
Dynamic evolution of small signaling peptide compensation in plant stem cell control
2022 | bioRxiv
Kwon, Choon-Tak, Tang, Lingli, Wang, Xingang, Gentile, Iacopo, Hendelman, Anat, Robitaille, Gina, Van Eck, Joyce, Xu, Cao, Lippman, Zachary