Department of Biology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901

Office: Room 16, Halsey Science Center
Phone: (920) 424-3404
Fax: (920) 424-1101
Email: wise@uwosh.edu

Education

• Ph.D.  1986, Plant Physiology, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
• M.S.  1981, Botany, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
• B.S.  1977, Biology, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

Teaching Experience

• Introductory Biology:  Unity (Bio 105)
• Introductory Biology:  Diversity (Bio 106)
• Honors Biology (Bio 108)
• Biology of Plant and Microbes (Bio 231)
• Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology (Bio 323)
• Plant Anatomy (Bio 337/537)
• Plant Physiology (Bio 345/545)
• Electron Microscopy Techniques (Bio 350/550)
• Senior Capstone Course (Bio 491)
• Advanced Topics in Plant Stress Physiology (Bio 766)
• Advanced Topics in Bioenergetics (Bio 766)

Professional Experience

Research Interests

My interest in plant biology started in the spring of 1976 when I took a course in electron microscopy techniques from Dr. Joe Harris at UW Stevens Point. Joe is a true gentleman, a great scientist and a wonderful mentor. He introduced me to the fascinating world of plant physiology, in general, and chloroplast biology, in particular. Thirty years later, that interest culminated in the 2006 publication of a 575-page volume titled “The Structure and Function of Plastids”, co-edited by myself and Dr. Ken Hoober (Univesity of Arizona). The Plastids book is volume 23 in the Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration series, edited by Govindjee.

Click on the book cover to view the Table of Contents. This multi-author book is the first comprehensive treatment of plastid biology since J.T.O. Kirk and R.A.E Tilney-Bassett published their seminal volume in 1967 (with a revised edition in 1978).

My research for the past 30 years has focused on photosynthesis, particularly the impact of environmental stresses such as cold, heat and drought. Average crop yields in the United States are only one sixth to one seventh of record yields, and environmental stress is the cause of most of the reduction. Unlike animals, plants are largely unable to escape from environmental stresses. Therefore, they have developed unique biochemical and bioenergetic coping mechanisms, which make for scientifically fascinating and agronomically important areas of research.

A second area of research in my laboratory is the relationship between the regulation of photosynthesis and chloroplast ultrastructure. Phil Rozak, a masters student graduate from my lab, demonstrated that chloroplast thylakoid stacking can change significantly with a mere 10 minute increase or decrease in light intensity. This structural rearrangement has a direct impact on photosynthetic regulation, particularly in connection to state changes.

An interesting side trip took me into the fascinating world of the Lemnaceae (duckweed family), a unique group of floating, aquatic plants. Members of the genus Wolffia of the family Lemnaceae are the smallest flowering plants in the world.  Mature adults are only about half of a millimeter in diameter. At least 11 Lemnaceae species are found in Wisconsin, out of a worldwide total of about 34 species.  Although the Lemnaceae are members of the Division Anthophyta (flowering plants) they rarely flower in nature and rely instead on budding (asexual) reproduction.

I had a productive sabbatical during the 2001/2002 academic year in the laboratories of Dr. Tom Sharkey at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Dr. Don Ort at the University of Illinois studying heat stress effects on photosynthesis. Field research was conducted in Maricopa, Ariz. with Dr. Richard Percy at the Maricopa Agricultural Center.

Publications

(names in bold are undergraduate or graduate students)

• Wise, R.R. 2016. Plastids: The anabolic factories of plants.  In: Bradshaw, R.R., P. Stahl and T. Yoshimori (eds.), Encyclopedia of Cell Biology, Vol 2, Waltham, MA; Academic Press, pp. 324-330
• Song, J., B.D. Keppler, R.R. Wise and A.F. Bent.  2015.  PARP2 is the predominant poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase in Arabidopsis DNA damage and immune responses. PLOS Genetics.  11(5) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005200.

• Zhang, R., ŸR.R. Wise,Ÿ K.R. Struck and T.D. Sharkey.  2010.  Moderate heat stress of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves causes chloroplast swelling and plastoglobule formation.  Photosynthesis Research, 105: 123-134.
• Snider, J.L., J.S. Choinski and R.R. Wise. 2009.  Juvenile Rhus glabra leaves have higher temperatures and lower gas exchange rates than mature leaves when compared in the field during periods of high irradiance.  Journal of Plant Physiology, 166: 686-696
• Wise, R.R.  2006.  The diversity of plastid form and function.  In:  Wise, R.R. and J.K. Hoober.  The Structure and Function of Plastids, Springer, Amsterdam, pp. 3-26.
• Schrader, S.M., R.R. Wise, W.F. Wacholtz, D.R. Ort and T.D. Sharkey.  2004.  Thylakoid membrane responses to moderately high leaf temperature in Pima cotton. Plant, Cell & Environment 27: 725-736.
• Wise, R.R., A.J. Olson, S.M. Schrader and T.D. Sharkey.  2004.  Electron transport is the functional limitation of photosynthesis in field-grown Pima cotton plants at high temperature. Plant, Cell & Environment 27: 717-724.
• Hoey, K.A., R.R. Wise, and G.H. Adler. 2004.  Ultrastructure of echimyid and murid rodent spines. Journal of Zoology, London 263: 307-315.
• Vogtschaller, J. and R.R. Wise.  2004.  Simple light guide for measuring irradiance in an aqueous oxygen electrode chamber.  Photosynthesis Research 82: 195-196.
• Rozak, P.R., R.M. Seiser, W.F. Wacholtz, and R.R. Wise.  2002.  Rapid, reversible alterations in spinach thylakoid appression upon changes in light intensity.  Plant, Cell & Environment  25: 421-429.
• Wise, R.R.  2002.  Inexpensive holder for hand-trimming resin-embedded tissues.  Microscopy Research and Technique  56: 306-307.
• Wise, R.R., C.A. Pierstorff, S.L. Nelson, R.M. Bursek, J.L. Plude, M. McNello, and J. Hein. 2001.  Morphological deformities in Chironomus (Chironomidae: Diptera) larvae as indicators of pollution in Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin.  Journal of Great Lakes Research 27: 503-509.
• Buss, C.C., T.G. Lammers and R.R. Wise.  2001.  Seed coat morphology and its systematic implications in Cyanea and other genera of Lobelioideae (Campanulaceae).  American Journal of Botany 88: 1301-1308.
• Wise, R.R., G.F. Sassenrath-Cole and R.G. Percy.  2000.  A comparison of leaf anatomy in field-grown Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense.  Annals of Botany 86: 731-738.
• Kratsch, H.A. and R.R. Wise.  2000.  The ultrastructure of chilling stress.  Plant, Cell & Environment 23: 337-350.
• Choinski, J.S. and R.R. Wise.  1999.  Leaf growth and development related to gas exchange in Quercus marilandicaMuenchh.  Journal of Plant Physiology 154: 302-309.
• Wise, R.R. and W.C. Cook. 1998.  Development of ultrastructural damage to chloroplasts in a plastoquionone-deficient mutant of maize.  Environmental and Experimental Botany 40: 221-228.
• White, S.L. and R.R. Wise.  1998.  Anatomy and ultrastructure of Wolffia columbiana and W. borealis (Lemnaceae), two non-vascular aquatic angiosperms.  International Journal of Plant Sciences 159: 297-304.
• Wise, R.R. 1995.  Chilling-enhanced photooxidation: The production, action and study of reactive oxygen species during chilling in the light.  Photosynthesis Research  45: 79-97.
• Cushman, K.E., T.W. Tibbitts, T.D. Sharkey and R.R. Wise.  1995.  Constant light injury of potato: Temporal and spatial patterns of CO₂ assimilation, starch content, chloroplast integrity, and necrosis. The Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 120: 1032-1040.
• Ort, D.R., K. Oxborough, and R.R. Wise.  1994.  Depressions of photosynthesis in crops with water deficits.  In N.R. Baker and J. Bowyer (eds.), Photoinhibition of Photosynthesis From Molecular Mechanisms to the Field.  Bios Scientific Publishers, London.  pp. 315-329.
• Wise, R.R., A. Ortiz-Lopez and D.R. Ort.  1992.  Stomatal aperture distribution during drought in field-grown and acclimated and non-acclimated growth-chamber-grown cotton. Plant Physiology  100:26-32.
• Wise, R.R., D.H. Sparrow, A. Ortiz-Lopez and D.R. Ort.  1991.  Biochemical regulation during the mid- day decline of photosynthesis in field-grown sunflower.  Plant Science  74:45-52.
• Kramer, D.M., R.R. Wise, J.R. Frederick, D.M. Alm, D.R. Ort and A.R. Crofts.  1990.  Regulation of coupling factor in field-grown sunflower:  A redox model relating coupling factor activity to the activities of other thioredoxin-dependent chloroplast enzymes.  Photosynthesis Research  26:213-222.
• Wise, R.R., J.R. Frederick, D.M. Alm, D.M. Kramer, J.D. Hesketh, A.R. Crofts and D.R. Ort.  1990.  Investigation of the limitations to photosynthesis induced by leaf water deficit in field-grown sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).  Plant, Cell & Environment 13:923-931.
• Wise, R.R., I. Terashima and D.R. Ort.  1990.  The effect of chilling in the light on photophosphorylation:  Analysis of discrepancies between in vitro and in vivo results.  Photosynthesis Research 25:137-139.
• Ort, D.R., S. Martino, R.R. Wise, J. Kent and P. Cooper.  1989.  Changes in protein synthesis induced by chilling and their influence on the chilling sensitivity of photosynthesis.  Plant Physiology and Biochemistry  27:785-793.
• Wise, R.R. and D.R. Ort.  1989.  Photophosphorylation after chilling in the light.  Effects on thylakoid energization and coupling factor activity.  Plant Physiology  90: 657-664.
• Wise, R.R. and A.M. Juncosa.  1989.  Ultrastructure of the transfer tissues during viviparous seedling development inRhizophora mangle (Rhizophoraceae).  American Journal of Botany  76:1286-1298.
• Wise, R.R. and D.R. Ort.  1989.  Effects of light chilling on photophosphorylation in cucumber.  In G. Singhal, J. Barber, R.A. Dilley, Govindjee, R. Haselkorn, and P. Mohanty (eds.), Photosynthesis: Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics.  Narosa and Springer-Verlag, New Delhi, India.  pp. 283-295.
• Wise, R.R. and A.W. Naylor.  1988.  Stress ethylene does not originate directly from lipid peroxidation during chilling-enhanced photooxidation.  Journal of Plant Physiology 133: 62-66.
• Wise, R.R. and A.W. Naylor.  1987.  Chilling-enhanced photooxidation:  Evidence for the role of singlet oxygen and superoxide in the breakdown of pigments and endogenous antioxidants.  Plant Physiology  83: 278-282.
• Wise, R.R. and A.W. Naylor.  1987.  Chilling-enhanced photooxidation:  The peroxidative destruction of lipids during injury to photosynthesis and ultrastructure.  Plant Physiology  83:272-277.
• Wise, R.R.  1986.  Evidence for the role of oxygen radicals in chilling-enhanced photooxidation:  A comparison of cucumber and pea.  Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University, Durham, NC.
• Wise, R.R. and A.W. Naylor.  1985.  Calibration and use of a Clark-type oxygen electrode from 5 to 45°C.  Analytical Biochemistry 146: 260-264.
• Musser, R.L., S.A. Thomas, R.R. Wise, T.C. Peeler and A.W. Naylor.  1984.  Chloroplast ultrastructure, pigment composition, and chlorophyll fluorescence in shoot-chilled soybeans.  Plant Physiology 74: 749-754.
• Wise, R.R. and J.B. Harris.  1984.  The three-dimensional structure of the Cyphomandra betacea chloroplast peripheral reticulum.  Protoplasma 119: 222-225.
• Wise, R.R., J.R. McWilliam and A.W. Naylor.  1983.  A comparative study of low-temperature-induced ultrastructural alterations of three species with differing chilling sensitivities.  Plant, Cell & Environment 6: 525-535.
• Wise, R.R.  1981.  Alterations in the fine structure of chloroplasts from collard (Brassica oleracea), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) leaves exposed to chilling temperatures and water stress.  Masters Thesis, Duke University, Durham, NC
• Wise, R.R. and J.B. Harris. 1980. Thylakoid-dense chloroplasts of Callisia fragrans.  Cytologia 45: 113-126.  [Figure 3 from this paper was published in P. Sheeler and D.E. Bianchi.  (1983.  Cell Biology:  Structure, Biochemistry, and Function, 2nd Ed., Wiley & Sons, p. 421) as an example of chloroplast ultrastructure].

Masters Students Graduated From My Laboratory

• Heidi A. Kratsch.  Evidence for actin-based chloroplast movement in leaves of Pisum sativum. Defended July 25, 2000.
• Phillip R. Rozak.  Alterations in thylakoid membrane ultrastructure of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) accompany state changes.  Defended September 6, 2000.
• Jennifer Freund.  Cold temperature and light-induced chloroplast movement in chilling-sensitive and chilling-resistant plants.  Defended May 1, 2001.
• Ralph D. Hollander. Effect of leaf temperature on photosynthesis under elevated carbon dioxide in Populus tremuloides.  Defended May 19, 2006.

Professional Activities

Member, Editorial Board of Environmental and Experimental Botany (1994 to 2015)

Ad hoc reviewer of manuscripts or grant applications submitted to Agricultural Meteorology and Forestry, American Journal of Botany, Annals of Botany, Applied Statistics in Agriculture, Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Canadian Journal of Botany, Environmental and Experimental Botany, Field Crops Research, Functional Plant Biology, Global Change Biology, International Journal of Plant Science, International Science and Technology Center, Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Journal of Experimental Botany, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Journal of Plant Physiology, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, McIlvanea, Midwest Microscopy, National Science Foundation (IPB, ILI, RUI), North Dakota EPSCoR Program, Photosynthesis Research, Physiologia Plantarum, Plant Biology, Plant and Cell Physiology, Plant, Cell & Environment, Plant Growth Regulation, Plant Physiology, Plant Science, Planta, Southwest Consortium on Plant Genetics and Water Resources, Systematic Botany, United States Civilian Research & Development Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture, US/Israel Bilateral Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD), UW Oshkosh Faculty Development Board, UW System Applied Research Grant Program, Wetlands Ecology and Management.