Barry A. Logan

Professor of Biology

Spring 2012

  • Biological Principles II (BIO 102)
  • Free Radicals and Antioxidants (BIO 306)
  • Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Biology (BIO 402)
  • Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Biochemistry (BIOC 402)
Phone 725-3944
Title Professor
Department Biology
Work Location 220A Druckenmiller Hall
E-Mail blogan@bowdoin.edu
Barry Logan: Bowdoin College: Biology

Education:

Ph.D. EPO Biology, University of Colorado - Boulder
B.A. Biology,  Cornell University

Recent Courses

Biology 079. Ancient and Modern Agriculture.
Though nearly all people presently living on earth depend upon some form of agriculture to feed themselves, farming is a recent innovation when considered in the context of human evolution. The last century witnessed profound changes in agricultural technology and practices. Examines the ecological forces that influenced the establishment and proliferation of agriculture, and studies the scientific underpinnings of the "Green Revolution" and contemporary methods of genetic modification. Compares "high-input" conventional farm- ing with organic approaches in terms of productivity and ecological impacts.
Syllabus [ PDFlink will open a PDF - Portable Document Format] »

Biology 210. Plant Physiology.
An introduction to the physiological processes that enable plants to grow under the varied conditions found in nature. General topics discussed include the acquisition, transport, and use of water and mineral nutrients, photosynthetic carbon assimilation, and the influence of environmental and hormonal signals on development and morphology. Adaptation and acclimation to extreme environments and other ecophysiological subjects are also discussed. Weekly laboratories reinforce principles discussed in lecture and expose students to modern research techniques.
Syllabus [ PDFlink will open a PDF - Portable Document Format] »

Biology 280. Plant Responses to the Environment.
Plants can be found growing under remarkably stressful conditions. Even your own backyard poses challenges to plant growth and reproduction. Survival is possible only because of a diverse suite of elegant physiological and morphological adaptations. The physiological ecology of plants from extreme habitats (e.g., tundra, desert, hypersaline) is discussed, along with the responses of plants to environmental factors such as light and temperature. Readings from the primary literature facilitate class discussion. Excursions into the field and laboratory exercises complement class material.
Syllabus [ PDFlink will open a PDF - Portable Document Format] »

Biology 306. Free Radicals and Antioxidants.
Ordinary cellular metabolism in aerobic environments results in the production of free radicals, and free radical-mediated cellular damage underlies many human diseases. In response to the danger they pose, organisms evolved elaborate antioxidant systems that detoxify free radicals. The biology of free radicals and antioxidants in organisms ranging from bacteria to plants to humans is discussed, along with the importance of free radicals in disease processes. Time is devoted to discussing the primary literature and occasional laboratory sessions.
Syllabus [ PDFlink will open a PDF - Portable Document Format] »

Research Interests:

I study the responses of plants to global change to environmental stress.  My research is generally equal parts growth chamber/greenhouse based and field based.  My three primary research interests include:

  • The ecophysiology of eastern dwarf mistletoe infection - Eastern dwarf mistletoe is a parasitic plant that infects spruce and in the last 25 years has had profound effects on coastal white spruce forests in Maine. Despite being one of the most damaging pathogens of coniferous trees, the physiological mechanisms by which dwarf mistletoe infections harm and ultimately kill host trees remain unknown. Dwarf mistletoe, only weakly photosynthetic itself, taps into the vascular system of host trees and robs them of water, mineral nutrients, and sugars. Interestingly eastern dwarf mistletoe infection leads to greater damage and mortality in white spruce than red spruce. Students, Jaret Reblin (Laboratory Instructor in Biology), Dr. Kristy Duran (NSF Fellow, now Asst. Prof. at Mesa State U.), and I have used an array of methods to better understand these interaction. We examine the photosynthetic capabilities and tissue composition of eastern dwarf mistletoe itself and the effects of mistletoe infection on needle and stem function and anatomy, gene expression relating to branch senescence, along with the population genetics of infections. Our field sites are in conservation on islands, including Monhegan Island.
  • Barry Logan Fieldwork in AustraliaFunctional responses of Eucalypts to drought under past, present and predicted-future[CO2] - Global climate change is expected to accelerate rapidly with unknown consequences for Australian forests. With collaborators from Boston University and the University of Western Sydney (and support from the Australian Research Council), we seek to determine the impact of drought on the physiological and growth responses of Eucalypts to future climate conditions of increasing temperature, water stress, and past and future atmospheric [CO2], using linked glasshouse and field-based [CO2] manipulation experiments conducted at the U. Western Sydney. Read more about our project  (PDF)
  • Ecophysiology and fitness benefits of photoprotection – Plants routinely absorb more light than they are capable of using to drive photosynthesis. This so-called excess light can have lethal consequences if it is not dealt with. All plants manage excess light via a biochemical mechanism known as energy dissipation whereby excess light is converted to heat, which is harmlessly lost from the leaf. Prof. Krishna Niyogi (U California Berkeley), a collaborator, on this project identified a protein, PsbS, which is essential for energy dissipation. We use mutant plants whose range of capacities for energy dissipation was manipulated by either deletion of the PsbS gene or transgenic overexpression of PsbS to study to ecophysiology of this ubiquitous process and its effects on Darwinian fitness in a range of different growth settings.

Student Research in Professor Logan's Lab

Student Research: Logan LabBowdoin undergraduates are involved in nearly all aspects of my research.  Many complete year-long independent projects for graduation with honors in Biology or Biochemistry.  Others pursue lab or field research full-time in the summer with the support of fellowships (see the Biology Department site for more information about summer and honors research opportunities).  To date, five Bowdoin students have co-authored publications describing work from my lab in peer-reviewed scientific journals (two of those students were first authors). 
Read about specific projects »

Selected Publications (* Bowdoin undergraduate):

Logan BA, Hricko* CR, Lewis JD, Ghannoum O, Phillips NG, Smith RA, Conroy JP, Tissue DT  (2010)  Examination of pre-industrial and future [CO2] reveals the temperature-dependent CO2 sensitivity of light energy partitioning at PSII in eucalypts.  Functional Plant Biology  37: 1041-1049

Kornyeyev D, Logan BA, Holaday AS  (2010)  Excitation pressure as a measure of the sensitivity of photosystem II to photoinactivation. Functional Plant Biology 37: 943-951

Ghannoum O, Phillips NG, Sears*MA, Logan BA, Lewis JD, Conroy JP, Tissue DT (2010)  Photosynthetic responses of two eucalypts to industrial-age changes in atmospheric [CO2] and temperature. Plant, Cell & Environment 33: 1671-1681

Phillips NG, Lewis JD, Logan BA, Tissue DT  (2010)  Inter- and intra-specific variation in nocturnal water transport in Eucalyptus. Tree Physiology 30: 586-596

Krah* NM, Logan BA (2010)  Loss of psbS expression reduces vegetative growth, reproductive output, and light-limited, but not light-saturated, photosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae) grown in temperate light environments. American Journal of Botany 97: 644-649

Ghannoum O, Phillips NG, Conroy JP, Smith RA, Attard RD, Woodfield R, Logan BA, Lewis JD, Tissue DT  (2009)  Exposure to pre-industrial, current and future atmospheric [CO2] and temperature differentially affects growth and photosynthesis in Eucalyptus.  Global Change Biology  16: 303-319

Logan BA, Combs* AF, Myers, K, Kent* R, Stanley* L, Tissue DT  (2009)  Seasonal response of photosynthetic electron transport and energy dissipation in the eighth year of exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2 (FACE) in Pinus taeda (loblolly pine).  Tree Physiology  29: 789-797

Logan BA, Terry* SG, Niyogi KK  (2008)  Arabidopsis genotypes with differing levels of psbS expression differ in photosystem II quantum yield, xanthophyll cycle pool size, and above-ground growth.  International Journal of Plant Science  169: 597-604

Adams WW, Watson AM, Mueh KE, Amiard V, Turgeon R, Ebbert V, Logan BA, Combs* AF, Demmig-Adams B  (2007)  Photosynthetic acclimation in the context of structural constraints to carbon export from leaves.  Photosynthesis Research  94: 455-466

Logan BA, Hammond* MP, Stormo* BM  (2008)  The French paradox: determining the superoxide scavenging capacity of red wine and other beverages.  Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education  36: 39-42

Logan BA, Adams, WW, Demmig-Adams B  (2007)  Avoiding common pitfalls of chlorophyll fluorescence analysis under field conditions.  Functional Plant Biology  34: 853-859

Logan BA  (2006)  Oxygen Metabolism and Stress Physiology.  In:  The Structure and Function of Plastids (RR Wise, JK Hoober eds.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dorderecht, 539-553

Reblin JS, Logan BA, Tissue DT  (2006)  Impact of eastern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum) infection on the needles of red (Picea rubens) and white spruce (P. glauca): oxygen exchange, morphology, and composition. Tree Physiology 26: 1325-1332

Logan BA, Kornyeyev D, Hardison* J, Holaday AS  (2006)  The role of antioxidant enzymes in photoprotection.  Photosynthesis Research (2006) 88: 119-132

Logan BA  (2005)  ROS and Photosynthesis.  In:  Antioxidants and Reactive Oxygen Species in Plants (N Smirnoff ed.)  Blackwell Scientific Publishing, London, 250-267

Kornyeyev D, Logan BA, Tissue DT, Allen RD, Holaday AS  (2006)  Compensation for photosystem II photoinactivation by regulated non-photochemical dissipation influences the impact of photoinactivation on electron transport and CO2 assimilation. Plant and Cell Physiology 47: 437-446


Curriculum vitae in PDF formPDF»