Prof. Sabeeha Merchant
In celebration of Agrisera’s 40th anniversary in 2025, we have conducted a series of short interviews with scientists, who have shared their knowledge, ideas and laboratory experience, contributing to the development of Agrisera's antibody collection for plant and algal science. The aim is to honor their contributions to the field, as well as inspire others to venture into plant science, with the support of Agrisera antibodies.
Sabeeha Merchant is a professor of plant biology at the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on photosynthetic metabolism and metalloenzymes. In 2010, she led the team that successfully sequenced the genome of Chlamydomonas. Her achievements earned her election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012, and her work has been recognized through several other awards and honors. Agrisera has enjoyed a long-standing collaboration with Prof. Merchant through the development of antibodies to various plant proteins.
- Please tell us about yourself and your research/institution.
I am a professor of biochemistry and have been since 1987, initially in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UCLA, which is where I initiated my interactions with Agrisera, and now at UC Berkeley in the Molecular and Cell Biology department and the Plant and Microbial Biology department. I had prepared many antibodies as a student and as a post-doctoral researcher. In those days, recombinant proteins were not really an option as antigens, so I used proteins purified from Chlamydomonas cultures. Fortunately, photosynthetic proteins are rather abundant and mg quantities of purified antigens could be prepared. Some of the antibodies I made (e.g. against CF1 or against plastocyanin) are available from Agrisera. We got so many requests for these antibodies that we decided it was easier to have Agrisera distribute them.
- What motivated you to get into plant science?
I did not enjoy working with animals, which I did for a short while (rat liver, rat and cow brain). Therefore, I considered microbes as an experimental system. I worked with Chlamydomonas, whose cultures smelled like freshly cut grass. Besides, the topic of photosynthesis was fascinating. What amazing biochemistry. And hence the commitment to plants.
- How have you used (Agrisera) antibodies in your research?
We identified various proteins involved in assembly of photosynthetic complexes and needed antibodies for localization experiments or to identify interacting partners by co-immunoprecipitation. We turned to Agrisera to produce custom antibodies. The antibodies against the cyclase (CHL27) were generated against the Arabidopsis protein but work for many different green organisms. In 2007 when we (with Arthur Grossman) used phylogenomics to generate an inventory of proteins that are exclusively found in chloroplast-containing organisms (or cyanobacteria), we collaborated with Agrisera to generate antibodies against so-called pioneer proteins (i.e. whose functions were not known).
- Any further comments?
We have enjoyed a most cordial relationship with Joanna and her team. They are responsive to their customers. At one meeting they gave me a T-shirt and an overshirt with their logo on it. I still have those shirts. I feel like a member of their team.
• Merchant Lab, UC Berkeley
• Sabeeha Merchant, Wikipedia
• Agrisera antibodies reactive in Chlamydomonas