Research TopicsDepartment of Plant Biology
Ph.D. (1972) University Heidelberg, Germany
Research Topics
- Mechanisms of Plant abiotic stress tolerance using molecular genetics
- Genomics & Biochemical Techniques
Research Interests
For the last 10 years the interest of the group has increasingly shifted towards studies on abiotic stress responses in higher plants. In the center are physiological, biochemical and recently also signal transduction mechanisms that lead to tolerance to water deficit and ionic/osmotic homeostasis. In the process the lab utilizes many techniques, as appropriate, often in collaborations, from biophysical analyses (NMR, MS) to genome-wide expression profiling, gene discovery and functional studies which utilize classical biochemical and physiological approaches. The gene structure and expression studies, phenotypical/physiological characterizations often lead to transgenic approaches in which single or multiple genes are transferred for characterizations often lead to transgenic approaches in which single or multiple genes are transferred for proof of concept experiments. The question which we wish to answer in the lab is about how single genes or genes for entire pathways might be engineered such that stress tolerance in a sensitive species is improved.
Abiotic stress (water deficit/ion imbalance) responses leading to tolerance have been described and some mechanisms have been identified. They include, for example, water retention (accomplished by several mechanisms), the ability to maintain ion homeostatsis and radical oxygen scavenging. It seems that the genes that encode the relevant functions are present in all plants, tolerant and sensitive alike. The distinction between stress tolerance or death (reduced yield) seems to depend on how fast, how precise (tissue/cell), how strongly, and how persistently a gene expression change can be initiated and maintained. In other words, stress perception, signaling and signal networking and the strength and complexity of gene expression seem to determine tolerance much more that the presence of specific proteins.
Key Words Plant Molecular Biology, Abiotic Stress, Salinity,
Drought Tolerance, Metabolic Engineering, Gene Expression, Genomics
Current Research Funding NSF