Plant Biology faculty and research

Plant responses to externally applied stimuli with emphasis on plant hormones, touch and gravity.

Molecular biology of plant G-proteins and kinases. Phytohormone regulation of signal transduction and RNA processing. Second messenger regulation of ion channels in plant cells.

Discovery and characterization of plant microRNAs and siRNAs. Functions of microRNAs and siRNAs in the evolution of plant development. Genomics and bioinformatics of microRNAs, siRNAs, and their targets.

Environmental plant physiology. Controlled and modified environments for plant growth. Eco-roofs, rooftop greening, and other uses of plants in distributed stormwater management systems.

Roles of RNA-binding proteins in plant physiology. Plant ribonomics. Identification and characterization of functional RNAs in plants.

Plant genetics and development, carbon partitioning, sugar transport, leaf variegation.

Ethylene biology. Regulation of root development. Root responses to edaphic stress. Identification and mapping of traits for adaptation to edaphic stress.

Adhesives; wood composites; cellulosic materials, bacterial cellulose, polymer science; chemistry of wood biopolymers; and other chemical treatments of wood.

Photosynthesis, structure-function relationships of proteins, gene regulation, and microbial physiology. Cyanobacteria and green sulfur bacteria. Genomics of photosynthetic bacteria.

Molecular genetics, genomics and biotechnology of woody plants related to development, environmental stress, carbon sequestration and genome organization.

Cellulose synthesis and organization, cellulosic composites and coatings, microbial cellulose production, and chemically powered microfluidic and biological devices and sensors.

Regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis during plant development and plant-pathogen interaction. Epigenetic regulation and allele specific patterns.

Mechanism of plant growth. Function and evolution of expansins. Biochemistry and rheology of plant cell walls. Growth responses to light, hormones, and water stress and other stimuli.

Regulation and signal transduction in plant secondary metabolism. Phytoremediation of hydrocarbons. Commercial chemical production in plants and plant tissue culture.

Plant cell and developmental biology. Biochemical, genetic, molecular genetic and cell biology of the cytoskeleton. Mitosis, with emphasis on spindle assembly.

Ecology. Chemical ecology. Tritrophic interactions. Chemical Communication. Plant signaling. Plant-insect-interactions. Plant-Plant interactions. Plant defenses.

Genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular evolution. Origin and diversification of flowers & developmental pathways. Comparative genomics of plants, organelles, & plant gene families. Genomics and evolution of parasitic plants.

Plant physiological ecology. Root biology and physiology. Plant carbon and nutrient economies.

Plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Gene network inference. microRNA regulation in gene expression.

Genetic characterization of resistance/tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses, and genes/QTLs contributing to tomato fruit quality. Investigation of genes/QTLs for directed crop improvement and germplasm enhancement. Tomato cultivar development & release.

Light reactions in photosynthesis. Structure and function of photosystem I and the heliobacterial reaction center. Regulation and bioassembly of iron-sulfur clusters in cyanobacteria and plants. Plant and bacterial metalloproteins. Generation using Photosystem I, hydrogenase, and molecular wire technology

Plant molecular and developmental biology. Starch biosynthesis. Tropical plant biotechnology. Plant-pathogen interactions. Biofuel feedstock production.

Population genetics. Plant evolution and ecology. Crop improvement. Physiological tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.

Genetic and cellular mechanisms underpinning plant-fungal interactions with Arabidopsis thaliana and Fusarium oxysporum as a model system. Molecular genetics and comparative genomics of fungal plant pathogens. Bioinformatics.

Molecular and biochemical bases of the S-RNase-based self-incompatibility system in flowering plants; molecular and biochemical characterization of cellulose biosynthesis in bacteria and plants.

Ecology and physiology of plants and their mycorrhizal fungi.

Insect defense responses in maize. Functional genomics/proteomic approaches for studying Aspergillus flavus resistance in maize. Abiotic stress resistance.

Plant adaptation to nutrient and water stress. Global change. World hunger. Root biology.

Molecular genetics and evolution of flower development. Anther cell differentiation, meiosis and pollen development. Comparative, genomic and bioinformatic analyses of eukaryotic gene functions.

Genetics, molecular biology and physiology of plant interactions with phytopathogenic bacteria. Signal transduction events involved in plant disease resistance. Genetic control of plant hypersensitive cell death.

Identification and characterization of genes regulating meristem initiation and growth in maize and Arabidopsis. Genomic approaches to studying auxin regulation and gene expression in meristems.

Toxicology of insect-plant interactions. Honey bee ecotoxicology. Mechanisms of insect taste chemoreception. Biopesticide action and resistance. Phytochemical ecology.

Structural and functional basis of two component signal transduction. Structural basis for how AAA+ ATPases perform mechanical work to activate transcription by remodeling the sigma54-form of bacterial RNA polymerase.

Physiological and biochemical responses of plants to air pollutants. Mechanisms of plant tolerance to air pollutants. Molecular basis and physiological implications of ozone-induced accelerated leaf senescence.

The impact of inbreeding by plants on organic volatile production, herbivory and the establishment and spread of diseases. The effects of effects of disease on the foraging behavior of vectors and their natural enemies.

Mechanism of fungal degradation of the plant polymer lignin. Modification of lignin biosynthesis to yield more readily hydrolyzed lignin. Mechanism of cellulose synthesis. Disimilatory iron reduction. Microbial reduction of metal oxides for respiration.

Signal perception and transduction in rice-pathogen interactions; Molecular and genomic strategies for increasing disease resistance and drought tolerance in cereal crops.