Department of Horticultural Science

Horticulture Highlights - Fall 2006

• Horticulture Highlights for Fall - The plant transformation lab:
  • The NC State Plant Transformation Laboratory (PTL) opened on May 1.  The PTL staff includes Dr. Sergei Krasnyanski, who has joined us from Purdue University, and George Allen.  Dr. Krasnyanski has over 20 years of tissue culture experience and has worked on the transformation of sunflower, canola, mint, apple, tomato, rose, Arabidopsis, tobacco, and soybean. The PTL was created in response to an increasing demand for value-added plant traits to enhance new cultivars for North Carolina.  Although the production of transgenic plants is expensive and requires a combination of molecular biology, transformation, tissue culture, and plant breeding, it will provide new protection of crops from diseases, insects, and weeds.
  • Traits of interest include Roundup Ready soybean, BT maize, and Golden Rice (having increased levels of provitamin A).  While researchers at NC State have been producing transgenic plants for many years, many programs have focused on answering basic research questions, using easily transformed model plants, such as tobacco or Arabidopsis.  The PTL adds a new level of capability to our programs.  The goal of the PTL is to collaborate scientifically with other campus researchers to contribute to the North Carolina economy while improving agriculture and the environment.
  • For those of you who missed the open house, please visit the new laboratory, located in 3900 Partners II on Centennial Campus, or visit our website http://www.planttransformation.ncsu.edu/