Knowledge-Based Plant Improvement [Faculty]

Jose M. Alonso	jmalonso@pop-in.ncsu.edu	website
	The main goal of our research is to uncover the molecular mechanisms that underlie ethylene signaling and response in Arabidopsis. In other words, to understand how the binding of this plant hormone to its receptors generates a signal, how this signal is transmitted from these receptors to the cell nucleus where the transcription of a large number of genes is altered, and how these transcriptional changes are coordinated with other developmental and hormonal cues to produce a specific response. To study this process in all its complexity we are using a variety of genetic and genomic approaches.
Wendy Boss	wendy_boss@ncsu.edu	website
	Our long-term goal is to understand how lipid-mediated signaling events are regulated in plants. Our current focus is on the regulation of the phosphoinositide and sphingolipid biosynthesis. We are taking an integrated biochemical and molecular genetic approach to understand where the inositol lipids are synthesized, how their synthesis is regulated, and to identify upstream and downstream components of the lipid-mediated signaling pathways. Key words: lipid signaling, phosphoinositide, phosphatidylinositol, sphingolipids, lipid kinases, protein phosphorylation, calcium, inositol trisphosphate, gravitropism, osmotic stress
Rebecca Boston	boston@unity.ncsu.edu	website
	Our lab studies the coordination of protein synthesis and phospholipid metabolism during seed maturation with particular focus on common signaling pathways between molecular chaperones and phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes. We also work with maize ribosome-inactivating proteins to characterize their fungicidal and insecticidal properties. Current projects are directed at determining both the means by which cytosolic RIPs from maize gain access to fungal ribosomes and the form (proenzyme or active enzyme) that enters the fungal cell. Key words: metabolic engineering, host-pathogen interactions, seed improvement, intracellular signaling
Marc Cubeta	marc_cubeta@ncsu.edu	website
	My research focuses on understanding the ecology, genetics and population biology of soil fungi that cause plant disease. Applied and molecular methods are used to examine field populations of these fungi and to develop improved protocols to assess disease management strategies. My research involves an interdisciplinary approach that combines aspects of horticulture, soil fertility and fungal and plant genetics, with a major emphasis on identifying economical and "environmentally friendly" disease management alternatives for Rhizoctonia and Sclerotinia diseases. My extension responsibilities include crucifer and potato disease education and management, disease diagnosis, weather based disease forecasting and distance learning/outreach activities. Key words: mycology, soil fungi, ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, population genetics, fungal genetics, ecology, population biology, taxonomy, Solanum tuberosum, Brassicae, educational outreach, mentoring, environmental education, distance learning.
Margo Daub	margo_daub@ncsu.edu	website
	Efforts in the Daub laboratory are focused on understanding how fungi parasitize plants and on isolating and characterizing genes that have potential usefulness in the genetic engineering of disease-resistant plants. We are characterizing genes from fungi and bacteria that encode resistance to and degradation of a photoactivated toxin important in plant parasitism by Cercospora fungi, with the goal of engineering plants that can withstand the toxin and thus be resistant to these important pathogens. In addition, we are investigating the mechanisms used by fungal pathogens to counteract active-oxygen-mediated defense reactions in plants, as the ability to overcome these defenses is required for disease development. Key words: plant disease, plant genetic engineering, fungal molecular biology, fungal toxins, active oxygen
Ralph Dewey	ralph_dewey@ncsu.edu	website
Jim Dunphy	jim_dunphy@ncsu.edu	website
Major Goodman	major_goodman@ncsu.edu	website
Fred Gould	fred_gould@ncsu.edu	website
	Our lab is interested in how native and agricultural plants defend themselves against insect herbivores and how herbivores overcome these plant defenses. We have ongoing projects examining the following: 1) What compounds in certain plants in the nightshade family protect these plants from generalist herbivores 2) How specialized herbivores evolve to recognize their appropriate host plant when it grows among hundreds of other plants 3) How plants respond to insect herbivore injury by emitting specific volatile compounds that attract predators of the herbivore 4) How insects genetically adapt to transgenic crops that produce Bt toxins and how this adaptation can be stymied by appropriate engineering and deployment of the plant.
James Holland	James_Holland@ncsu.edu	website
Sophia Kathariou	skathar@unity.ncsu.edu	website
George Kennedy	george_kennedy@ncsu.edu	website
James Moyer	james_moyer@ncsu.edu	website
	We are investigating the evolutionary biology of Tospoviruses. This genus of viruses causes widespread losses in many crops. Currently we are elucidating the diversity that exists among natural populations of these viruses originating in widely diverse regions of the world. In addition we are seeking to identify the structure of diversity within each individual population to elucidate the genetic mechanisms responsible for the ability of these viruses to adapt to new hosts, especially those that have newly introduced resistance genes. Recent studies have revealed considerable diversity within populations and an unexpected plasticity due to high frequency of reassortment of genome segments among mixed populations. Key words: Tospoviruses, tomato spotted wilt virus, Impatiens necrotic spot virus, Iris yellow spot virus; virus genetics, reassortment, recombination, quasispecies, thrips transmission, ambisense genome, bunyaviridae
Gary Payne	gary_payne@ncsu.edu	website
	Genomic approaches and field studies are being used in my program to improve food safety and to understand fungal biology and secondary metabolism. Gene expression profiling is being used to characterize the regulatory circuits in Aspergillus flavus governing aflatoxin biosynthesis. Field and laboratory studies are focused on understanding the ecology of Fusarium verticillioides and the inheritance of resistance to the fungus. Maize seed proteins inhibitory to mycotoxin-producing fungi are being isolated and characterized to better understand resistance mechanisms in seeds. Key words: Fungal genetics, fungal genomics, mycotoxins, gene expression, host resistance, food safety, resistance mechanisms
Dominique Robertson	niki_robertson@ncsu.edu	website
	My lab is interested in devloping geminiviruses, which are plant DNA viruses that replicate in nuclei, as silencing vectors for understanding gene function. When geminiviruses carry a short DNA fragment homolgous to a plant gene, they cause that gene to be silenced. By decreasing (silencing) gene expression in intact plants, we can uncover functions of genes that would normally be lethal. This will allow us to identify function for sequences in databases that have no homology to known proteins. We are also interested in how geminiviruses interact with silencing machinery, as it is beleived that silencing is part of a plant defense against viral infection.
Jan Spears	Jan_Spears@ncsu.edu	website
Stephen J. Szalma	stephen_szalma@ncsu.edu	website
Bill Thompson	wftb@ncsu.edu	website
	Our laboratory is concerned with issues of biology and technology related to the delivery and expression of transgenes in plants. We seek to understand the biological mechanisms leading to variation in transgene expression, as well as to enhance the effectiveness of transgenic approaches to plant breeding and crop improvement. Our interests include gene localization and sub-nuclear structure, "chromatin elements" such as matrix attachmentregions and insulators that affect the performance of transgenes, gene silencing and ways to control or exploit it, and gene targeting by homologous or site-specific recombination. We seek collaborations to apply this technology to practical problems, and are currently working to enhance technology for maize transformation.