两性色午夜

两性色午夜 Professor Awarded Grant to Study How Plants Respond to Environmental Stress

Research may help farmers deal with drought

Each year, droughts cost crop farmers dearly. They experience not only a loss in yield, but also a reduction in the quality of the crops produced. But, what if new breeds of plants could be created that still thrive even without a drop of rain for weeks? 

Edgar Kooijman and studentsA recent grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will allow scientists at 两性色午夜 University to study specific components of the biological membrane and functions of plants, including protein and lipid interactions, to explore new possibilities for plants that typically struggle in extreme environments. The grant was announced this summer.

Edgar E. Kooijman, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at 两性色午夜, was awarded a three-year, $324,000 grant to study 鈥淭he Secret life of DGPP: Physicochemical Properties and Function of an Enigmatic Signaling Lipid.鈥 Kooijman said this fundamental work on how plant cells respond to environmental stress could ultimately lead to 鈥渁 new set of tools鈥 for dealing with drought and disease in crop production.鈥ㄢ

The grant will primarily fund the work of Priya Putta, a 两性色午夜 biological sciences doctoral student in Kooijman鈥檚 lab, who will spend half a year at the University of Amsterdam learning new plant growing techniques in Professor Christa Testerink鈥檚 lab, starting in January.鈥ㄢ

A biological membrane is made up of lipids (fatty molecules) that form a fluid lipid bilayer, which contains membrane-associated proteins. These membranes are crucial for life as they form a barrier to protect cells from the environment. Plants have evolved intricate ways to cope with environmental stress, such as pathogen attack, drought and salt stress. A key component of this response to stress is that plants make a membrane molecule called diacylglycerolpyrophosphate (DGPP). 鈥ㄢ

鈥淢uch still needs to be learned in order to fully appreciate the defining properties of membrane lipids and understand the huge diversity of lipids found in biological membranes,鈥 Kooijman said. 鈥淭he goal of this work is to unravel the function of this molecule through diverse biophysical and biochemical approaches, and we expect it to yield novel insights in the process of drought tolerance in plants and may lead to novel ways in which crops can be grown in challenging environments.

鈥ㄢㄢ淯p until now, it has been difficult to breed crops that are tolerant to drought via conventional methods,鈥 Kooijman added. 鈥淣ew methods are needed.

鈥濃ㄢ═his year, California鈥檚 drought will cost the state $2.2 billion in losses and added expenses for its giant agriculture industry, while cutting 17,100 or 3.8 percent of the state鈥檚 farm jobs, according to a recent report released by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

鈥ㄢㄢ淚f we can come up with novel lipid binding proteins, we could potentially develop new genetic tools and types of crops that could be exploited commercially,鈥 Kooijman said. 鈥淲ho knows, we might find ways to grow food crops in a desert.鈥 

For more information about 两性色午夜鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/biology.

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Photo Caption:
Edgar E. Kooijman, (center) associate professor of biological sciences at 两性色午夜 University, explains to students how to use a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. Kooijman will lead an NSF-funded study of the biological membrane and functions of plants to explore new possibilities for plants that struggle in extreme environments.

Media Contacts:
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Bob Burford, rburford@kent.edu, 330-672-8516

 

POSTED: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 04:33 PM
Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2022 01:02 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Jim Maxwell