Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Investigating how plant cells determine which fragments of DNA should be expressed (like genes), and which should be targeted for repression and not allowed to express

Key words
transposable element, epigenetics, DNA methylation, chromatin, transgene silencing

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Molecular pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Key words
Host-pathogen interactions, infectious disease, innate immunity, chemical genetics

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
We work on social interactions and mutualism using a microbial system so we can study cheating, conflict and cooperation at experimental and genomic levels, within and between species, in particular in social amoebae and their farmed bacteria

Key words
social evolution; multicellularity; mutualism; symbiosis; experimental evolution; disease; social amoebae; Dictyostelium; science education; birds

Program affiliation
Computational and Systems Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Metabolism analysis and metabolic engineering of environmental microorganisms for biofuel/chemical production

Key words
Metabolic flux analysis, bioenergy, metabolic engineering, algal bioprocess, bioremediation, kinetic modeling

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Computational and Systems Biology
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Understanding the genetic basis of root growth and environmental plasticity using phenomics

Key words
imaging; plant; genetics; computation; phenotyping; roots; plant x environment

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Cell growth, size control and evolution of sex in Volvocine algae

Key words
evolution, cell biology, developmental biology, size control, cell division, sexual dimorphism

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology
Computational and Systems Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
Discovery and Characterization of Novel Viruses

Key words
microbial pathogenesis, functional genomics, virology, genome analysis, computational biology

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Antibiotic drug discovery

Key words
Organic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Organic Synthesis, Natural Products, Antibiotics, Biosynthesis, Enzymes, Enzyme Inhibitors, Drug Delivery, Anticancer Agents, Diversity-Oriented Synthesis

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Mechanism of translational fidelity and its impact on cellular fitness and codon evolution

Key words
Translation, Ribosome, RNA, Fidelity, peptide-bond formation, pre-steady state kinetics, translational regulation

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Computational and Systems Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Synthetic biology for advanced biofuels, biomaterials, and chemicals.

Key words
Synthetic biology, Metabolic engineering, regulatory systems, biomaterials