Plant and Microbial Innovation

Plants possess an array of primary and secondary metabolites that are not only the source of food and beverages but also provide numerous medicinal and industrial products. Identification, production, and use of natural products are fast growing and emerging fields with tremendous potential for innovative research in improving human health and the global economy. 

A persistent increase in human population size and standard of living without an increase in arable land places an imperative demand on agricultural science to increase sustainable farm production. Genomics is an enabling technology for research on any plant species, facilitating gene discovery, plant breeding, and genetic engineering. We specialize in the use of model systems such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon and numerous cultivated species including alfalfa, camelina, rice, tomato, and pine. 

Microbiome research is among the most exciting and promising areas of science today due to technological advances that allow the determination of which microbes are present and gain insights into their metabolism. Only recently has there been widespread recognition of the profound influence of the human microbiome on health and disease (i.e., cancer, obesity, diabetes, autism, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease) leading to a new generation of medicines based on natural microbials.