{"id":51928,"date":"2024-06-20T13:13:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T17:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/?p=51928"},"modified":"2024-07-03T09:06:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T13:06:46","slug":"plant-power-how-uga-plant-geneticists-are-tackling-the-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/plant-power-how-uga-plant-geneticists-are-tackling-the-climate-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Plant power: How UGA plant geneticists are tackling the climate crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather escalating, the threats posed by climate change are intensifying. But the plants of tomorrow\u2014small and humble though they might be\u2014 could help us meet the massive challenges of our warming planet.<\/p>\n

Plant genetics research at the University of Georgia spans schools, departments, disciplines, and centers. From the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) to Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, from the Plant Center<\/a> to the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics<\/a> and more, UGA faculty with genetics expertise are seeking plant-based solutions to societal challenges.<\/p>\n

Some of these faculty are conducting studies at the cellular level, while others investigate plants as whole organisms. Still others are exploring how epigenetics shape entire ecosystems. And while a number of UGA geneticists prioritize fundamental discovery, others are partnering with breeders or with industry to bring new crops and plant-based products to market.<\/p>\n

Together, these faculty share a passion for plants\u2014and an optimism about the power of plants to help us adapt to a changing climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re spread out all over campus,\u201d said Bob Schmitz<\/a>, UGA Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences and the Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator of Genetics. \u201cBut we all speak the same language.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all looking for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″ el_class=”sidebar-content”][vc_column_text css=””]\"Distinguished<\/p>\n

The charisma of sunflowers<\/h2>\n

Growing up in Minnesota, Distinguished Research Professor John Burke took an interest in the outdoors, collecting snakes, salamanders, and turtles with his two older brothers. Years later, he earned his Ph.D. in genetics from UGA in 1999 and returned as a faculty member in 2006. Among his many studies, he has put particular focus on sunflowers.<\/p>\n

Learn more about his work in\u00a0this faculty profile<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1718903334062{margin-bottom: 5px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Tracking epigenetic changes in native ecosystems<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Schmitz likes to tell people that he\u2019ll work on any plant that has DNA\u2014which is all of them, of course. \u201cOur questions are broader than any particular plant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A member of the Department of Genetics<\/a> in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Schmitz studies the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in plants, or how a plant\u2019s environment influences the way its genes operate. \u201cThe genome is the same in all cells, but the way that genome is interpreted can change depending on the external environment, such as factors like an infection,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to understand how these events lead to changes in gene regulation both within and between plant species.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bob
Professor Bob Schmitz studies how environments influence the way a plant\u2019s genes operate. (Photo by Peter Frey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Members of the Schmitz Lab<\/a>, working in partnership with international researchers, discovered that rare changes to DNA methylation (or chemical modifications to DNA) can spuriously occur over generations of plants. They then found that they could use those multi-generational changes, which \u201ctick\u201d at a constant rate, to determine plant divergence time, whether over the lifespan of long-lived plants such as trees or between different plant populations.<\/p>\n

The information provided by this epigenetic clock, Schmidtz says, includes data relevant to the timing of invasive species introduction and the impact of human activity on native environments. These insights could prove useful for understanding how plant populations migrate, expand, or contract due to a changing climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now working with ecologists to track how plants in their native environment respond a changing climate,\u201d Schmitz said. \u201cThe discovery of an evolutionary epigenetic clock provides a new tool for dating divergence times between populations of plant species. It can even make predictions about how population sizes are increasing or decreasing due to human disturbance or climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmitz cites UGA\u2019s legendary strength in plant genomics as a draw for researchers. \u201cOne reason I came to UGA is because they have such strength in assembling plant genomes for numerous and diverse crops,\u201d he said. \u201cThe peanut genome came out of UGA. So did cotton, sorghum, poplar, maize, and many more\u2014these are all major achievements. These efforts make it easy for labs like mine to work across diverse plant species and disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passing along fundamental genetic discoveries to research partners along the basic-to-applied continuum is something UGA does well, says John Burke<\/strong><\/a>, distinguished research professor and head of the Department of Plant Biology<\/a> in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. He notes that the broad intersectionality of plant research has become a signature strength of the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are intentional mechanisms in place to help bridge gaps between units,\u201d Burke said. Programs like the Plant Center and the Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture<\/a> break down barriers that might otherwise separate researchers. \u201cWe have ways to work together here. That\u2019s critically important.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1718898696031{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1718903582566{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

From plants to powerhouses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While some UGA plant geneticists pursue fundamental discovery, others are bridging the gap between basic and applied research. From Crop & Soil Sciences<\/a> to Plant Pathology<\/a> and Horticulture<\/a> within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, these faculty members are helping transform crop plants, native species, and the future of bioenergy for a changing global climate.<\/p>\n

\"Robin
Robin Buell, professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics, investigates the genome biology of plants and plant pathogens. Currently, her research focus is on poplar. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics, Robin Buell<\/strong><\/a> uses comparative genomics, bioinformatics, and computational biology to investigate the genome biology of plants and plant pathogens. While her subjects have ranged from rice and potatoes to maize, switchgrass, and medicinal plants, she currently studies poplar. Buell is the principal investigator on a $15.8M Dept of Energy grant<\/a> to genetically engineer poplar trees (Populus sp. and hybrids) for biofuel production and other uses. The grant also includes studies by UGA scientists Wayne Parrott<\/a>, Chung-Jui Tsai<\/a>, Schmitz, and Breeanna Urbanowicz.<\/a><\/p>\n

Poplar has strong potential to provide an alternative to petroleum-based products, Buell explains. \u201cIt\u2019s so fast growing, it’s almost a weed. You can grow it almost everywhere. You don\u2019t have to grow it on prime land,\u201d she said. Her team will use state-of the-art biotechnology tools to breed the trees as a multipurpose crop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to do genetic engineering for the last twenty years, active breeding for even longer,\u201d Buell said. \u201cBut those developments have been incremental, not substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n

This project has a more audacious goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s reinvent this tree,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s take Humpty Dumpty, let\u2019s break him, and let\u2019s put him back together again, but in a more intelligent way\u2014and faster.\u201d The redesigned poplars will be fabricated through an intensive process that begins with measuring mRNA transcripts and includes mapping gene function throughout the tree. The end result could provide an alternative fuel for jet engines, among other sustainable products.<\/p>\n

Buell also directs the Plant Center, where she helps convene experts across campus and from visiting institutions to study plant science across disciplines. \u201cThere\u2019s terrific diversity of expertise at UGA in plant genetics,\u201d she said. \u201cWe really have it all here. And the culture of the institution permits people to do collaborative work. The culture helps us find solutions to the problems we\u2019re facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wayne
Distinguished Research Professor Wayne Parrott focuses on development and use of biotechnology to help with conventional plant breeding. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wayne Parrott, distinguished research professor of crop and soil sciences, calls his area of investigation \u201cBiotechnology 2.0.\u201d An internationally renowned geneticist, Parrott has spent more than 35 years at UGA leveraging tools to help new soybean varieties and investigating the environmental and human safety of genetically modified crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy lab<\/a> focuses on the development and use of biotechnology applications to help out with conventional plant breeding and plant improvement,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there\u2019s a lag between what people want to do and what people are able to do.\u201d His team is closing that gap by developing biotechnology applications to help strengthen conventional crop plant breeding and improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a first generation of genetically modified crops that have been out there for about 25 years and have really changed how agriculture is done,\u201d Parrott said. \u201cBut that all involved simple traits. Now, we\u2019re moving on to more complex traits\u2014and multiple traits at the same time.\u201d The results of these new applications, he predicts, will be dramatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next generation of crops is going to be as different from today\u2019s crops as an iPhone is from the original flip phones that came out 20 years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Parrott directs the Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics<\/a>, where researchers from multiple disciplines develop new crop varieties and conduct studies to understand the genetic traits of plants important to agriculture and humankind. He credits the institute with helping bring together plant genetics experts from all positions along the research pipeline. He also credits the new Integrated Plant Sciences<\/a> program with raising UGA\u2019s national profile and bringing some of the top graduate students in the country here to study.<\/p>\n

\"Esther
Distinguished Research Professor Esther van der Knaap coordinates the Integrated Plant Sciences graduate program, a central access point for prospective students to plant and fungal research at UGA. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That graduate program is coordinated by Esther van der Knaap<\/strong><\/a>, distinguished research professor of horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She describes Integrated Plant Sciences as a central access point for prospective students to plant and fungal research across UGA. The curriculum allows students to undertake rotations in their first year to determine the best fit for their research interests, whether bioinformatics, ecology, genetics, breeding, biochemistry, or some combination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of program is something I dreamed about at my previous institution, but it wouldn\u2019t have been possible,\u201d van der Knaap said. \u201cAt UGA, it was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Knaap\u2019s own research involves tomato foodshed. At the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies<\/a>, which supports the development, application, and commercialization of new technologies to genetically improve crops, the van der Knaap lab<\/a> studies variations in tomato fruit quality, from shape and size to taste. The latter trait is closely connected to aroma and especially important for fresh market tomatoes. Van der Knaap\u2019s team is collaborating with food scientists, breeders, and biochemists at UGA and at the University of Florida to identify genes that cause variations in the flavor profile of tomato as they became domesticated over time, from fully wild to what we buy in grocery stores today. Certain ancestral varieties, she says, produce highly flavorful tomatoes but are not suitable for commercialization\u2014owing to low yield or a less-than-ideal appearance, for example.<\/p>\n

The resulting information about genes that improve flavor can be used by breeders to develop tastier tomatoes for the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus is on capturing the genes that control fruit quality traits in tomato,\u201d she said. \u00a0\u201cWe also investigate the genetic diversity of these genes that, collectively, offer knowledge to breeders in both public and private sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section full_width=”stretch_row_content” css=”.vc_custom_1718898615237{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;background-color: #e4ddc7 !important;}” el_class=”fw-polygon”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” bg_type=”bg_color” css=”.vc_custom_1718898839556{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1567710326062{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” el_class=”polygon-wrapper”][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1718893898909{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2024\/06\/35706-073-scaled.jpg?id=51962) !important;}” el_class=”polygon”]JTNDJTIxLS1sZWF2ZSUyMHRoaXMlMjBlbXB0eS0tJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ el_class=”polygon-content”][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”testimonial”]\u201cWe\u2019re in this together. I like to plan; I\u2019m a planner by nature, but you can\u2019t always know what will come next. Sometimes you have to adapt. We\u2019re finding a way forward together.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”credit”]<\/p>\n

\u2013 Bob Schmitz, UGA Foundation Professor in Plant Sciences and Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences<\/p>\n

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Engineering adaptation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A new frontier in plant genetics research is high-throughput phenotyping, a type of genetic screening that uses cutting-edge technologies to generate data about large plant populations such as a crop field or forest. Guoyu Lu<\/strong><\/a>, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a specialist in high-throughput phenotyping, says that these new technologies could help researchers, breeders, farmers, and forestry officials make decisions in real time to support and protect the plants they oversee.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait
Assistant Professor Guoyu Lu works to develop artificial intelligence algorithms for plant scientists, capturing and generating data on specific genetic traits with large plant populations. (Photo courtesy of the Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lu comes to this work with a track record of engineering innovation. Before joining the UGA faculty in 2022, his career included positions as a research scientist on autonomous driving at Ford and a computer vision engineer at the Disney ESPN Advanced Technology Group. His projects have attracted the interest and investment of Ford, GM, Qualcomm, Tencent, Mackinac, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work on the AI side,\u201d Lu said. \u201cI\u2019m an AI scientist, but I\u2019m developing algorithms for plant scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using computer vision and robotics, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drone technology), Lu and his team <\/a>are capturing and generating data on specific genetic traits within large plant populations. The information they gather includes root structure, height, disease state, and more\u2014all collected without harming the plants themselves.<\/p>\n

Currently, Lu is working to build an AI algorithm that is one-size-fits-all\u2014a multi-purpose tool suitable for gathering genetic data on many different plants across multiple populations. He wants that tool to be accessible to anyone who needs it in the field, especially as extreme weather patterns intensify.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy work uses UAV to estimate the 3D structure models of both crops and forests,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 3D structures can provide height, coverage, and other information. This data can be used to estimate growth, carbon dioxide absorption, impact on the environment, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long term, this tool could help guide decision making\u2014helping make recommendations about fertilization needs, for instance, or prescribed fire, or water flow and usage during a drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of method could potentially be extended to satellites,\u201d Lu said, \u201cto support measurement in the state and across the country. The goal is to provide a tool that is usable by all.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

An ecology of collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Plant genetics at UGA begins and ends with partnerships. Researchers have forged ties across disciplines and schools, with strong collaboration from field sites and with sustained support from leaders and partners across Georgia and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some of the top researchers in the world right here at UGA,\u201d Burke said. \u201cAnd the work is going on across the spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race to adapt to a changing climate is on\u2014and these scientists are leading the way, with bold inquiry and deep appreciation for the plants they have dedicated their professional lives to understanding and championing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in this together,\u201d Schmitz says. \u201cI like to plan; I\u2019m a planner by nature, but you can\u2019t always know what will come next. Sometimes you have to adapt. We\u2019re finding a way forward together.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”] With record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather escalating, the threats posed by climate change are intensifying. But the plants of tomorrow\u2014small and humble though they might be\u2014 could help us meet the massive challenges of our warming planet. Plant genetics research at the University of Georgia spans schools, departments, disciplines, and … <\/p>\n

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