UGA plant geneticists are tackling the climate crisis – Longview News-Journal

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, the Plant Center to the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics and more, UGA faculty with genetics expertise are seeking plant-based solutions to societal challenges. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker)

ATHENS -- With record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather escalating, the threats posed by climate change are intensifying. But the plants of tomorrow small and humble though they might be could help us meet the massive challenges of our warming planet.

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

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.

Were spread out all over campus, Bob Schmitz, UGA Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences and the Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator of Genetics, said. But we all speak the same language."

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 and returned as a faculty member in 2006. Among his many studies, he has put particular focus on sunflowers.

Schmitz likes to tell people that hell work on any plant that has DNA which is all of them, of course. Our questions are broader than any particular plant, he said.

A member of the Department of Genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Schmitz studies the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in plants, or how a plants environment influences the way its genes operate.

Members of the Schmitz Lab, working in partnership with international researchers, discovered that rare changes to DNA methylation can spuriously occur over generations of plants. They then found that they could use those multigenerational changes, which tick at a constant rate, to determine plant divergence time.

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.

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

There are intentional mechanisms in place to help bridge gaps between units, Burke said. We have ways to work together here. Thats critically important.

While some UGA plant geneticists pursue fundamental discovery, others are bridging the gap between basic and applied research. From Crop & Soil Sciences to Plant Pathology and Horticulture 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.

As the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics, Robin Buell 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 $15.8 million Department of Energy grant to genetically engineer poplar trees (Populus sp. and hybrids) for biofuel production and other uses.

Poplar has strong potential to provide an alternative to petroleum-based products, Buell explains.

Its so fast-growing, its almost a weed," she said. "You can grow it almost everywhere. You dont have to grow it on prime land. Weve been able to do genetic engineering for the last 20 years, active breeding for even longer. But those developments have been incremental, not substantial.

This project has a more audacious goal.

Lets reinvent this tree, she said. Lets take Humpty Dumpty, lets break him, and lets put him back together again, but in a more intelligent way and faster.

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.

Wayne Parrott, distinguished research professor of crop and soil sciences, calls his area of investigation Biotechnology 2.0. 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.

My lab focuses on the development and use of biotechnology applications to help out with conventional plant breeding and plant improvement, he said. But theres a lag between what people want to do and what people are able to do.

His team is closing that gap by developing biotechnology applications to help strengthen conventional crop plant breeding and improvement.

Parrott directs the Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics, 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.

Esther van der Knaap is 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.

This type of program is something I dreamed about at my previous institution, but it wouldnt have been possible, van der Knaap said. At UGA, it was possible.

Van der Knaaps own research involves tomato foodshed. At the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, which supports the development, application, and commercialization of new technologies to genetically improve crops, the van der Knaap lab 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 Knaaps 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. The resulting information about genes that improve flavor can be used by breeders to develop tastier tomatoes for the market.

Our focus is on capturing the genes that control fruit quality traits in tomato, she said. We also investigate the genetic diversity of these genes that, collectively, offer knowledge to breeders in both public and private sectors.

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, an 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.

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.

I work on the AI side, Lu said. Im an AI scientist, but Im developing algorithms for plant scientists.

Using computer vision and robotics, including unmanned aerial vehicles, Lu and his team 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 all collected without harming the plants themselves.

Currently, Lu is working to build an AI algorithm that is one-size-fits-all a multipurpose 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.

My work uses UAV to estimate the 3D structure models of both crops and forests, he said. The 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.

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.

We have some of the top researchers in the world right here at UGA, Burke said. And the work is going on across the spectrum.

The race to adapt to a changing climate is on and 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.

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UGA plant geneticists are tackling the climate crisis - Longview News-Journal