Dr. Allan CaplanAssociate Professor
Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Current Research InterestsUndergraduate and graduate students in my lab are currently working, one way or another, on one of the following projects:
Identification of genes determining the juvenile and adult phases of plant growth.
Background: The plant life cycle is divided into sexually mature and sexually immature phases. If we can identify the genes and biochemical processes that control each phase, we may be able to shorten the time needed for the plant to flower, and thus reduce the growing season needed to produce a crop.
Current project structure: In collaboration with Anne Sylvester (University of Wyoming), my group has been identifying, cloning and characterizing genes expressed primarily in the juvenile and adult stages of maize.
Potential impact of this work: Should we succeed in finding the key pathways, we should have a unique set of genetic tools that can be used to adjust each stage of the life cycle to suit farmers’ needs. Our work is being done with maize because of our detailed understanding of its genetics and development. However, the genes and their capabilities can be applied immediately to very close relatives of corn, like wheat and barley, and with a little more investigation, to other plants, including bluegrass, tomatoes, cotton, potatoes, onions, etc. Shortening the growing period, or altering the ability of the plant to produce leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds should extend the range over which a crop can be grown economically and reliably.
Click here for past publications from other developmental projects.
Metabolic engineering of plants for phytoremediation.
Background: Many areas of the world, including areas in Northern Idaho, are heavily contaminated with run-off from mining and industrial sites. Toxic metals can be removed by chemical means, but it has been estimated that plants could extract them at 1/10th the cost.
Current project structure: The process of using plants to detoxify contaminated sites is called phytoremediation. I am investigating how plants currently protect themselves from these wastes, and isolating genes that might be used to improve the efficiency of this process.
Potential impact of this work: If the tolerance of plants can be raised sufficiently, then they should be useful in some situations to cleanse sites of toxic metals such as zinc, nickel, cobalt, copper, and iron. It has been estimated that metals could be recovered from plants far more efficiently then any existing recycling process. Thus, development of new phytoremediation agents would not only restore land for normal uses, but yield a profitable crop. These plants could also be used to "mine" low grade ores for valuable metals. This could create new income for many farmers.
Click here for past publications from other plant genetic engineering projects.
Pictures from a recent rice transformation:
1. Rice Callus Prior Ready for Agrobacterium Infection
2. Negative Control On Selective Media
3. Regenerating Transformed Tissue
4. Regenerated Transgenic Rice Shoot
Identification of processes contributing to osmotic tolerance in plants.
Background: The United Nations has estimated that water availability will be the single most important limiting resource in the world over the next 25 yr.. In order to meet the challenge all countries will face, we need to develop crops more tolerant of drought and high salinity.
Current project structure: I am investigating the genes and regulatory processes that control how plants adapt to low water levels. This work involves not only isolating the genes responsible for protecting plants, but learning how to alter them so that they work more effectively.
Potential impact of this work: If the osmotic tolerance of plants can be raised sufficiently, then they should be able to survive periods of drought or growth in saline soils better than currently available crops. This in turn will not only open up new lands for cultivation, for example, lands with poorly drained soils, but also reduce the risks of growing crops in areas with irregular rainfall. This should benefit all farmers throughout the state who are dependent on irrigation in order to maintain their high yields.
Click here for past publications from related projects.
Current Teaching Responsibilities
At the moment, my primary responsibility if teaching a departmental course entitled MMBB 488: Genetic Engineering. This course is intended for students who have completed one semester of genetics, or one semester of microbiology and biochemistry. Lectures and readings cover basic topics such as gene regulation, codon usage, and DNA replication, as each pertains to gene modification, and more complex operations including gene tagging in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, gene knock-out and replacement in mice, use of transgenics to investigate Downs Syndrome, aging, cystic fibrosis, and sickle-cell anemia, and the engineering of disease-resistant plants. The last few weeks details some of the unexpected problems that been revealed by studies of transgenic organisms and how these problems might be solved over the coming years.
I am also involved in an advanced course with other members of the department designed to introduce students to specialized topics in developmental genetics ranging from mechanisms of gene silencing to pattern formation in "lower" eukaryotes.
Current Laboratory Personnel:
Lance Hilgers - Research Support Scientist (hilge933@novell.uidaho.edu)
Steve Kohtz - Undergraduate Research Assistant (koht3226@uidaho.edu)
Click on the following for further information:
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