Agricultural News
Noble Foundation Researcher Receives Grant to Help Solve Plant Mysteries
Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:29:51 CDT
Professor Lloyd W. Sumner, Ph.D., uses analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry to solve the biochemical mysteries within agriculturally important plants. He's like a CSI detective but without the crime.
Sumner and his research team at the Noble Foundation examine compounds produced within plants when they are confronted with stresses, like drought and disease. Using advanced scientific instrumentation, they sort and weigh molecules to determine the chemical makeup of these compounds. Once they understand which chemicals are involved in responding to a particular stress, they search for the mechanisms and genes within the plant that produce these compounds.
"We're detectives," Sumner said. "We're literally figuring out the functions of genes using the plant's own chemistry. We study metabolites like sugars, amino acids and natural products, which are about one 1-10 nanometers in size or roughly one millionth the size of a grain of sand. We need specialized instrumentation to measure and identify these metabolites."
This month, Sumner and a team of colleagues received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation program to purchase a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer to aid their research.
"We see this award as a vote of confidence from NSF in our research and a powerful new tool for advancing our programs," said Sumner. "We are thankful for the agency's generous support."
Using similar principals to an MRI for humans, the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer employs powerful magnets and megahertz radio frequencies to allow Sumner and his team to better identify chemicals within plants and to better understand how molecules are assembled. This knowledge provides a foundation for understanding the complex biochemistry within a broad range of plant systems.
The grant, which is matched by an additional $500,000 from the Noble Foundation, was built on the principal of sharing resources among colleagues in the same field. Sumner is joined on the project by fellow state and international researchers including: Randy Allen, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University's Agricultural Biosciences Institute; Michael Beale, Ph.D., National Centre for Plant and Microbial Metabolomics in Harpenden, UK; Richard Dixon, D. Phil., Noble Foundation; and Joel T. Smith, Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
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