POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCHOLARS
Prem Kumar, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Email: kumarp@muohio.edu
Collaborating with: Dr. John Z. Kiss
Interests/Activity: The growth form of a plant is determined by many environmental factors. I am interested in studying the phototropic responses of Arabidopsis seedlings in the absence of gravity under a project (“TROPI”, for tropisms) funded by NASA. The major goal of the experiment is to obtain additional insight into the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in phototropism. The basic principle is to send seeds to space, hydrate them on the International Space Station (ISS), and expose the seedlings to photostimulation at various gravity levels. Seeds were launched in July and September 2006 on space shuttle missions STS-121 and STS-115, and experiments were conducted in October through December 2006 on the ISS. Tropistic responses of the seedlings were video-recorded, and seedlings were frozen for molecular assay via microarray technology. Analysis of the data is progressing, and the results will provide further insight into the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in determining the final growth form of a plant.
Selected Publications:
Kiss, J.Z., Kumar, P., Bowman, R.N., Steele, M.K., Eodice, M.T., Correll, M.J., Edelmann, R.E. 2007. Biocompatibility studies in preparation for a spaceflight experiment on plant tropisms (TROPI). Advances in Space Research (in press).
Kumar P., Kiss, J.Z. 2007. The SHL1 and SHL5 genes influence both red- and blue-light-based phototropism in Arabidopsis thaliana. Environmental and Experimental Botany 60:284-289
Kumar P., Kiss, J.Z. 2006. Modulation of phototropism by phytochrome E and attenuation of gravitropism by phytochromes B and E in inflorescence stems. Physiologia Plantarum 127:304-311.
Pieter B. Pelser
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Link: http://pieterpelser.blogspot.com/
Phone: 513-529-4270
Email: pelserpb@muohio.edu
Collaborating with: Dr. Linda E. Watson
Interests/Activity: Phylogeny of Tribe Senecioneae (Asteraceae)
Selected publications:
Pelser, P.B., H. de Vos, C. Theuring, T. Beuerle, K. Vrieling & T. Hartmann. 2005. Frequent gain and loss of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the evolution of Senecio sect. Jacobaea (Asteraceae). Phytochemistry 66: 1285-1286.
Pelser, P.B., K. van den Hof, B. Gravendeel & R. van der Meijden. 2004. The systematic value of morphological characters in Senecio sect. Jacobaea (Asteraceae). Systematic Botany 29: 790-805.
Pelser, P.B., B. Gravendeel, & R. van der Meijden. 2003 Phylogeny reconstruction in the gap between too little and too much divergence: the closest relatives of Senecio jacobaea (Asteraceae) according to DNA sequences and AFLPs. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29: 613-628.