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Eliot Herman's
Laboratory |
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Altering Seed
Composition by Design
One of the oldest and most important agricultural problems is how seed
composition is specified and subsequently how it can be altered. Ever
since humankind began domesticating crop plants amazing progress has
been made to increase seed yield but much more limited progress has been
made in altering seed composition. The ability to alter seed composition
by design would have profound implications for the efficient production
of food, feed, fuel, and fiber. Current research is directed at
understanding the processes that control seed composition focusing
predominantly on legume seeds. This work has resulting in creating novel
seed traits including low allergen content, fish-feed specific soybeans
and seeds as a protein bio-factory for the inexpensive production of a
myriad of proteins including, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and
industrial enzymes, such as used for food processing and biofuels
production.
Plant Cell Biology
Plant cell biology is a focus of the Herman laboratory. The emphasis of
the research is the function of the endomembrane system in forming
vacuoles and oil bodies. Using multidisciplinary approaches including
molecular biology, immunology, biochemistry, and electron microscopy how
the endomembrane system forms and disposes of cellular constituents has
been investigated. Understanding the basic biology of how plants form
cellular organelles is key to being able to engineer altered composition
in seeds and other plant organs.
Other projects have included the study of the physiology of plants at
subzero temperatures that impacts over-wintering survival and the
productivity Spring crops. |
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