Jose Ramon Planta, Ph.D.

The Plant Integrative Genomics and Genetics Laboratory seeks to gain understanding of the mechanisms behind plant responses to stress for eventual varietal improvement. At the molecular level, plants respond to abiotic stress by altering gene expression and the abundances of proteins and metabolites. Recent advances in the omics fields have enabled the manipulation of stress-responsive genes in plants, and overexpression of several genes (e.g., transcription factors) leads to stress tolerance in transgenic plants. To gain detailed information on the stress-response mechanisms of plants, the lab looks at the molecular processes occurring in plants during transition from a normal state to stress conditions, with the stress intensity becoming gradually greater. Our aim is to identify regulatory genes involved in stress perception and signaling.