In a collaborative effort with researchers from Purdue and Hamline Universities, Dr. Ivan Baxter, a member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, is set to lead a $2.5 million, four-year project exploring the genetic processes that enable plants to absorb and utilize elements.

This research has the potential to enhance scientists’ understanding of what plants require to thrive, leading to improvements in the nutritional value of food crops, greater plant growth in marginal lands and the reduction of fertilizer usage for successful crop yields. The ability of plants to acquire and utilize elements is a fundamental aspect of their existence, influencing their growth patterns as well as nutritional content for consumers. However, there is limited knowledge about the specific genes responsible for facilitating these processes. Dr. Baxter’s project aims to address this gap.

The project proposal hypothesizes that genes responsible for elemental acquisition can be identified through the examination of their evolutionary conservation. Research will utilize datasets from diverse populations of Arabidopsis, as well as crop plants such as maize, sorghum, soybean, and rice, to identify specific regions of the genome that play a role in elemental accumulation. By identifying genes across all species, researchers hope to uncover novel genetics that control elemental uptake in an unbiased manner. If successful, this approach could be extended to explore other traits that can be sequenced.

The research project seeks to foster growth beyond the scientific community. Integration of bioinformatics and genetics research will take place in undergraduate classrooms at Hamline University and after-school activities for middle school students will be conducted at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Innovation Center. Dr. Baxter will continue his personal efforts to demystify science through The Taproot a podcast that digs beneath the surface to understand how scientific publications are created.

Funding for this project is provided through a grant from the National Science Foundation.