Crop & Soil Sciences: Personnel: Faculty
Andrew Paterson
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Academic Rank: | Distinguished Research Professor |
| Academic History: | Ph.D., Cornell University 1988 | |
| Area of Expertise: | Plant Breeding and Genomics | |
| Campus: | Athens | |
| Office Location: | Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, Room 228 | |
| Email: | paterson@uga.edu | |
| Phone: | 706/583-0162 | |
| Fax: | 706/583-0160 | |
| Shipping Address: | Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory 111 Riverbend Road Athens, GA 30602-6810 |
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| Additional Web site: | The Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory |
Research, Teaching, and Extension Work
We conduct genome analysis of several crop plants and botanical models. Using detailed 'molecular roadmaps' of plant DNA, together with new molecular techniques, some of our goals are to:
Isolate and manipulate genes that regulate plant growth and development, such as:
- Genes implicated in harvest efficiency, such as the gene imparting "shattering" to the mature grain inflorescence, to engineer more efficient cultivars or domesticate new ones.
- Genes implicated in the response of "resistant" genotypes to pest attack, to better understand and deploy host plant resistance as an integrated pest management strategy.
- Genes conferring "weediness" to problematic plants, such as rhizomatousness of Johnson grass, as potential targets for identifying environmentally-friendly growth regulators.
Identify and manipulate genes that confer new or improved traits to major crops, such as:
- Quality and quantity of lint ("fiber") from cotton
- Productivity and longevity of forage and turf grasses
- Apomixis (clonal production of hybrid seed)
- Quality and quantity of sugar from sugarcane
- Size and shape of diverse vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and kohlrabi
- Protection of productivity and quality of many crops from biotic or abiotic stress
Identify, evaluate, and utilize new approaches to crop genetic improvement, such as:
- Identification of novel genes or genetic tools which have potential utility in major crops
- Implementation of new genome-based approaches to gene cloning