"K-State is working with some of the premier labs in the world on this project, which is being funded by the National Science Foundation." said Steve Welch, professor in the university's agronomy department and the lead K-State researcher on the project. "We'll be studying ecology and genomics (genetic material) and how they interact -- it's a new area."

The research will examine how a plant's genome integrates environmental signals and evolves so that it blooms when it has the best chance to reproduce successfully, Welch said.

Plants' abilities in this regard illustrate an important capacity of many biological systems: the ability to assess multiple signals in responding to complex challenges.

The results of the project will be important for predicting how plants will respond to future climate change and will help to inform conservation management and crop improvement strategists, he said.

"Being on the forefront of the knowledge that will help feed the world of the future is not only gratifying for us personally, but also should be a real benefit for both our state and our country," said Ron Trewyn, K-State's vice provost for research.

Led by evolutionary ecologist Johanna Schmitt of Brown University, the team includes molecular biologists, evolutionary geneticists, plant modelers and computer scientists. Scientists at North Carolina State University; the University of Wisconsin; and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, based in Tubingen, Germany, are also part of the project.

Total estimated funding to K-State through September 2009 is $1.4 million.

"It's an emerging discipline," said K-State assistant professor of
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Contact: Steve Welch
welchsm@k-state.edu
785-532-7236
Kansas State University
16-Sep-2004