Roe and other researchers will study the genetic processes that control flowering time under different weather conditions for the Arabidopsis thaliana, an annual weed closely related to canola and cabbage.
"If you understand the importance of natural variation in different genes, you can predict plant behavior," she said.
William Hsu, assistant professor in computing and information sciences; Sanjoy Das, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering; and Mary Knapp, climatologist for the State of Kansas will join Welch and Roe as they develop and apply the computer models that will track the gene responses in Arabidopsis plants.
Working with seven leading laboratories in Europe, the researchers will plant and study Arabidopsis at six diverse sites, ranging from subarctic locales in Finland -- which at times during the year have just three hours of sunlight -- to the Mediterranean coast of southern Spain, Welch said. Sites also will be located in Germany and England.
In addition, the K-State team is working with two private companies to build and package sensors that will be located at each of the research sites. The sensors will be capable of recording soil moisture, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation and photo reactivity.
The project is one of six Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research awards granted by the NSF in 2004. Total FIBR awards over the five-year period will be $30 million.
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Contact: Steve Welch
welchsm@k-state.edu
785-532-7236
Kansas State University
16-Sep-2004