Research Projects
Project 1
Plant Chemical Genetics
Using a chemical-genetic approach to impart stress tolerance in plants. A chemical library of bioactive small molecules was screened on a stress-inducible genetic reporter system. Chemicals found positive were further validated and stress tolerance assays were performed. These chemicals could serve as potential priming agents to impart stress tolerance in plants.
Plant Stress Epigenetics
Deciphering the role of epigenetic components (DNA and histone modifications) in stress responses in plants. Also, the impact of multigenerational heat exposure on Arabidopsis was investigated from the whole-plant level (growth, photosynthesis) to the level of metabolites, enzymes, transcriptome, and epi-genome.
Project 2
Project 3
Climate Change Biology
The concentration of atmospheric CO2 is rising. Also, climatic extremes such as heat waves and drought spells are predicted to become more intense and frequent in the future. This project deals with the understanding of high CO2 impact on plants at multiple organizational levels (genes-to-plant), and also elucidating the interactive effects of high CO2 with other environmental factors such as high temperature, drought, and nutrients.