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Biotech Conference to Highlight UT’s Role in Field |
| By
Jon Strunk |
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Oct 22, 2004 |
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Biotechnology experts from across Ohio, the nation and overseas will meet in Toledo, Saturday, Oct. 23, for the Ohio Plant Biotech Consortium being organized by Dr. R.V. Sairam, assistant director of The University of Toledo Plant Science Research Center, and co-hosted by UT and Bowling Green State University.
Beginning at 8 a.m., the annual conference will be held at the Hilton Toledo hotel. The consortium itself includes all Ohio universities.
This year’s conference is unique in that most of the invited experts come from universities and institutions outside of the consortium, including members of the National Academy of Science, the European Academy of Science and the Royal Society, according to Dr. Stephen Goldman, director of the UT Plant Science Research Center.
The conference is focused on the genetic enhancement and manipulation of maize, largely because techniques used to affect corn can be widely used on many other plants. The theme of the conference, corn, was chosen precisely because of the significant contributions made by Goldman over the last 30 years.
Goldman and Sairam will present their research at the conference at 3:30 p.m. They will discuss their work, “Genetic Engineering for Crop Improvement,” and show how the Plant Science Research Center has taken federal funding and used it to create plants that recover faster and are more resistant to cold, insects and disease.
“Our mission is to increase the profitability margin of Ohio farmers,” Goldman said.
With the support of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, the work of Goldman and Sairam has focused on the generation of transgenic ornamental and crop plants whose tolerance to cold and to drought has been substantially increased. Cold-tolerant plants are important because these can lower utility costs for decorative plant growers in cold places such as Ohio. In addition, the researchers are looking to increase market size for area growers by making vegetation available for sale in regions where they are not currently grown because of habitat restrictions. Cold-tolerant petunia and corn plants are being evaluated for performance under stress conditions.
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