|
|
‘Simple Farmer’ Hopes to Restore Profitability of Agriculture in Ohio |
| By
Tobin J. Klinger |
|
|
Nov 20, 2002 |
|
 |
| Dr. Stephen Goldman, right, and Dr. R. V. Sairam show off a flower on a transgenic cotton plant in the Plant Science Research Center. |
Dr. Stephen Goldman is fond of saying, “I’m just a simple farmer.” While that may be true, the professor of plant biology and director of the Plant Science Research Center could be poised to change the entire farming industry.
Working under a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Goldman and his colleagues are trying to answer Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s call to develop strategies that engage the latest techniques in plant biology to create products that enhance the profitability of the greenhouse industry in Ohio. At one time, Ohio ranked third nationally in agriculture. Today the Buckeye State is eighth.
While rectifying the situation might sound like a tall order, the group has already achieved a great deal.
In their work with Tripsacum, a grass commonly found in Ohio, Goldman and Dr. R.V. Sairam, senior research manager of the Plant Science Research Center, have been able to create a gene delivery system. Through this system, the grass has been reprogrammed to absorb heavy metals from contaminated soil. However, these advances in phytoremediation are likely just the beginning. Goldman believes this system could introduce any kind of trait to a plant, including the ability to carry medicines.
A paper on the group’s work with corn was recently accepted for publication in Genome.
The delivery system itself is turning heads in private industry, but another facet of the research is likely to gain attention from the business world. Goldman and Sairam’s method also is improving the frequency of crop growth. While most efforts have extremely low frequency of shoots carrying the newly introduced gene, Goldman and Sairam are recording a 60 to 80 percent success rate.
“We can produce a lot,” Goldman said. “And we can produce it in record time.”
It is this high frequency of success that most excites Goldman, given his goal of revitalizing the greenhouse industry in Ohio. He credits Kaptur for much of that success.
“None of this would have been possible without Marcy Kaptur’s belief in what we are doing,” Goldman said. “This is a lady who understands the centrality of the role of agriculture, not only to the local and national economy, but to the very fabric of our American society.”
The greenhouse industry is not the only beneficiary of the groups work. Students working in Goldman and Sairam’s laboratory are gaining academic experience by publishing their own papers on the projects. Thus far the students have co-authored two papers, with another nearly ready for acceptance.
These achievements could be just the beginning, as additional collaborators prepare to join Goldman and Sairam’s team. Dr. James Locke will join the University this month as research plant pathologist and lead scientist of the Greenhouse Production Research Group. Locke will focus on root rot disease and floral crops. Plans are currently in the works to hire additional scientists, including a molecular plant biologist, a water stress researcher and a plant sibling expert.
Additionally, Goldman says plans are under way to submit a proposal to commercialize the technology. Working in conjunction with the Edison Biotechnology Center in Columbus and EISC Inc. in Toledo, the researchers hope to obtain exclusive ownership of the technology and create a new biotech company bringing high-paying jobs to northwest Ohio.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
