The Dixon laboratory takes multidisciplinary approaches to research the biosynthesis and genetic manipulation of plant natural products. We are interested in both basic and applied aspects of the molecular biology of secondary metabolism. The model systems Medicago truncatula and Arabidopsis thaliana are used for basic studies, and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is our primary target species for application.

Much of our work centers on the use of molecular genetic and genomics approaches to identify genes that will be valuable for improvement of natural product-based plant traits. The traits targeted are ones that improve: the health of the plant; the health of ruminant animals that consume forage crops; human health (nutraceuticals and botanicals); the environment.

The lab also has a strong background in plant biochemistry and, through collaborations with chemists and structural biologists, is aiming to understand the molecular basis of the enzyme specificity that leads to the more than 200,000 different natural products collectively synthesized by plants.

We study
	Lignin:
	To improve forage digestibility
	Isoflavonoids:
	In the human diet Phytoestrogens In plant defense Phytoalexins Phytoanticipins
	Condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins):
	In forages To protect against pasture bloat and reduce greenhouse gas emissions In the human diet For cardiovascular health
	Triterpene saponins
	In plant defense In forages To improve palatability As adjuvants
	Plant trichomes
	As sources and sinks for natural product engineering
We do
	Gene discovery through genomics Phytochemistry Biochemistry and enzymology Pathway engineering in transgenic plants To understand pathways Biosynthetic routes Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation Metabolic channeling To address function(s) of natural products In the plant In the ecosystem To improve traits Forage quality Disease resistance Human health and nutrition