ARDMORE, Okla. — Noble Foundation scientists recently received more than $2.6 million in federal grants for three projects, two of them dealing with genomics research. Two are four-year grants from the National Science Foundation for research into Medicago truncatula, a common legume found in various forms around the globe. The third is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for ground-based research on gravitational influences on plant root growth.

The grants attest to Oklahoma's increasing stature globally in plant biology research, and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc.'s commitment to that research through scientific work produced in its own laboratories and in funding dedicated to plant biology and forage biotechnology in Ardmore and elsewhere.

Further demonstrating a commitment to plant research, Dr. Rick Dixon, director of the Noble Foundation's Plant Biology Division, said researchers and staff will soon move into a 50,000-plus-square-foot laboratory facility, Lablink, on the Noble campus. He added that the $11 million state-of-the-art laboratories and offices further exhibit the Foundation's initiative and leadership in plant biology research.

The Noble Foundation's Dr. Maria Harrison received a sub-award of $442,000 as a co-investigator with scientists at the University of Minnesota and the University of California/Davis.

Harrison is especially interested in the symbiotic association formed between plant roots and certain species of soil fungi. The fungi assist the plant with phosphate uptake from the soil. The grant will enable Harrison to use functional genomics approaches to profile gene expression in M. truncatula during development of the mycorrhizal symbiosis. Collaborators at University of Minnesota and University of California/Davis have expertise with the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis formed between M. truncatula and Sinorhizobium meliloti, and with M. truncatula/pathogen interactions. One of the aims of the grant is to make genome scale comparisons of gene expression in M. truncatula during interactions with other organisms, both symbiotic and pathogenic.

"Legumes such as M. truncatula are unique in their ability to form both nitrogen-fixing and mycorrhizal symbioses," said Harrison. "Consequently, M. truncatula provides us with an opportunity to identify the genetic networks involved in both symbiotic and pathogenic interactions."

In the second NSF grant awarded to the Foundation, $3.5 million will be divided among scientists at the Noble Foundation and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech for research in functional genomics and bioinformatics on M. truncatula. Dixon is a principal investigator in the project, with fellow Foundation researchers, Drs. Greg May and Lloyd Sumner, listed among the senior researchers.

The funding will help to gather a comprehensive measurement of thousands of molecules in an M. truncatula cell culture. By using various scientific processes, scientists will be able to measure in great detail how the cells respond to being perturbed by microbial signal molecules. The team will also look at the effects of ultraviolet light and a plant hormone, jasmonic acid, on the cells. The extensive research is expected to generate more than 120 gigabytes of data, requiring the creation of a relational, Web-accessible database.

Dixon said the collaborative project "provides opportunities for a truly global understanding of the genetic and metabolic changes that result from biotic and abiotic elicitation, in addition to facilitating the discovery of important new genes for manipulation of natural product pathways for crop improvement."

Project goals include identifying genes that provide plant disease resistance; revealing new metabolic pathways for the creation of natural products; developing new computer algorithms to integrate the analysis of gene expression, proteomics and metabolomics data; and constructing a causal simulation model of metabolism and gene expression. Also, an annual summer course in legume genomics and bioinformatics will take place at the Noble Foundation.

"The National Science Foundation has put about $8 million in genomics research on Medicago truncatula in this round (of granting)," said Dixon. "I think, in part, that is due to the Noble Foundation placing such a strong commitment on genomics studies."

Dr. Elison B. Blancaflor, head of the Noble Foundation's microscopy services, received one of the few ground-based research grants awarded recently by NASA. His $244,000 grant will fund research focusing on the effects of gravity on plant root growth (gravitropism). Blancaflor said that although gravitropism has been researched for more than a century, there is still plenty to learn.

Under normal growth, plant shoots grow up to garner sunshine for photosynthesis, while roots grow down into the soil to gather nutrients and water. Scientists are studying plant molecular and cellular traits to determine how plants tell which is up and which is down — factors that have major importance in the gravity-free confines of space.

"How do plants sense their environment? How do plants regulate their growth patterns? What are the cellular or molecular mechanisms involved in modulating the gravitropic response of plants? How do plants sense gravity?" said Blancaflor. "That's why this phenomenon of gravitropism is so interesting, because it allows us to probe into several basic questions that are of importance to plant biology."

Information on other research projects under way at the Noble Foundation can be reviewed on the Foundation's Web site at www.noble.org, or by calling the Foundation at (580) 223-5810.

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Photos:

Dr. Rick Dixon (494k jpeg)

Dr. Maria Harrison (524k jpeg)

Dr. Elison Blancaflor (236k jpeg)

Dr. Gregory May (570k jpeg)

Dr. Lloyd Sumner (255k jpeg)

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage biotechnological, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release