Ron Sederoff

My recent work has focused on the sequence variation within and between related species of forest trees. The purpose of this work has been to investigate the nature of quantitative traits in trees and to advance breeding in hybrids. Genera of interest have been pines, eucalypts and chestnuts. High throughput sequencing has been used to identify SSR and SNP variation, to define within species and species-specific markers. Species-specific markers are of great value in hybrid breeding programs to track loci of interest and to define introgression. In chestnut, the markers are of interest for backcross breeding where the extent of each species parent can be defined. The goal of this program is to aid the breeding of disease resistant American chestnut, as a step toward restoration. In eucalypts, we have used markers to identify genes underlying QTLs through eQTL analysis, and phenotypic analysis of quantitative traits. . Sequence analysis has provided the basis for development of SNP platforms to be used in molecular breeding. Integration of sequencing, proteomics and metabolite profiling form the basis for a systems approach to specific processes in forest trees, such as wood formation, and more specifically lignin biosynthesis as part of a larger program in the Forest Biotechnology Group.
 
My role in this NSF project extends to three areas: Website and database, Biology, and outreach. I the establishment odf the database and website, I will work with Vincent Chiang, Cris smith and Ying-Hsuan Sun to establish and organize access, storage and interfaces for the site. My role in the biology will involve cooperation in planning and evaluating experiments, and cooperating in paper writing. This will involve microarray analysis, transgenics, and biochemistry, including transcriptomics, proteomics and enzymology. It will extend to cooperation in the analysis of data and in modeling. In Outreach, I will cosupervise a Kenan fellow and undergraduates from St Augustine’s College.

Ron Sederoff
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