Bio

I am exploring the biochemistry and genetic control of C4 photosynthesis and water use efficiency and my ambition is to someday completely phenotype the intricacies of plant carbon metabolism. I use a variety of mechanisms and approaches to specifically test, or, to generally survey the drivers of C4 photosynthetic water use efficiency in both controlled environments and field studies. I also explore how the first enzyme of the C4 pathway, carbonic anhydrase, influences photosynthesis and water use of the whole-plant using gas exchange, biochemistry, and real-time 13CO2 analysis. I have the conviction that carbon metabolism and water use are untapped genetic resources, and I am trying to discover the genes that potentially drive differences in C4 crop carbon metabolism and water use efficiency in diverse sorghum germplasm with the goal of translating those results for practical use in genomic selection and marker assisted breeding.