The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center was awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore gene regulatory networks that control plant growth and development. The project will develop new genomic resources and high-throughput tools such as robotics to address fundamental questions about the roles of small RNA molecules. Knowledge gained will provide insight into agriculturally important traits, such as leaf architecture.
“This project extends small RNA research that our lab has been doing for many years,” said Jim Carrington, president, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and principal investigator on the grant. “Small RNAs are critical for normal plant growth, responses to environmental changes, and defense against pathogens that cause disease.”