Jonikas lab receives DOE grant to improve plant growth for biofuels

Martin Jonikas will lead one of 25 teams awarded a total of $64 million by the U.S. Dept. of Energy to explore ways to improve plant growth for biofuels. According to the Department of Energy press release, "the aim is to pinpoint the connection between specific regions of plant genomes and particular plant traits, so that features such as drought resistance and crop yield can be improved." Molecular Biology Assistant Professor Jonikas' project is titled "Transforming our understanding of chloroplast-associated genes through comprehensive characterization of protein localizations and protein-protein interactions," in collaboration with the Schnell lab at Michigan State University.