Development and Application of Molecular Biology and Tissue Culture Techniques to Crop Improvement

Research Interests:

Our laboratory is working in various areas of plant cell biology, molecular biology and genomics. It has focused on understanding disease-related and developmental phenomena that are of agricultural interest and developing methods to improve crops through biotechnology. Significant research accomplishments of the lab include:

• Identification of molecular markers for: bacterial blight resistance in beans, lipoxygenase nulls and low linolenic acid content in soybean, Fusarium graminearum resistance in corn and yield-related traits in beans.
• Development of molecular linkage maps for several bean, soybean and corn breeding populations.
• Development of genetic distance and QTL- index based approaches to marker assisted selection.
• Production of transgenic corn and tomatoes with improved resistance to fungal diseases.
• Development of a genotype-independent Agrobacterium-based transformation system for corn.
• Cloning and sequencing of genes from Brassica microspores that may be involved in the commitment of cells to embryogenesis.
• Cloning and sequencing genes coding for structural and regulatory genes in the phenylpropanoid and folic acid synthesis pathways in Phaseolus.
• Release of new white bean and kidney bean varieties developed through conventional breeding.
• Measurement of the persistence of DNA from transgenic plants in agricultural soils.

For further information please visit:
http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/research/plantbio/

Selected Publications:

Smith, T.H., T.E. Michaels, A.M. Lindsay, and K.P Pauls. (2009). OAC Redstar common bean. Can. J. Plant Sci. . 89: 309-311.

Garabagi, F., B.W. French, A.W. Schaafsma and K.P. Pauls. (2008). Increased expression of a cGMP-dependent protein kinase in rotation-adapted western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera L.). Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. . 38:697-704.

Yuan, J., M.A. Liakat, J. Taylor,  J. Liu, G. Sun, W. Liu, P. Masilimany, A. Gulati-Sakhuja and  K.P. Pauls. (2008). A guanylyl cyclase-like gene is associated with Gibberella ear rot resistance in maize (Zea mays L.). Theor. Appl. Gen.. 116:465–479.

Gulden, R.H., S. Lerat, R.E. Blackshaw, J.R. Powell, D.J. Levy-Booth, K.E. Dunfield, J.T. Trevors, K.P. Pauls, J.N. Klironomos and C.J. Swanton. (2008). Factors Affecting the Presence and Persistence of Plant DNA in the Soil Environment in Corn and Soybean Rotations. Weed Sci.. 2008 56:767–774.

Chan, J. and K.P. Pauls. (2006). Brassica napus Rop GTPases and their expression in microspore culture. Planta. 225:469-484.

Pauls, K.P., J. Chan, G. Woronuk and J. Brazolot. (2006). When microspores decide to become embryos cellular and molecular changes. Canadian J. Botany. 84: 668-678.

Michaels, T.E., T.W. Smith, J. Larsen, A.D. Beattie, and K.P. Pauls. (2005). OAC Rex common bean. Can. J. Plant Sci.. 86: 733–736.

Ali, M.A., J.H. Taylor,  L. Jie, G. Sun, M. William, K.J. Kasha, L.M. Reid, and K.P. Pauls. (2005). Molecular mapping of QTL for resistance to gibberella ear rot in corn caused by Fusarium graminearum. Genome. 48: 521-533.

Reinprecht, Y., V. Poysa, I. Rajcan, G. Ablett, and K.P. Pauls. (2005). Relationships and inheritance of linolenic acid and seed lipoxygenases in soybean crosses designed to combine these traits. Can. J. Plant Sci.. 85: 593-602.

Tar’an, B., T.E. Michaels and K.P. Pauls. (2003). Marker-assisted selection for complex traits in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) using a QTL-based Index. Euphytica. 130: 423-432.

Murray, J., J. Larsen, T.E. Michaels, A. Schaafsma, C.E. Vallejos and K.P. Pauls. (2002). Identification of genes in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Genomic (Bng) clones and their conversion to STSs. Genome. 45: 1013-1024.

Schulze, D. and K.P. Pauls. (2002). Flow cytometric analysis of cellulose tracks development of embryogenic Brassica cells in microspore cultures. New Phytologist. 154: 249-254.

Robison, M.M., S. Shah, B. Tamot and K.P. Pauls, A. Moffat and B.R. Glick. (2001). Reduced symptoms of Verticillium wilt in transgenic tomato expressing a bacterial ACC deaminase. Mol. Plant Path.. 2: 135-145.