April 15, 2016
Division of Biology Seminar April 15
Submitted by Division of Biology
Jeff Bennetzen, University of Georgia, will present "Domestication of Selfish DNAs and Selfish Microbes to Promote Plant Productivity" as part of the Division of Biology Seminar Series at 4 p.m. Friday, April 15, in 221 Ackert Hall.
The abstract for the lecture is derived from: All organisms exist as islands in a sea of microbes, in the same way that most plant genes are found as islands in a sea of transposable elements, or TEs. In the great majority of cases, the TEs and microbes appear to have few or no immediate effects on their hosts. This presentation will use examples from our TE diversity studies assessing origins, transmissions, activations and extinctions, and then compare these results to a similar approach we are taking with endophytic, ectophytic and rhizosphere microbes. The results suggest numerous cases where TEs or microbes have been domesticated by their plant hosts.
If you would like to visit with Bennetzen, contact Kathrin Schrick at kschrick@k-state.edu or 785-532-6360.