Fall semester brought with it the launch of a new brand strategy at the University of Nebraska that highlights "grit, determination, and resilience.
One of those students featured was Sarah Johnson, Complex Biosystems PhD student specializing in Integrated Plant Biology. Currently working with Dr. David Hyten and Dr. Tom Clemente she is investigating the processes controlling meiotic crossover (CO).
"Increasing the sheer number of meiotic crossovers or altering meitotic crossover "hotspots" could unlock genetic diversity which will have many breeding applications. Genes have been identified in Arabidopsis mutants to alter CO. Orthologs of these genes has been chosen in soybean to be a target for RNA interference using transgenic technology via agrobacterium," she explained. "Another, yet related, project of mine is to explore alternative high-throughput sequencing techniques to decrease labor and increase cost efficiency."
Sarah's passion for progress is evident in her research and professional goals to acquire a position to study and improve plants partly by measuring their interactions with abiotic and biotic stresses.
"I value all work within crop improvement from the genetic level, to the bioassays, and the way they translate to production efficiency in the field."
View the video ... https://inourgritourglory.unl.edu/welcome