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| Name |
DellaPenna, Dean |
| Location
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Michigan State University |
| Primary Field
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Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences |
| Secondary Field
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Plant Biology |
 Election Citation
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Dean DellaPenna's laboratory works at the interface of plant biochemistry and human health, focusing on the biosynthesis of nutritionally important micronutrients in plants.
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Research Interests
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Dean DellaPenna's laboratory works at the interface of plant biochemistry and human health, focusing on the biosynthesis of nutritionally important micronutrients in plants. His group integrates genomics, genetics, evolution and biochemistry to dissect and engineer these pathways in plants. The laboratory's work on carotenoid biosynthesis defined much of the pathway in plants, provided important insights into the evolution and regulation of the pathway and the surprising structural and functional plasticity of carotenoids in plant photosystems. The laboratory's dissection of plant tocopherol (vitamin E) synthesis revealed surprising ways in which tocopherols contribute to plant growth and stress tolerance. Metabolic engineering of the tocopherol pathway to increase the vitamin E activity of plant tissues was an early example of the power of Nutritional Genomics to impact micronutrient deficiencies in plant-based diets. More recent efforts employ large analytical and genotype datasets, quantitative genetics and comparative genome wide association mapping in maize and Arabidopsis to define the genetic architecture underlying natural variation for carotenoids, tocopherols and B-vitamins in seeds to provide the foundational knowledge needed for increasing and balancing the levels of these essential micronutrients in the plant-based, global food supply.
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