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| Name |
Barkan, Alice |
| Location
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University of Oregon |
| 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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Barkan is recognized for her work on chloroplast gene expression. Mechanisms elucidated by her group fostered new approaches relevant to biotechnology and agriculture. |
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Research Interests
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Research in Alice Barkan's laboratory is directed at understanding how the genetic machineries in the chloroplast and nucleus cooperate to synthesize, assemble, and regulate the photosynthetic apparatus. Their research combines genetic, genomic, and biochemical approaches to identify relevant genes, define their in vivo functions, and elucidate mechanisms. Much of this research is grounded in their large-scale genetic analysis of chloroplast biogenesis via transposon mutagenesis in maize. This screen underlies projects that have focused on the assembly of the photosynthetic apparatus, protein-facilitated splicing of group II introns, mechanisms of RNA stabilization and translational control, and pentatricopeptide repeat RNA-binding proteins as mediators of chloroplast RNA metabolism. They are applying their insights into mechanisms of chloroplast gene expression to applications that exploit the chloroplast as a biofactory for the production of foreign products. |
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