Brett Tyler is the director of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing (CGRB), a vast array of sequencing machines, genotyping computers, and sophisticated microscopes. The center utilizes cutting-edge technology borrowed from the Human Genome Project to sequence DNA . Tyler currently leads a research team that studies oomycetes, a class of tiny kelp-like organisms that includes notorious pathogens of many important crops. Their work sheds light on how pathogens affect a plant’s immune system.
Researcher Maps Fungal Genomes
The technological efficiency of the CGRB allows Joseph Spatafora, a professor of botany and plant pathology, to cost-effectively study the molecular world of fungi. Spatafora, along with an international team of scientists, working in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy, is mapping the genomes of over 1,000 fungi species. His team’s ultimate aim is ambitious: the development of a fungal genomic reference library to help scientists create new alternative fuels, find organic ways of cleaning up contaminated soils, and improve natural products in food and medicine.
Parasite Research Helps Salmon Population
Stephen Atkinson, a postdoctoral scholar in OSU’s Fryer Salmon Disease Laboratory, uses the center to map the genetic patterns of a parasite called Ceratomyxa shasta that infects salmon and trout. The patterns help scientists predict how the parasite will effect juvenile salmon, enabling hatchery managers to time their releases accordingly in order to limit exposure.
CRBD Technology Has Worldwide Impact
In Asia, hurricanes can force floods of salt-tainted seawater into rice paddies and upset livelihoods. Pankaj Jaiswal, a plant biologist, studies traits such as salt tolerance within the rice genome. Jaiswal is comparing varying levels of salt tolerance in various rice varieties by exploring how the expression of genes is regulated under high salt versus normal conditions. By identifying genes responding to high salt conditions, the research will help plant breeders use these genes for developing salt-tolerant varieties.
Implications on Cancer Research
Finally, cracking the genetic code can yield insights into one of humanity’s most baffling enigmas—cancer. Siva Kolluri, an OSU cancer researcher, uses the center’s fast, automated analyses to investigate new cancer drugs that can target and kill abnormal cells.
The CGRB allows OSU researchers to move beyond known techniques and use revolutionary technology to answer novel research questions.
http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/big-datas-next-frontier
