Project Number: 6645-11000-007-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jul 01, 2004
End Date: Sep 25, 2008

Objective:
The objective is to develop and characterize Arabidopsis thaliana mutant plants that can be tested for sensitivity to ozone for the purpose of identifying mechanisms and possible methods for improving plant tolerance to ozone.

Approach:
Arabidopsis thaliana plants with characterized mutations will be provided to the USDA-ARS Air Quality Research Unit for ozone sensitivity testing in controlled environment chambers in the NCSU Phytotron. Of primary interest are plants with mutations in signal transduction processes, phytohormone expression and response pathways, and programmed cell death. The cooperator is uniquely capable of characterizing and providing the mutant Arabidopsis plants. The cooperator's primary role will be supervision of a post-doctoral research associate charged with the responsibility of developing mutant plants and performing the ozone testing activities. The long-term goal of the project is identification of possible methods for improving plant tolerance to ozone.