Names: Sheng Yang He, professor of plant biology; Maeli Melotto, post-doctoral student; and Bill Underwood, graduate student

Department: Plant Research Laboratory, Natural Science

Type of research: Plant biology

Date of research: He has been working with plants at MSU for 11 years.

Basics of the project: This particular study focuses on the stomata, microscopic pores on the leaves of almost all plants, which have been known to save plants, He said.

"People thought these were passports for bacteria," He said. "We found out this was not the case."

He and the other researchers introduced different plants to bacteria and observed the stomata of the leaves. They found that when the stomata sensed the bacteria, they closed to help resist disease.

"This is the first line of defense in plants," He said. "And we discovered it."

He said bacteria is one of the major ways plants get diseases.

"In general, we want to understand why certain plants are susceptible to bacterias and some are not," He said.

We're interested in how bacteria can infect plants and in what ways that plants can resist infection, Underwood said.

Social impact of the research: Because of research being done on the way plants are infected with bacteria, millions of dollars can be saved in agriculture, Underwood said. "We could improve agricultural production through a better understanding of the actions of plants with pathogens, such as bacteria."

In 2000, a disease called fire blight caused almost $40 million in apple tree crops to be ruined, He said.

Studying plant structures could lead to disease resistant plants, He said.

Grants and funding: His research was funded through grants given by the National Institute of Health, the Department of Energy and the National Microbial Pathogen Data Resource Center. The National Institutes of Health gave a $370,000 grant, the U.S. Department of Energy gave $120,000 and the National Microbial Pathogen Data Resource Center gave $16,000.