MSU’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has received a $4.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, according to an MSU release.
The team — led by Barrett Rosenberg Chair of Biochemistry Robert Last — will use the grant to study how various aspects of plant chemistry affect the survival abilities of cultivated and wild tomato species in the Andes Mountains.
They also will examine chemical evolution and plant metabolism.
Using this information, researchers might be able to determine various strategies to both boost the productivity of cultivated plants and help them fight off disease.
An additional component of the grant provides funding for summer outreach programs. The programs will focus on providing undergraduate students with necessary experience in genetics, biochemistry and the scientific method.
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