Roberto Gaxiola studies the physiological mechanisms by which plants regulate root activity and nutrient uptake. Facing the problem of insufficient agricultural production in the midst of a growing worldwide population, Gaxiola and his research team hope to find ways to augment plant root biomass — a key strategy for developing cultivated crops that use water and nutrients more effectively.
Using genetic and physiological experiments, the researchers have characterized a protein within plant membranes that controls how sugar moves from leaves to roots. By artificially enhancing this protein, root activity and plant nutrient absorption are greatly increased, resulting in more robust root systems with improved water and nutrient uptake efficiency.
Professor Gaxiola's work may be used to engineer crops that could help secure future food supplies.
Ph.D. Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg 1991
Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology/ Root engineering for crop improvement. Finding ways to improve productivity in marginal agricultural lands has been the driving force of my research program. Enhanced root mass is expected to increase crop biomass and seed yields, making the root system an extremely attractive candidate for engineering crops to step up productivity. INVITED LECTURES International Symposium on Plant Membrane Transport:New developments of Membrane transporter research. At the University of Tokyo, Japan. December 8th, 2007. XII Congreso de Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular de Plantas from the Sociedad Mexicana de Bioquimica at Veracruz, Mexico November 11-15, 2007. USA-Pakistan Symposium on Plant Stress Biology at University of California, Davis, USA November 4-5, 2007. VI Encuentro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Biotecnologia Agropecuaria, at Vina del Mar, Chile October 22- 26, 2007. XIV International Workshop Plant Membrane Biology at the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain June 26 - 30, 2007. PUBLICATIONS Haibing Yang, Jane Knapp, Pratistha Koirala, Divya Rajagopal, Wendy Ann Peer, Lawrence K. Silbart, Angus Murphy and Roberto A. Gaxiola. Enhanced phosphorus nutrition in monocots and dicots overexpressing a phosphorus-responsive type I H+-PPase (2007) Plant Biotechnology Journal 5: 735-745
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Spring 2021 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 308 | Plant Physiology |
MBB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 350 | Applied Genetics |
MBB 493 | Honors Thesis |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 308 | Plant Physiology |
MBB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 493 | Honors Thesis |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Summer 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 308 | Plant Physiology |
MBB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 350 | Applied Genetics |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Summer 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 308 | Plant Physiology |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 498 | Pro-Seminar |
PLB 591 | Seminar |
Fall 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 350 | Applied Genetics |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Summer 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 498 | Pro-Seminar |
PLB 591 | Seminar |
Fall 2016 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 189 | Life Sciences Career Paths |
PLB 350 | Applied Genetics |
MBB 350 | Applied Genetics |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Summer 2016 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |