- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
-
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center 
Danforth Center BuildingEstablished 1998 President James C. Carrington Chairman William Henry Danforth Faculty 18 principal investigators, 176 scientists Staff 223 employees Location St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Address 975 North Warson Road Website www.danforthcenter.org The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit scientific facility located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its main mission point is to "improve the human condition through plant science".
Founded in 1998 by William Henry Danforth, M.D., a cardiologist and the brother of former U.S. Senator and Episcopal priest John Danforth, the Center is the product of an alliance joining the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Monsanto Company, Purdue University, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Contents
History
Established in 1998, the Danforth Center building opened in October 2001 and houses equipment for protein crystallography, proteomics and mass spectrometry, microscopy and imaging of live cells, cell and tissue culture, and for control and maintenance of plants. Dr. Roger N. Beachy, Ph.D. was named the founding president of the Center in January 1999.
In October 2009, Dr. Beachy stepped down as president of the Center to join the Obama administration as the first director of the new National Institute of Food and Agriculture. He is currently still serving as vice chair of the Center's board of trustees under Dr. Danforth.[1] Dr. Philip Needleman, former senior vice president at Monsanto, served as the acting President until the appointment of Dr. James C. Carrington, 50, the former Director of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing at Oregon State University. According to the online edition of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, the extensive search involved seven firms, 18 top plant scientists, and a year of scouting. The center has a $20 million annual operating budget and 200 employees.
The Danforth Center is home to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems, and the International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology.[2]
In June 2009 the first building of the new Bio-Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park opened on the Danforth Center campus.[3]
Ongoing Research
Research at the Center is organized around four focal areas[4]:
- Developing new materials and products in plants
- Enriching the nutritional value of foods
- Adapting plants for environmental stresses
- Controlling plant pests and pathogens
Progress has been made in fortifying plants with folic acid.[5]
Danforth Center scientists are studying abscisic acid, which plays an important part in plant responses to environmental stress and plant pathogens.[6][7]
Research has identified transporter proteins in the Arabidopsis thaliana plant model system.[8][9]
References
- ^ http://www.danforthcenter.org/newsmedia/leaflet/Danforth_Leaflet_Nov_2009.pdf
- ^ "Research: Funding the Search for Renewable Fuels." Enterprise Rent-A-Car http://www.keystogreen.com/research.html Retrieved 26 Jun. 2009.
- ^ Bio-Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park http://brdg-park.com/index.html
- ^ http://www.danforthcenter.org/about/mission.asp
- ^ Hossain, Tahzeeba, I. Rosenberg, J. Selhub, G. Kishore, R. Beachy, and K. Schubert. "Enhancement of folates in plants through metabolic engineering." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 24 Mar 2004. http://www.pnas.org/content/101/14/5158.full.pdf+html?sid=c93d05e4-7361-4ebc-8c0e-a29ae32b3bbc Retrieved 26 Jun. 2009.
- ^ Li, Jiaxu, T. Kinoshita, S. Pandey, C. K.-Y. Ng, S. Gygi, K. Shimazaki, & S. Assmann "Modulation of an RNA-binding protein by abscisic-acid-activated protein kinase" Nature 418, 793-797 (15 August 2002) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v418/n6899/abs/nature00936.html Retrieved 26 Jun. 2009.
- ^ Sona Pandey's Laboratory Donald Danforth Plant Science Center http://www.danforthcenter.org/pandey/
- ^ Hammes, Ulrich Z., E. Nielsen, L. A. Honaas, C. Taylor, D. P. Schachtman. "AtCAT6, a sink-tissue-localized transporter for essential amino acids in Arabidopsis." Plant Journal. 48(3):414-426, November 2006. http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/plnt/abstract.00008572-200611030-00008.htm;jsessionid=KFFT9YT3VvhwWTzQr12GzvQLXl4rNZRcTD0lxJ4CF24zVSlFvGw2!-847254088!181195628!8091!-1 Retrieved 26 Jun. 2009.
- ^ Marquis, Cate. “Area scientist partners with Weizmann Institute for plant research.” ‘St. Louis Jewish Light.’ 24 Aug. 2007. http://www.danforthcenter.org/newsmedia/NewsCoverageDetail.asp?nid=149 Retrieved 24 Jun. 2009.
External links
Categories:- Independent research institutes
- Organizations based in St. Louis, Missouri
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
