February 09, 2001

WKU Graduate Student Honored For
Biotechnology Project

Bowling Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University graduate student has been honored for a biotechnology research project.

Deepti Mohamalawari of Hyderabad, India, received first place and $200 for her oral presentation on Genetic Transformation of Corn and Tobacco by Agrobacterium tumefaciens during the recent American Society of Agronomy (Southern Branch) annual meeting.

Mohamalawari's project showed that soil bacterium (called Agrobacterium) could introduce foreign DNA into plant cell and alter its genetic makeup. The project was challenging because Agrobacterium does not transfer genes in corn under natural conditions.

Dr. Shivendra Sahi, director of the WKU Biotechnology Center, said the
long-term goal of the project would be to introduce other genetic material that would improve the quality of the corn, its nutritional value or its resistance to drought and herbicides.

For example, he said, "vegetarians would benefit from the research because we would be able to alter the genetic composition of the corn by introducing genes for essential amino acids that would increase corn's protein content and make it equivalent to a meat product."

"Biotechnology is the new face of biology," Mohamalawari said. "Altering genetics is exciting especially when we can get consumer-friendly products."

Dr. Sahi and Rick Fowler, coordinator of the Biotechnology Laboratory, said Mohamalawari's award shows the quality of work being done by Western students and faculty.

Fowler said master's and doctoral students from "the powerhouse schools in biotechnology" competed during the agronomy group's meeting Jan. 28-29 at Fort Worth, Texas. Mohamalawari's presentation was first in a field that included students from North Carolina State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Tennessee.

"Our students receive hands-on experience in cutting-edge technology," Dr. Sahi said.

For more information, contact Dr. Shivendra Sahi at (270) 745-6012. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.