Area of research
Molecular Biology · Genetics
Research interest
Research topics from publications: Linking the transcriptome and proteome to characterize the venom of the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus); Post-transcriptional Mechanisms Contribute Little to Phenotypic Variation in Snake Venoms; In Depth Proteome Analysis of Ripening Muscadine Grape Berry cv. Carlos Reveals Proteins Associated with Flavor and Aroma Compounds. Representative work: Protein expression is a major link in the genotype-phenotype relationship, and processes affecting protein abundances, such as rates of transcription and translation, could contribute to phenotypic evolution if they generate heritable variation. Recent work has suggested that mRNA abundances do not accurately predict final protein abundances, which would imply that post-transcriptional regulatory processes contribute significantly to phenotypes. Post-transcriptional processes also appear to buffer changes in transcriptional patterns as species diverge, suggesting that the transcriptional changes have little or no effect on the phenotypes undergoing study. We tested for concordance between mR Ripening in nonclimacteric fruits such as grape involves complex chemical changes that have a profound influence on the accumulation of flavor and aroma compounds distinct to a particular grape genotype. In this study, proteome characterization of wine type bronze muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia cv. Carlos), primarily grown in the Southeastern United States was performed during berry ripening. Stage-specific protein expression was obtained among different stages of berries. Differential analysis showed the expression of 522 proteins that regulate diverse biological processes and metabolic pathways. Of these, 30 proteins are associated with the production of key phenolic compounds, wherea