Lemaux, P

Peggy G. Lemaux

Chair, University of California

Statewide Biotehnology

Workgroup

<a href="http://sbc.ucdavis.edu">The Seed Biotechnology Center</a> at the University of California Davis

recognizes University Research Partner

Dr. Peggy G. Lemaux

Dr. Peggy G. Lemaux is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the Chair of the University of California Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources Biotechnology Workgroup.

Dr. Lemaux’s research focuses on the development and use of genetic engineering strategies for monocotyledonous species, including wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, rice, and certain grass species. The objectives of her laboratory are to use transformed cereals and grasses to explore basic biological questions and to use this information to improve crops. Projects in which she has been involved include:

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Development of gene expression technologies for overproducing non-seed storage proteins in cereal grain with Ventria Biosciences, using UC Discovery funding

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Overexpression of the redox protein, thioredoxin, in barley for improved malting, in wheat to reduce allergencity and in sorghum to increase digestibility, the latter with Gates Foundation funding

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Development of transformation methods for inbred maize varieties with Pioneer Hi-Bred International

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Participation in CSREES-sponsored Coordinated Agriculture Projects (CAPs) for the application of genomic technologies for the improvement of rice and barley with the University of Arkansas and University of Minnesota, respectively.

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<a href="http://ucbiotech.org"> </a>In addition, as a Cooperative Extension Specialist, Dr. Lemaux has statewide responsibility for outreach and educational programming related to agriculture and foods. Outreach efforts are designed to increase public understanding of agricultural practices, food production and the impact of new technologies on food and agriculture. For more about these efforts, visit <a href="http://ucbiotech.org">http://ucbiotech.org</a>.

For further discussions with Dr. Lemaux, please contact her directly at <a href="mailto:lemauxpg@nature.berkeley.edu"> lemauxpg@nature.berkeley.edu</a>.

Peggy G. Lemaux, Ph.D.

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

University of California, Berkeley

Research

The Lemaux laboratory’s research efforts focus on the use of genetic engineering and

genomic technologies to understand, manipulate and improve cereal crops, like wheat,

barley, rice and sorghum. The applied efforts build on basic research in her own lab, as

well as that of collaborators, including her UC Berkeley colleague, Bob Buchanan.

Specific applied efforts of this research include the development of faster germinating

barley with improved starch characteristics intended for the brewing industry, a

hypoallergenic wheat variety for consumers with wheat allergies, the nutritional

enhancement of sorghum for Africans for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the

engineering of wheat to prevent million-dollar losses to preharvest sprouting. Lemaux has

published over 100 research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has nearly

20 issued patents to protect developed technologies. She is a fellow of the American

Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Agronomy and the

American Society of Plant Biologists. She received the Hoagland award from the

American Society of Plant Biology for outstanding contributions to agriculture and the

Career Achievement Award from the Society of In Vitro Biology. Recently Lemaux was

elected president of the 5,000-member American Society of Plant Biologists.

Outreach

Outreach to the public and K-14 educational programs is an important responsibility

of Lemaux’s statewide Cooperative Extension position. Her activities in this area involve

issues relating to plants, agriculture, food production and the impact of new genetic

technologies on crops, including genetic engineering and genomics. Presently she serves

as the Chair of the University of California Statewide Biotechnology Workgroup. She

developed an award-winning informational website, http://ucbiotech.org, which provides

informational resources to users. These include K-12 educational curricula like “DNA for

Dinner”, peer-reviewed fact sheets on numerous topics related to foods and agriculture,

videos like “Combating African Stem Rust” and “Cornucopia’s Challenge”, games like

“Tic Tac Grow”, “Dirt to Dinner” and “GENEie Juice Bar” and educational displays such

as “Genetics and Foods”, “Genetic Diversity and Genomics” and “Biotechnology and

Sustainability”. These resources have been disseminated worldwide for fairs, teacher

conferences and other outreach events. In 2008 and 2009 she wrote two extensive articles

in the Annual Review of Plant Biology entitled “Genetically Engineered Plants and

Foods: A Scientist’s Analysis of the Issues” that covered a variety of controversial topics

related to modern agriculture. She also served as a lead PI of the extension and education

team for the national NIFA-sponsored Rice Coordinated Agricultural Program

(RiceCAP) and Barley CAP, which involved developing educational materials on

genomics and marker-assisted selection for national, lay audiences. Most recently she

participated in the development of informational resources for barley growers on

eXtension (www.extension.org ).