Student: Cameron Musser, Genetics and Plant Biology

Faculty Mentor: Chelsea Specht

Developmental Evolution of Ginger Flowers

Zingiberales, e.g., gingers, bananas, are tropical monocots with dramatic flowers that attract pollinators. It is of interest to understand how these flowers evolved. Protein modifications appear to play a major role in diversification in angiosperms. Experiments in this project will use viral induced gene knockdowns to test the role of specific genes in floral development, as well as protein-protein interaction assays to test the interactions of certain MADS box proteins.