Plant Physiologist
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Dr. Timothy S. Artlip 2217 WILTSHIRE ROAD |
Education and Degrees
1991 Ph.D. Plant Physiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
1983 B.S. Biological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
1981 A.S. Math and Science, Community College of the Finger Lakes, Canandaigua, NY
Experience
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2004 – Present |
Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS, Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, WV 25430. Duties include supervision of the Apple Biotechnology Group, research on dormancy and low-temperature responses of apple trees, and oversight of the tissue culture room, some growth facilities and field plots. Member of the “Using Functional and Applied Genomics to Improve Stress Resistance in Fruit Crops" CRIS Work Unit (CRIS 8080-21000-022, National Program 301). |
| 1996 – 2004 |
Microbiologist, USDA-ARS, Appalachian Fruit Research Station |
| 1994 – 1996 | Post-doctoral scientist, USDA-ARS, Appalachian Fruit Research Station |
| 1992 – 1994 | Post-doctoral scientist, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY |
| 1983 – 1985 | Technician, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY |
Laboratory Personnel
Research Projects and Activities:
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Apple Biotechnology The Apple Biotechnology Group that I supervise is currently one of the few laboratories in the country engaged in apple transformation (alteration of the genome), and the only one in the USDA-ARS. We have created over 360 transgenic apple lines for investigative purposes. These lines reflect our CRIS work unit’s interests in low temperature/ frost stresses, dormancy, and the pernicious disease of apples and pears called fire blight. We have begun an internal collaboration on apple trees with a deeper rooting system in order to mitigate drought impacts on fruit trees, as deeper roots can access water stored lower down in the soil profile. We also have collaborations with colleagues at Cornell University, Oregon State University, the Julius Kuhn Institute (Dresden, Germany), Michigan State University, and are also part of the Patriot Guardens Project in WV.
The second area I am involved with is investigating how fruit trees, primarily apple, respond to abiotic environmental stresses. Abiotic stresses arise from sub- or supra-optimal amounts of some critical non-biotic input such as water (drought or flooding), temperature (too high or too low, including early and late frosts), and nutrients and minerals (insufficient or excess quantities). My particular interest is in the genes and the products they encode that are either induced or repressed in response to low temperature and how late-season frost damage to bloom can be mitigated. Our group has used the Apple Biotechnology technology to explore these problems through the use of transgenic apple trees that are more freezing tolerant and break dormancy (bud break) later than normal.
Those transgenic trees overexpress a transcription factor, CBF, which controls other genes. We’ve used the information from various experiments with these trees to create a model of how CBF alters freezing tolerance, dormancy, and growth.
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Outreach Efforts:
| I strongly believe in engaging the public, especially children, about the research we perform in our CRIS work unit, location, ARS, and science in general. I have given talks on apples to K – 2nd-grade students at several local elementary schools for the past seven years. I added a talk to 3rd-5th-grade students on location research recently. I have organized field trips for local 1st graders both to our location and to their elementary school when their funds were limited. I have provided hands-on content at local middle school science fairs and have judged local and regional science fairs. Lastly, I present to location tours. |
Laboratory Publications
| Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/citationsview_op=list_works&hl=en&user=QDheskEAAAAJ |
