Vesna Katavic, 33, is another important member of the Thelen team. The Croatian postdoctoral researcher is conducting a two-year investigation into a "particularly interesting type of plant organelle." The interesting organelle is called a plastid, a DNA-containing cell structure which plays a role in the expression of many of a plant's crucial traits and functions -- among them photosynthesis, flower color and, most notably, the biosynthesis of fatty acids. These fatty acids are the main component of seed oil.

Thelen is also collaborating with Ganesh Agrawal, 38, a visiting research scientist from Nepal. Agrawal is working in phosphoproteomics, the study of protein "phosphorylation." Phosphoproteins are proteins that carry one or more groups of phosphates attached to certain amino acids. They are important because they act like switches in the cells, deciding whether a protein is stable or expressing as the plant moves through its life cycle.

Other projects involve oil-seed plants that have already revealed more of their genetic mysteries. Arabidopsis, the mustard-seed workhorse of genomics, is one such plant. Sunflowers are another.

In a recent study, for instance, technicians from Thelen's lab compared genetically modified "high-oil content" sunflower seeds with low-oil content seeds in order to isolate variations in their protein-expression pathways. They did this by using a common tool in proteomics, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, or 2-DE, in a novel way. Standard 2-DE technique works by using each protein's unique mass and electrical charge to isolate it from others in the sample. This accomplished, the protein can be identified by a mass spectrometer and catalogued by researchers. Thelen's team upped the ante by running two samples on a single 2-DE gel, then doing side-by-side comparisons of the proteins they found.

"We labeled them with dyes that fluoresce at different wavelengths, then scanned them at both of the wavelengths; this let us see the differences and similarities between proteins in the two samples," says Jill Casteel, at the time a senior research technician on the project.

"Those differences," interjects Thelen, "are potential biomarkers for oil content. ... At this point, they're just a spot on a gel, an anonymous protein. We'll use the mass spectrometer to identify the individual protein and, when we start to identify enough of these, we'll put it all together and try to figure out what is going on between these two lines, the one with the low and the one with the high oil content."

All these projects are moving Thelen's team closer to uncovering the secrets of biological variation within soybeans. But how close? "At this point we're in the discovery phase, and I anticipate this will continue for four to five years," Thelen admits. "I definitely don't think we'll be putting a product on the market in that time frame."

This is not just because of scientific hurdles, he adds. Government regulators, responding to public fears, have made gaining approval for new genetically modified crops difficult. And, ironically, many of the same protestors who sought to silence Lee Raymond in London would likely take aim at Thelen's research as well.

"It's funny," says Thelen, "plant breeders introduce new products into the market all the time. When a plant is bred to make more oil, for instance, there are hundreds of genetic shuffling events occurring and the breeder has no idea what they are. With a genetically modified organism we're putting in a single gene -- or maybe a handful of genes -- and it's very precise, we know exactly what's going on. It's a similar genetic rearrangement, in this case putting in a new gene, but for some reason when we do it everything changes." Thelen pauses, laughs and then apologizes. "I'm getting on a soapbox here. But I feel I have to make this pitch because, as a scientist, I'd be remiss if I didn't. The public needs to know more, needs to understand that genetically modified organisms are safe and potentially very useful."

Useful, he adds, in a way, that both farmers and climate activists can embrace. "Right now, because we're overproducing soybeans for food in this country, the value of the crop is going down. We need to start thinking about non-edible uses for oil-seed crops. What's the best that I can think of? A clean-burning combustible fuel that we can manufacture right here at home."

Published by the Office of Research.

©2006 Curators of the University of Missouri. Click here to contact the editor.