Genetic modification can be one of the most beneficial, yet challenging mechanisms for warding off harmful insects. By utilizing biodegradable rods as nanocarriers, Dr. Bernie Wone’s laboratory is working to use naturally occurring oils as way to protect plants against thrips. View Halo Profile >>
About Bernie Wone
Dr. Bernie Wone is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of South Dakota. Wone is from Vermillion, South Dakota and completed his PhD at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is involved with the American Society of Plant Biologists, American Physiological Society, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and Frontiers in Plant Science.
Tell us about your research.
Our lab is 1) Optimizing a nano-biomimetic carrier of genetic cargo for integration-free transient and stable expression of genes and genome editing tools to determine gene function in plants and animals; 2) Deciphering the regulatory innovations of environmental stress resilience in extremophytes; and 3) Dissecting the regulatory mechanisms of muscle aging in our invertebrate animal model of muscle aging. This animal model has muscles that are physiologically and metabolically like vertebrate muscles.
A key focus of all our research efforts is to translate fundamental knowledge and discoveries to benefit human health, agriculture, and society.
Can you explain that to a non-scientist?
Our lab is 1) fine-tuning a biocompatible nanocarrier of genes to understand how genes work within plants and animals, 2) determining how plants that are found in extreme environments survive, and 3) using an insect animal model that has muscles like humans to understand how muscle age and thus result in reduced or loss of function.
Why did you choose this area of research?
I have always been curious about how organisms’ function at the molecular level. Once I figured out how they work, I see it as a challenge to apply that knowledge to other organisms to make them better or more efficient.
I think all fundamental knowledge and discoveries from scientific research should be used to solve the big problems facing society, such as to meet the world’s food production and biomedical needs.
What are some of the real-world applications of your work?
I think all fundamental knowledge and discoveries from scientific research should be used to solve the big problems facing society, such as to meet the world’s food production and biomedical needs. In aligned with this philosophy, we aim to bioengineer solutions for sustainable crops and plant-based production systems to produce highly valuable proteins under climate change conditions, improve human health by discovering regulatory mechanisms of muscle aging, and increase our economic competitiveness with bionanotechnological tools for the agricultural and biomedical markets. So far, our research on extremophyte environmental stress resiliency has determined that extremophyte regulatory genes have vast potential to enhance abiotic stress tolerances in abiotic stress sensitive crop plants. More importantly, we have identified candidate regulators that can be bioengineered into drought sensitive crop plants. Regarding muscle aging, we have established that our non-vertebrate animal model provides a fundamental basis for molecular dissection of the regulation of muscle aging. More recently, we have developed a biocompatible nanocarrier of genes and genome editing tools to modify plants and animals for agricultural and biomedical applications.