Melvin J. Oliver

Research

My research was directed towards the identification and functional characterization of genes and cellular processes that are central (or common to) to all forms of dehydration tolerance in plants, in particular desiccation tolerance, and those that are unique to the ideotypes for each identified tolerance mechanism. These studies were also directed towards the goal of understanding the evolutionary link between mechanisms of desiccation tolerance and the mechanisms and genes involved in the response of desiccation-sensitive plants to water deficits (water stress responses in crops). The approach we developed was best described as a merging of plant genomics and biochemistry with phylogenetics and was focused on tolerance mechanisms in bryophytes and resurrection grasses. My work on maize, and later wheat, root growth zones (root tips) was focused on both the transcriptomic (mRNA and miRNA) and metabolic responses to precisely controlled water deficits. In wheat our main interest was high-throughput root phenotyping (“rootbot”) with aim to understand the extent of genetic variability of root growth under water deficit stress.

Awards & Honors

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012)
• USDA Certificate of Merit 2004 Outstanding performance award.
• USDA Certificate of Merit 2003 Superior performance award.
• USDA Certificate of Merit 2001 Outstanding performance award.
• USDA Certificate of Merit 2002 Outstanding performance award.
• USDA Certificate of Merit 2000 Outstanding performance award.
• Southern Plains Area Senior Scientist of the Year 1999 for Pioneering research accomplishments leading to a more complete understanding of natural stress tolerance mechanisms in plants