Halina T. Knap Professor, Agronomy/Plant Molecular Cytogenetics and Genetics Graduate Coordinator, Plant and Environmental Sciences Graduate Program [www.clemson.edu/plantenvgrad/] Undergraduate Advisor, Agricultural & Biotech Concentration: Soils and Sustainable Crop Systems [www.clemson.edu/esps/sscs.htm] Dept. of Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences and Dept. of Genetics and Biochemistry OFFICE: 272 Plant & Animal Science Building ADDRESS: Dept. of Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences, 276 P&AS Bldg., Clemson, SC 29634-0315 TELEPHONE: 864-656-3523 FAX: 864-656-3443 E-MAIL: hskrpsk@clemson.edu

Professional Experience

(PHD) University of Agriculture, Poznan, Poland
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Interdisciplinary Affiliation:
Clemson University Biotechnology Road Map Program

Research Interests

Chromosome Structure and Function in Plant Development and Stress

The research program in my laboratory concentrates on chromosome organization and biology of chromosome function in plants. We use an integrative approach that utilizes cytological, molecular, and genetic tools to characterize chromosomal regions underlying stress physiology. Particularly, we are interested in the dynamics and duplications of chromosomal regions encoding responses to biotic stresses and reproduction. Much work focuses on polyploid species. Polyploidy has attained great success in natural environments and agricultural species evolution. Dynamics of genomic rearrangements drive polyploid species toward diploid-like behavior resulting in diploidized polyploids. In a cultivated species soybean, Glycine max, with polyploidy events in its evolution, duplicated chromosomal regions are a norm in the genome, and they might represent a significant source of functional divergence. Unraveling the genomic structural and functional changes occurring in polyploids can provide means to improve defense mechanisms and help to understand factors driving genetic diversity and the evolutionary success of polyploidy speciation.