Biochemistry & Biophysics

William D. Park

park Associate Head for Graduate Programs
Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and of Plant Physiology and Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Plant Genomics and Biotechnology
Faculty of Genetics and of Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences

Phone: (979) 845-8868
Email: wdpark@tamu.edu
B.S. University of South Carolina (1973)
Ph.D. University of Florida (1977)
Postdoc. University of Minnesota (1977-79)

Joined Texas A&M faculty in 1984

Regulation & Evolution of Plant Storage Tissue / Crop Biotechnology
Most of our work in the last few years has focused on manipulating starch biosynthesis in plants. This has led to the identification of a number of specific DNA polymorphisms that have a profound impact on the structure and functional properties of starch granules. Interestingly, the effect of some of these polymorphisms is temperature sensitive. For example, a key G/T polymorphism at the 5' leader intron splice site of rice granule bound starch synthase has little phenotypic effect at 18 °C, but at 25 °C it activates an alternate splice site that results in a premature open reading frame. At 32 °C, a third nonconsensus TT/GT splice site is activated. This type of temperature sensitivity is one of the key factors responsible for the complex genotype x environment relationships seen in starch structure and represents a good target for manipulation via biotechnology. We have also worked with an industrial partner and a breeder to develop the first commercial rice varieties specifically tailored to work with a new type of processing technology and to identify the genes responsible for optimal raw material/process interactions. Other work in the laboratory is focused on the identification and manipulation of DNA polymorphisms associated with disease resistance and with herbicide resistance in the wild relatives of crop plants.

Recent Publications
  1. Vitalini MW, de Paula RM, Park WD & Bell-Pedersen D (2006) The rhythms of life: circadian output pathways in Neurospora. J Biol Rhythms 21: 432-44
  2. Conaway-Bormans CA, Marchetti MA, Johnson CW, McClung AM & Park WD (2003) Molecular markers linked to the blast resistance gene Pi-z in rice for use in marker-assisted selection. Theor Appl Genet 107: 1014-20
  3. Larkin PD & Park WD (1999) Transcript accumulation and utilization of alternate and non-consensus splice sites in rice granule-bound starch synthase are temperature-sensitive and controlled by a single-nucleotide polymorphism. Plant Mol Biol 40: 719-27
  4. Li Z, Pinson SR, Paterson AH, Park WD & Stansel JW (1997) Genetics of hybrid sterility and hybrid breakdown in an intersubspecific rice (Oryza sativa L.) population. Genetics 145: 1139-48
  5. Li Z, Pinson SR, Park WD, Paterson AH & Stansel JW (1997) Epistasis for three grain yield components in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Genetics 145: 453-65
  6. Fu H, Kim SY & Park WD (1995) A potato Sus3 sucrose synthase gene contains a context-dependent 3' element and a leader intron with both positive and negative tissue-specific effects. Plant Cell 7: 1395-403
  7. Fu H, Kim SY & Park WD (1995) High-level tuber expression and sucrose inducibility of a potato Sus4 sucrose synthase gene require 5' and 3' flanking sequences and the leader intron. Plant Cell 7: 1387-94
  8. Fu H & Park WD (1995) Sink- and vascular-associated sucrose synthase functions are encoded by different gene classes in potato. Plant Cell 7: 1369-85
  9. Kim SY, May GD & Park WD (1994) Nuclear protein factors binding to a class I patatin promoter region are tuber-specific and sucrose-inducible. Plant Mol Biol 26: 603-15
  10. Sadka A, DeWald DB, May GD, Park WD & Mullet JE (1994) Phosphate Modulates Transcription of Soybean VspB and Other Sugar-Inducible Genes. Plant Cell 6: 737-749
  11. Andrews DL, Beames B, Summers MD & Park WD (1988) Characterization of the lipid acyl hydrolase activity of the major potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber protein, patatin, by cloning and abundant expression in a baculovirus vector. Biochem J 252: 199-206
  12. Mignery GA, Pikaard CS & Park WD (1988) Molecular characterization of the patatin multigene family of potato. Gene 62: 27-44
  13. Hannapel DJ, Miller JC & Park WD (1985) Regulation of Potato Tuber Protein Accumulation by Gibberellic Acid. Plant Physiol 78: 700-703
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