Ben Jorge and Dr. James Smart are involved in genetic research that could favorably impact agriculture in this region. The pair genetically engineered a strain of E. coli to produce an Agrobacterium tumefaciens protein, and continuing research may lead to increased yields for crops such as corn and soybeans.
The research and a Gordon Research conference presentation by Smart and Jorge were funded by a private gift, the William and Roberta Blankenship College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Research Endowment. Funding was also provided by the Department of Biological Sciences and a Faculty Research and Development Award from the Office of Research, Grants and Contracts.
The project is part of Smart’s overall philosophy to include research in classes and labs.
Smart is a University of Tennessee at Martin assistant professor of biology. Jorge, of Martin, is a Rhodes College graduate, who enrolled at UT Martin in 2006 to complete prerequisites for a neurobiology graduate program he hopes to enter in 2009. His career goal is to become a neuroscientist. Currently, Jorge is continuing the research and is a UT Martin adjunct instructor for anatomy and physiology labs.
Both Smart and Jorge see the research experience he is receiving as a critical component of his total educational preparation.
“I really think that the role of college is not so much just to prepare you for any job, because no matter how long you’re in school, you’re never going to get every skill set required to get a job. There’s always going to be on-the-job training,” said Jorge. “I think schools should teach students to integrate the knowledge they acquire in their classes and to think critically and creatively to solve problems. Research is the best opportunity I can think of to help students develop those skills and put them into action.”
Smart agrees and includes group exercises in his lab classes to give all biology students a taste of research. And then sometimes he sees in students what he saw in Jorge – someone who could benefit from extensive research experience. It is because of students such as Jorge that Smart opts to teach an undergraduate research class each semester. It’s more work than another lower-level course he might choose, but also more rewarding.
“You’re not very far down the road in research when your first problem comes up, and you’ve got to find a solution. I wouldn’t say every student out there ought to go through that, but, for the top students, it’s critical.”
Smart said the students involved are not the only ones who benefit. As in the research with Jorge, he said, “It’s my question, too. It’s a question that both the student and I look at, so I’m satisfying my own curiosity. For me, the biggest bang of it has always been when you’re right on the edge, you’re working with something that’s cutting edge, and it’s not a ‘cooked up’ lab exercise. You’re the first person ever in recorded history to know that outcome. It might be some tiny little corner of science, but you’re still the first.”
He added, “To me, that’s always been the fun of science. You’re the first person in recorded history to know something, and it’s fun to infect people with that … and watch them have that fun.”
Explaining their research project, Smart said, “You can fit what we did under the general term of genetic engineering. And, like any engineering problem, you structure your solution to fit the problem.”
Smart and Jorge took the gene from A. tumefaciens, and put it into E. coli to “fool” the E. coli into making an A. tumefaciens protein. The protein that they produced regulates heme expression in A. tumefaciens—a pathogen—that causes crown galls or tumors on plants and reduces production.
“If you can figure out how that works, then you might be able to figure out a way to kill the pathogen” in affected plants. Smart added, “The more you understand how a pathogen works, the more you understand how to beat it. It’s not a guarantee, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Smart said the outcome might be “some type of pesticide, or a way to make genetically modified crops that would be resistant to this pathogen or would provide knowledge of some kind of chemical agent that could treat crops to make them resistant to this bacteria” and improve yield.
“We’re at the very beginning stages, so it’s hard to even speculate until we know more about how the bacteria works,” said Jorge.
Smart added, “Once we know how this gene works, then, I’d team up with someone who was actually into agricultural pathogens …, but that is many projects down the road.”
As for Jorge’s future, Smart explained the leap between neuroscience and what he’s doing now. “E-coli is the bacteria we did our work in. Everybody uses E. coli. It’s the workhorse of biology. So the skills that he’s learning now will directly map onto whatever he wants to do.”
“It’s not really just about the technical skills that I’m learning as a result of this project as much as it is the thinking skills,” said Jorge.
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