Research that could once be done with only one or two genes can now be done with more than 22,000, thanks in part to research at Iowa State.

New technological changes researched at Iowa State are modifying the face of gene research.

Roger Wise, collaborative professor of plant pathology, uses the GeneChip facility on campus to research diseases, or biotic stress, on barley genes.

“The GeneChip is a small piece of synthetic material similar to glass,” he said. “It holds the genetic information of over 22,000 genes.”

This results in the ability to look at thousands of genes at once, known as global gene expression, which could not be done before, he said.

“The chip monitors RNA levels of the particular genes,” Wise said, “allowing us to identify which genes are receptive [to the disease].”

Rico Caldo, post doctoral research associate in plant pathology, said they also perform gene profiling using GeneChip.

Caldo, who has been performing research in Wise’s lab for a year, said they look for a relationship in the gene expression when interacting with the pathogen, or disease.

The RNA levels Wise studies demonstrates that relationship.

“The design of the experiment is to isolate the RNA sample from the barley leaf tissue, then inoculate it with the pathogen, a powder mildew,” he said.

Wise said the powder mildew is a fungal disease.

“It’s similar to a form found in your backyard,” he said.

The fungi essentially causes diseases in farmers’ crops, which has the potential to cause farmers to lose significant amounts of crops, he said.

The barley research has the potential to help alleviate this problem, not only in barley crops, but in cereal crops, Wise said.

“We are looking at the mode of plant and plant disease interaction,” Wise said, “the same genes interact with the disease, whether it be barley, corn, rice or wheat.”

Wise said they conduct research using the barley plant to basically look at what each gene is signaling, whether it allows or prevents disease.

This knowledge could ultimately lead to enhancing cereal crops’ resistance, Wise said.

The technology is already producing innovations, Wise said.

“In the last month, we have found 14 new genes,” he said. “Now we need to identify their interaction [with the disease]; it gives us 14 more to investigate.”

The facility has four different pieces of equipment, including a hybridization station, a gene scanner, which uses a laser argon to read the gene signals, a computer and a fluidics station, a washing station.

It takes about 15 to 20 feet of bench space, Wise said.

Two years ago, Wise and fellow plant pathology professor Steven Whitham wrote the grant to attain the equipment.

The National Science Foundation funded the research, but the Plant Sciences Institute, College of Agriculture, Vice Provost for Research and the ISU Office of Biotechnology supplemented the costs.