The Ultimate Renewable Resource

Source:
MEASURE, Fall 2011
The Research Publication of Arkansas State University

“The magic of P3 is that we are fundamentally cross-disciplined.”

The Arkansas EPSCoR Center for Plant-Powered Production (P3) is a stellar example of Arkansas’ investment in plant-based bioproduction technology.  Funded by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR Program, P3 is a research partnership between Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and University of Central Arkansas.

 P3 encompasses more than thirty faculty and funds 15 collaborative seed grants to promote understanding of the fundamental biology underlying plant-based bioproduction and to develop plants as scalable biofactories for high-value proteins, unique chemicals, and renewable biomaterials.  P3 is likewise focused on outreach and entrepreneurship endeavors to engender knowledge-based economic development within the State of Arkansas.

Why plant research?

“Plants are the ultimate renewable resource,” says Dr. Carole Cramer, Professor of Biology and Principle Investigator of the P3 Center at Arkansas State University.  Plants provide large, clean, virus-free proteins which are easier for the human body to process.  Plants are the next generation of “smart drugs” according to Dr. Cramer.  “Plants can make enzymes that animals can make, but can be produced more efficiently and cost effectively than animal enzymes,” says Dr. Cramer.  The scientific teams will thus explore the synthesis, regulation, trafficking and storage of phytochemicals and bioactivity of these phytochemicals on target organisms.  They will also address mechanisms that mediate protein production, processing, storage and stability in plants.

Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, Plant Metabolic Engineer at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University, is conducting research that demonstrates the amazing power of plants.  In his research with resveratrol, a polyphenol produced naturally in plants, harnessing its power may lead to advances in medicine for pain management and treatments for obesity, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.  With one patent issued, which allows for the production of unique resveratrol characteristics using peanut root cultures, and two patents pending, Dr. Medina-Bolivar stresses the collaborative approach to research.  “We cannot work alone,” says Dr. Medina-Bolivar, “we must collaborate with many scientists and the P3 Center provides those opportunities.”   “The magic of P3 is that we are fundamentally cross-disciplined,” says Dr. Carole Cramer.  P3’s faculty and students have expertise in computational modeling and data mining, molecular genetics and transgenics, metabolic profiling, analytical chemistry, molecular plant pathology, bioreactor design and process scale-up, and bioactivity assessment. 

An investment for the future…

P3 invests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreach programs for students in grade 6 – 12.  Its personnel also offer more than 70 undergraduate summer research internships which target minority candidates and one-year stipends for more than 50 MS/PhD students.
P3 entrepreneurship activities, in line with the State’s emphasis on economic development and commercialization, include mentoring in patenting, technology transfer, SBIR grant writing and entrepreneurship. 

Thus far, P3 has yielded a number of completed and pending patents, and has been the impetus for a number of small business startup companies.
Ensuring a diverse workforce is as much a part of the culture of the P3 Center as cutting-edge research, outreach, and entrepreneurship.  The thread that ties these elements together continues to be the engagement of a diverse pool of graduate students, postdocs, visiting scientists, and faculty who continue to provide inspired leadership in this important area of discovery.