| Position: Adjunct Senior Research Scientist* Education: Ph.D., 1974, University of California, Davis CBR, Center for Biosystems Research Voice: (301) 504-6209 Email: owens@umbi.umd.edu Mailing info CBR Faculty Directory |
Research OverviewViroids Viroids are plant pathogens that consist of a short stretch of circular RNA. Unlike viruses, viroids do not have a protein coat. Viroids do not code for protein, and so the mechanisms by which they attack their hosts are subjects of great interest, as well as economic importance. | Research DescriptionViroid replication and pathogenesis provide model systems in which molecular mechanisms controlling host-pathogen interaction and gene expression in uninfected plant cells are accessible to experimental manipulation. My laboratory is using site-directed mutagenesis and a variety of other recombinant DNA-based techniques to explore the relationship between the biological properties of viroids and their unusual structures. Areas of current interest include (i) identification of structural features controlling host range, (ii) characterization of pathways used by ... Complete Information... |
Additional Info* Primary Appointment: Research Chemist, Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Beltsville, Maryland |
Representative PublicationsOwens, R.A., Thompson, S.M., Feldstein, P.A., and Garnsey, S.M. 1999. Effects of natural sequence variation on symptom induction by citrus viroid III. Ann. Appl. Biology 134, 73-80. Woo, Y-M., Itaya, A., Owens, R.A., Tang, L., Hammond, R.W., Chou, H-C., Lai, M., and Ding, B. 1999. Characterization of nuclear export of potato spindle tuber viroid RNA in permeabilized protoplasts. Plant J. 17, 627-635. Feldstein, P. A., Hu, Y., and Owens, R. A. 1998. Precisely full-length, circularizable, complementary RNA: An infectious form of potato spindle tuber viroid. Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6560-6565.
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