This three-year award for U.S.-France cooperative research in plant genetics involves Craig S. Pikaard of Washington University and Manual Echeverria of the University of Perpignan in Perpignan, France. The award provides travel support and subsistence to Dr. Pikaard, his postdoctoral researcher, and graduate student. The objective of the research is to analyze the role of purified factors in transcription and processing of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in the nucleolus. They will test the hypothesis that rRNA gene transcription and processing in plants are coordinately regulated. The project takes advantage of the French laboratory's expertise in in vitro analysis of rRNA transcription in plants.
