Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 9, 2009
Spicy flavor and vibrant color are
two of the most defining characteristics of a chile pepper. Heat
and color are also areas where two doctoral students at
New Mexico State University
are focusing their research – and earning recognition.
Ivette Guzman and Neda Keyhaninejad are both Ph.D. students in
agronomy in NMSU’s Department of Plant and Environmental
Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Sciences, formerly the College of Agriculture and
Home Economics. The two recently won travel awards based on
poster presentations of their work at the Banff Conference of
Plant Metabolism in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The awards helped
defray the cost of their trip and allowed them to tour the town
of Banff and the surrounding Banff National Park.
Guzman is a Denton, Texas, native. She received her bachelor’s
degree in biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio
and her master’s in biology from Texas Woman’s University. She
plans to graduate from NMSU this spring with a focus on plant
genetics.
Her poster for the conference was titled “Carotenogenesis of
Orange Color in Capsicum annuum Fruit.” The research project
identified the molecular explanation for the orange color in
some chiles. These color pigments are valuable in the
nutritional quality of chile, especially in fighting vitamin
deficiency.
“Vitamin A deficiency is a big problem in some third world
countries. That problem can be fixed by eating high amounts of
orange-colored fruit,” Guzman said.
Keyhaninejad received her bachelor’s degree in her home country
of Iran where she studied plant science and genetics. She has
been at NMSU for the past three and a half years, earning her
master’s in agronomy and now working on her doctorate.
Keyhaninejad’s poster presentation was titled “Identification
and Characterization of Transcription Factors In Capsicum.” Her
project described the unique gene expression regulators
predicted to control the pathway for pungency in chile.
Genetics and the environment affect the specific heat value of
chile, so pungency is difficult to precisely predict. This
becomes a problem for growers because the heat in chile will
vary in acreage, depending on the environment. A better
understanding of transcription factors could lead to chiles with
more consistent spiciness.
“Transcription factors could identify what makes chile hot,”
Keyhaninejad said. “We know that hot tasting chile is beneficial
and if we can understand that pathway, we’ll better understand
what makes chile hot.”
“These students are doing some very important work,” said Mary
O’Connell, a faculty adviser for both Guzman and Keyhaninejad.
“It’s unusual for students to use so many skills on one project,
including DNA sequencing, DNA expression, and using analytical
instruments and mass spectrometers. It makes them very
attractive to future employers.” |
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