LABORATORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Research Activities

The main projects can be divided into three areas, namely Environmental Biotechnology, Microbial Biotechnology, and Plant Biotechnology.


Environmental Biotechnology
The major research themes in Environmental Biotechnology that the Laboratory of Biotechnology involve in are on the analysis of the effects of metals contamination, herbicides and pesticides exposure on non targeted microbial systems. Metals contamination of the environmental, large quantity and repeated applications of herbicide and pesticides have led to alteration in local microbial ecology. Our research is focused on how microbes sense and response to these chemicals. Mechanisms of chemical induce toxicity is being investigated. Biochemical, genetics and physiological investigations into the effects of chemical induces stress responses are being performed on soil bacteria such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Xanthomonas spp.


Microbial Biotechnology
Two major research areas in microbial biotechnology involve the studies on Pseudomonas and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ability of Pseudomonas to response to oxidative stress are being investigated. Novel detoxification enzymes systems and regulation of their corresponding genes are being investigated. Investigation into biochemical and physiological roles of these enzymes are being performed. The establishment of bacterial cytotoxic and apoptotic factors are being studied S. cerevisiae as a model system.


Plant Biotechnology: Biotechnology for Thai Orchid Crop Improvement
Orchid is one of the most important economic crops of Thailand. Due to slow growing of the orchid with long sexual propagation cycles, it takes three years from seed to first flowering. Thus it is not easy to gain crop improvement through conventional breeding. We have attempted to manipulate the appropriate new strains of orchids through genetic engineering aiming for a novel color of the flower and virus disease resistant varieties.