John Wesley Gottula

Cornell University New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

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John Wesley Gottula
Graduate Research Assistant
Cornell University
Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
Geneva, NY 14456

E-mail: jwg88@cornell.edu

Present M.S./Ph.D. candidate, Plant Pathology; Cornell University.
2008 B.S., Horticulture; Texas Tech University

Graduate advisor: Marc Fuchs

Research Focus

Agriculture and food have reemerged into public focus on a scale not seen in the last half-century. Increasingly scarce inputs coupled with growing demand from competing sectors have caused food prices to spike to their highest levels in recent history. High farmgate prices encourage adoption of intensive crop management strategies that risk exacerbating problems such as soil erosion, pesticide use and resistance, and disease epidemics.

Merging breeding, physiology, and biotechnology with forward thinking production strategies will facilitate sustainable production of horticultural crops. My goal is to explore the biology and methods of crop genetic engineering to simultaneously develop new technologies and to understand concurrent risks. Virology is an interesting background in which I can pursue this goal because pathogen derived resistance mechanisms are well-characterized and the relatively low quantity of genetic material in viruses eases the interpretation of host-pathogen interactions. Also, viruses’ rapid evolution, penchant for adaptation and mobility (through vectors) provide a convenient ‘worst-case scenario’ model for studying GM crops.

Professional Experience

2008- present	Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University. Conduct various laboratory procedures to generate recombinant RNA in Grapevine fanleaf virus.
2005-2008	Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University. Assisted in a wide variety of lab-based research involving DNA extraction, Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR), gel electrophoreses, isolation of bacteria, and tissue culture.
2006-2007	Greenhouse Four Manager, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Lubbock TX. Managed environmental parameters for cotton plants, diagnosed disorders and controlled pests.
2005	Horticulture intern, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Managed the Foundation’s first marketing campaign to sell fresh produce and flowers.

Publications

Gottula, J. Overexpression of antioxidants in cotton confers advantageous yield and lint traits. Honors Thesis. April 2008. (in press)

Gottula, J., R.D. Allen and R.J. Wright. Expression of antioxidants in cotton alters lint yield and quality. Beltwide Cotton Conference. Nashville, TN. January, 2008. (Poster Presentation) http://ncc.confex.com/ncc/2008/techprogram2/P8399.HTM

Gottula. J., R.D. Allen and R.J. Wright. Overexpression of antioxdants in cotton alters lint yield and quality. World Cotton Research Conference-4. Lubbock, TX. September 2007. (Poster Presentation) http://wcrc.confex.com/wcrc/2007/techprogram/P1930.HTM

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 630 West North Street, Geneva, New York 14456
Telephone: 315.787.2011

Last Modified: August 12, 2008
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