Plant Physiology & Genetics Research Unit

USDA-ARS, Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center

John M. Dyer Research Molecular Biologist Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center 21881 North Cardon Lane Maricopa, Arizona, USA 85138 520-316-6356 (Office) 520-316-6424 (Lab) 520-316-6330 (FAX)   john.dyer@ars.usda.gov

 

Education

 

Post-Doctoral fellow, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 1993-1996

Ph.D. Biochemistry, Louisiana State University, 1993

B.A. Chemistry, Louisiana Tech University, 1988

 

Research Interests

My research program focuses on the production of industrially important oils and biofuels in crop plants.  These types of oils represent renewable, environmentally friendly sources of fuel and chemical feedstocks that are typically derived from nonrenewable petroleum.  Experimental approaches include the identification and functional analysis of genes and enzymes involved in the production of industrially important fatty acids (e.g., fatty acids containing hydroxy groups or conjugated double bonds), expression of genes in yeast or plant cell culture to gain insight to the targeting, assembly and post-translational regulation of the encoded enzymes, and metabolic engineering of plants and microbes for production of value-added oils.