Water conservation is an essential consideration in the design and management of California landscapes. Effective strategies that increase water use efficiency must be identified and implemented. One key strategy when landscaping is to group plants with similar water requirements.  By supplying only the amount of water needed to maintain landscape health and appearance, unnecessary applications that exceed plant needs can be avoided.

The laboratory is interested in the relationships between structure and function of biologically important macromolecules.  The lab utilizes the disciplines of X-ray crystallography and Cryo-EM to determine the atomic resolution structures of the macromolecules and higher-ordered complexes. The molecule’s atomic resolution structure provides tremendous insight into understanding how the macromolecule (protein) functions.

Our research integrates functional genomics, metabolomics, biochemical, protein structure-function and genetic tools to decode the biosynthesis, diversity, and biological functions of terpenoid metabolic networks in food, bioenergy and medicinal plants. Our overarching goal is to harness these fundamental insights for developing innovative strategies to improve crop traits and advance terpenoid bioproduct engineering.