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The Bradford Lab

Dr. Bradford's group as of fall 2003.
From left to right: Sunitha Gurusinghe (postdoc), Andres Schwember (MS student), Dr. Kent Bradford, Jason Aryris (Ph.D. student), Peetambar Dahal (Staff Research Associate), and Derek Bewley (sabbatical visitor).

 

Dr. Kent J. Bradford is a professor of the Department of Vegetable Crops and Weed Science, founder and director of the Seed Biotechnology Center, UC Davis.

Dr. Bradford's research interests are focused on seed biology, including:

  1. modeling of germination in seed populations,
  2. genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry of seed germination and dormancy,
  3. seed quality, enhancement and longevity, and
  4. Seed Biotechnology Center.

Dr. Bradford's group uses tomato seeds as their experimental system to investigate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms controlling germination and dormancy. Their research has focused on cell wall hydrolases that might degrade the endosperm cell walls. They have found and investigated a number of genes involved in this process, such as LeMAN2, LeMAN1, LeXET4, GluB, Chi9, and LeEXP4, LeXPG1, LVA-P1, LeEXP8 and LeEXP10. An intriguing recent discovery was the gene LeSNF4 — a subunit of a protein kinase, regulated by ABA — which is involved in sugar-sensing and metabolic regulation. Work in this area is continuing with the support of NSF and USDA-NRICGP grants.

For more information, please visit the Dr. Bradford's website at UC Davis.