One of Canadian Science Publishing’s longstanding journals, Genome, is welcoming a new editor: Dr. Lewis Lukens from the University of Guelph. Dr. Lukens’s research focuses on bioinformatics and quantitative genetics, and here he discusses his start in the field and the many important applications of plant genetics.
Meet the Editor: Genome
What attracted you to the study of genetics, specifically in plants?
My interest came haphazardly. I majored in German literature, but shortly after graduating from university, I was interested in medical school. I spent a year at the University of Minnesota taking the science courses for medical school admission and getting research experience. I worked in a yeast genetics lab and down the hall was a plant geneticist. I got to know that person’s work and became very interested in it.
When people think genetics, they might think about human evolution and DNA. Why is it important to look at plant genetics as well?
Plant genetics is important for several reasons. For one, plants produce feed and food as well as fibre and medicinal compounds. Without the past improvements in genetics that increased the quality and quantity of feed and food, we could sustain only a fraction of our current population and use a much larger amount of land to do it. Plant genetic variation also fulfills specific human needs. For example, different wheat cultivars have different milling and baking qualities. Different apple cultivars have different textures and flavours. Finally, plants have formed the backbone of genetics discovery. Of course, [Gregor] Mendel worked on peas. More recently key advances in plant quantitative genetics and small RNA gene silencing have had enormous impact across diverse fields.
How do you think studying genetics can help society in the future?
For plants, the answer to this question is largely the same as above. Plant genetics research provides food, helps the environment, and provides us with innumerable products and gives us many interesting things to eat and to look at.
How did you end up as an Associate Professor in the Plant Agriculture Department at the University of Guelph?
I earned my BA at Carleton College, a liberal arts college in Minnesota. After graduation, I became interested in medical school. I took science courses at the University of Minnesota, learned of Dr. John Doebley’s plant genetics research, and signed up to do a PhD with him. I did a brief two-year post-doc after that with Dr. Tom Osborn at the University of Wisconsin and then moved on to Guelph. At Guelph, I have mostly worked on understanding the inheritance of agriculturally important crop plant traits and the molecular bases for this inheritance. The lab has also studied crop plant responses to developmental and environmental cues and the genetics of gene regulation.
The scientific process is iterative, continually building on research and failed experiments. With that in mind, what keeps you motivated?
I enjoy working on challenging tasks and making discoveries. Genetic research helps society, and the social importance of the work is another key motivation.
How do you spend your free time when you’re not busy teaching or doing research?
I like visiting with people and playing sports. I play soccer, squash, and tennis, and I like to cycle and hike.
