Profiles of Leading Women Scientists on AcademiaNet.
Search among the members of the Leopoldina for experts in specific fields or research topics.
Year of election: | 2007 |
Section: | Genetics/Molecular Biology and Cell Biology |
City: | Piscataway, NJ |
Country: | USA |
Research Interests: Molecular and genetic mechanisms of agronomically important quantitative trait,. Molecular biology of plant development, Regulation of gene expression in higher plants, Plant genomics, Bioinformatics
Joachim Messing became the most frequently cited author for the decade of 1981-90 because of the development of the shotgun DNA sequencing method and the use of DNA cloning for genetic engineering, which has revolutionized our knowledge of the human and other genomes. Because of generous unrestricted access his materials and methods became a major enabling force of the early biotechnology industry.
He and his collaborators have also made numerous discoveries of the dynamics of plant genomes. He is also a leader in our knowledge of storage proteins, which are key to our food supply.