My name is Sirisupa (Trent) Sripolcharoen. I am an international student from Bangkok, Thailand. I am currently pursuing a degree in Plant Biology at UC Davis. I am working under the guidance of Dr. Allen Van Deynze at the Plant Reproductive Biology building. One of the very first things I remembered from my childhood was watching little orchid plants growing in a glass bottle at my parents’ laboratory. I have always been fascinated with plant tissue culture from a very young age. After completing high school education in Thailand, I chose to enroll in UC Davis because of its prestigious program in plant biology and agriculture. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences at UC Davis I continued my study immediately in the same lab that I interned as an undergrad.
I have worked with Dr. Allen Van Deynze since 2013. Initially, I worked on the regeneration capacity of pepper microspore. I investigated the effect of anther tissue and found that the presence of different genotype of anther tissue can facilitate the regeneration of microspore into a complete haploid plant. This project aimed to help in the creation of haploid plants in one generation which would expedite the process of plant breeding.
Afterward, I started to work on plant transformation for my PhD thesis. I mainly focus on transforming plants that are recalcitrant to traditional transformation method with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. I am experimenting with multiple particle-based delivery systems and optimizing the condition for maximum transformation and regeneration. My focus is in transformation of gametic tissues, such as pollen. In 2018, I was introduced to Dr. Markita Landry from the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering in UC Berkeley. With the help of her lab members and various collaborators, I am now experimenting with carbon nanotubes as a vector to deliver DNA into plant cells with transient expression. I am testing out the particles in pepper, cotton, and spinach since these crops are very difficult to transform. One advantage of using particle-based delivery system is that the transformation is genotype independent, which means that, once developed, the technology can be applied to multiple crops. In addition to transformation, I am also working on abscission pathway in pepper fruit, with the goal of developing mechanical harvestable lines.
Every year, I had a chance to attend the plant breeding retreat held in December. The retreat was a very important opportunity to meet other experts working in the same field, and to get an update on the current technology and research progress. In addition to the research and seminar opportunities, I had an opportunity to TA for Dr. Sharman O’Neill’s class on plant molecular and cellular biology, which was a very valuable experience. After I graduate, I hope to go back to Bangkok and continue my family’s business of orchid tissue culture. With the knowledge of plant transformation, I hope that I can be an expert in the field of genetic engineering in Thailand, and help educate the general public with a goal of mitigating the fear surrounding this technology.
As a PhD student, you will always be faced with daily problems and hurdles. The most important thing to remember is to have resilience and never give up. It is acceptable to take a short mental break so that you can have a clear mind to tackle your problem the very next day.
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