Because of the needs in research related to alternative fuels, an interdisciplinary project with jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.), a biofuel plant was initiated in 2007. The project included the establishment of a germplasm collection with accessions from around the world, followed by selection and breeding aiming at domestication and genetic improvement, and subsequently cultivar development and release. Additional studies involved the elucidation of cultivation practices, evaluation of genetic diversity in accessions, and the development of in vitro clonal propagation systems. A series of jatropha videos can be found at our UF Jatropha channel in YouTube.

Our most cutting edge research is aimed at studies of plant cell growth and development in space, including differential gene expression as affected by microgravity. Such studies assisted in laying the groundwork for the utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory and may lead to significant discoveries as related to plant biology, medicine and space science in the future. We conducted experiments on 5 spaceflights, including 4 missions in the ISS (STS-118, STS-130, STS-132, and STS-133), and one mission in the last space shuttle, Atlantis, STS-135. Species studied included orchids, flowering trees, jatropha and Arabidopsis.