Manipulation of Guaiacyl and Syringyl Monomer Biosynthesis in an Arabidopsis Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase Mutant Results in Atypical Lignin Biosynthesis and Modified Cell Wall Structure

Author Profile

Nickolas A. Anderson

Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate for Heartland Plant Innovations in Manhattan, KS.

Education: PhD (2014) in Biochemistry at Purdue University and B.S (2007) in Biochemistry at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Non-scientific Interests: Woodworking, baking, and spending time up at my cabin in Minnesota.

I grew up on a farm in the beautiful, yet unincorporated town of Gotha, Minnesota. As a boy, I would read my father's farming journals and became very interested in all of the new advancements and technologies that were available to farmers. This made me want to become an agricultural scientist and, with equal parts ambition and naiveté, I started my training at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. There, I was very fortunate to work for the USDA with the inspiring Dr. Gautam Sarath who encouraged me to continue with my education. I then traveled to Purdue University and worked with the wonderful Dr. Clint Chapple studying specialized plant metabolism. My project was part of the DOE funded C3BIO group and focused on generating new lignin variants that have potential to increase the efficiency of cell wall degradation, the focus of this paper. I now use my background in specialized plant metabolism to study compounds that contribute to the enhancement of nutrition and flavor in wheat at Heartland Plant Innovations in Manhattan, Kansas.