JS: Yes, I'm Janine Sherrier. I' m an associate professor of Plant Developmental Biology at the University of Delaware. And at Delaware I run a research team on plant microbe interactions. I'm also a teacher and I teach Plant Developmental Biology and I also teach a course on Plant Biotechnology. Originally I'm from Missouri, but I did my training across the world and really started in Texas where I earned my P.H.D. After that I worked in England for six years. I did three years post-doctoral training in genetics in a genetics laboratory at the Johnan Institute. I did three years post-doctoral training in the biochemistry department at the University of Cambridge and then migrated back to the U.S. where I've been a professor for five years.

What does transgenic mean to you?

JS: To me transgenic means moving DNA from a distally related organism into another organism. And another subtle version of transgenics is when you introduce a genetic change in an organism using modern molecular techniques.

What's controversial about transgenics?

JS: Well one example in plant biology that's controversial is a lot of consumers are concerned about unpredictable changes that might occur when you use biotechnology to generate new food. One thing we need to think about though is when we use traditional breeding we also introduce unpredictable changes into a plant. So if we want to think about it, what we need to do is know that with biotechnology we can produce food that is as safe or safer than food produced with traditional breeding methods.

How do you use biotechnology in your research?

JS: In my research we really use biotechnology to really understand how a plant cell works. So we are interested in how specific proteins are important in controlling plant microbe interactions. So we want to know where the proteins are, meaning what cells they're in, where they are in the cell and what they're doing in the cell. And we use biotechnology to answer those questions.

What is the advantage of the biotechnological tools in your research?

JS: By far the greatest advantage of these tools is that we can get our work done much faster than any other traditional method. But also, biotechnology really expands the range of questions that we can ask. There are some things, some problems in science that we could not address using traditional methods. And biotechnology is just another tool for us to effectively address plant development.

Why should the average consumer care? How does your research benefit the average consumer?

JS: Well that's a really good question. So what we study is the interaction of plants with bacteria in the soil. And most people think of bacteria as causing disease, but in our case the bacteria that we study cause, they're involved in a beneficial interaction with the plants. So they cause the plant to be able to grow in nutrient deplete soils. Specifically in nitrogen depleted soils. And since over a quarter of the world's arable soil is nitrogen deplete plants that have the ability to interact with this bacterium and gain the nutrient nitrogen are at a great advantage. And the plants that are able to do this aren't exotic, they're legumes like peas, soybeans, lima beans, things that we eat every day. So what we study using biotechnology really has a broad impact on the world's sustainable agriculture.

What is the role of academic scientists in educating the public about biotechnology?

JS: Academic scientists have a very important role in educating the public about biotechnology. So we do that through educating our students or through outreach in educating the public. And I think academic scientists should take a neutral role in biotechnology education. We should provide students with the facts and allow students to make up their minds about the benefits and limitations of biotechnology.

What should the average person learn about genetic engineering?

JS: Biotechnology has impacted our society and now has become a mainstream approach to produce new foods, new medicines, new oils. And just like anything that impacts your life, a consumer should be well-informed.

What is one of the one most promising benefits that you see in the future for plant biotechnology?

JS: Currently we think of plants as only sources of food and fiber production, but in reality plants are really amazing factories which can harvest the energy from sunshine and use that energy to produce an array of products. So in the future we will be able to use plants to produce oil as substitutes for petroleum and also as a production platform for pharmaceuticals.