Jan. 21, 2025 7:30p
(WGTD)---Carthage College and a chemistry professor have been awarded a nearly $500,000 federal grant to study a virus that hurts potato plants.
The National Science Foundation grant will enable Erin Weber to continue her research that she began as a postdoctoral research assistant at UW-Madison.
This time while at Carthage, Weber will lead a team of nine undergraduate students and a full-time research technician. They will spend part of their time in a lab stocked with new high-end equipment paid for by the grant.
The aim is to gain a better understanding of how the virus infects potato plants by creating two biochemical tools, according to a Carthage news release.
Weber’s study could ultimately help scientists and potato breeders target and promote natural resistance in a plants’ genetic makeup--all in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.
Wisconsin is the third largest potato producing state in the U.S. behind Idaho and Washington.
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