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Jane Bradbury
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I investigate how chemical ecology drives the process of plant domestication and the development of agricultural systems. Informally, I inquire what do people want from their crops and how do they get it? This curiosity spans a wide variety of research questions including ethnobotanical, biochemical, genetic, and agroecological approaches to understanding the complex ecology that exists between plants, pathogens, and humans in the agricultural system.
Specifically, my recent research projects have focused on domestication and crop toxicity, specializing in two traditional crops native to South America that have retained toxicity in the domesticated form: “oca” (Oxalis tuberosa Molina) and “cassava” (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Both crops display an interesting syndrome of domestication whereby both toxic and non-toxic varieties are maintained, each with unique cultural customs of food preparation. These crops provide a new research model to address the conflicting artificial and natural selective pressures present in agricultural systems. Broadly, I hope to use my research in this area to provide insight into new strategies for managing selective conflicts in non-traditional agricultural systems.
Publications and presentations:
Publications—in print or review
Bradbury, E J, A
Duputié, M Delêtre, E Emshwiller, C Roullier, A Narvaez-Trujillo, J
AManu-Aduening, D McKey, in review.
Genetic differentiation of bitter and sweet cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz; Euphorbiaceae): an analysis at global and
continental levels. American Journal of Botany.
Bradbury, E J and E Emshwiller, 2011. The Role of Organic Acids in the Domestication of Oxalis tuberosa: A New Model for Studying Domestication Resulting in Opposing Crop Phenotypes. Economic Botany 65 (1): 76 – 84.
Publications—in preparation
Bradbury, E J, A G Gardner, and E Emshwiller, in preparation. New Approaches to
Teaching Plant Life Cycles: Pedagogy to Address Misconceptions and an Interactive Life
Cycles Explorer. Journal of College Science Teaching. Anticipated submission: March
2012.
Bradbury, E J, E Emshwiller, and D Tay, in preparation. The Role of Organic Acids in the Domestication of Oxalis tuberosa: (2) Tuber Organic Acid Content and Traditional
Use-Categories in Quechua and Aymara Communities. Journal of Agriculture and Food
Chemistry. Anticipated submission: March 2012.
Bradbury, E J, E Emshwiller, I Manrique, and D Tay, in preparation. The Role of
Organic Acids in the Domestication of Oxalis tuberosa: (3) Genetic Differentiation of
Traditional Use-Categories in Quechua and Aymara
Communities. Theoretical and
Applied Genetics. Anticipated
submission: June 2012.
Bradbury, E J, E Emshwiller, and D Tay, in preparation. The Role of Organic Acids in the Domestication of Oxalis tuberosa: (4) The Effect of Ploidy on Organic Acid
Production. Journal of
Evolutionary Biology. Anticipated submission: August 2012.
Presentations at Scientific Conferences
2011 The Role of Organic Acids in the
Domestication of Oxalis tuberosa: (2)
Organic Acid Accumulation in Oca Tubers. Oral presentation. Botany 2011 Conference (joint congress
of Botanical Society of America, Society for Economic Botany, American Society
of Plant Taxonomists, and American Fern Society), St. Louis, MO.
2011 Genetic Differentiation of Bitter and Sweet
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz):
New Analyses Distinguish Between Competing Hypotheses of Genetic Drift and
Migration. Oral
presentation. Botany 2011
Conference (joint congress of Botanical
Society of America, Society for Economic Botany, American Society of Plant
Taxonomists, and American Fern Society), St. Louis, MO.
2009 Genetic Differentiation of Bitter and Sweet
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz):
an Introductory Analysis at the Global and Continental Levels. Oral
presentation. Annual Meeting; Society for Economic Botany, Charleston, SC.
2009 Oxalic Acid and the Tuber pH of Oca (Oxalis tuberosa Molina): an initial
investigation into the role of organic acids in the domestication of oca. Poster.
Annual Meeting; Society for Economic Botany, Charleston, SC. Received Honorable
Mention for the Julie F. Morton Award for best contributed
student poster.
2007 Communicating Understanding of Introductory
Botany Life Cycles: Visual and Verbal Approaches. Oral presentation. Botany 2007 Conference (joint congress of
the Botanical Society of America, American Fern Society, American Society of
Plant
Taxonomists, and American Society of Plant Physiologists), Chicago, IL.
2006 A Survey of the Vascular Flora of Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve: the Effects of Burning on the Upper Coastal Plain. Oral presentation. Annual Meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists, Gatlinburg, TN.