Plant Genetics
Plant genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity specifically in Plants. It is generally considered a field of biology and botany, but intersects frequently with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems. Plant genetics is similar in many ways to animal genetics but differs in a few key areas.
The discoverer of genetics is Gregor Mendel, a late 19th-century scientist and Augustinian friar. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring. He observed that organisms (most famously pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene. Much of Mendel's work with plants still forms the basis for modern plant genetics.
Plants, like all known organisms, use DNA to pass on their traits. Animal genetics often focuses on parentage and lineage, but this can sometimes be difficult in plant genetics due to the fact that plants can, unlike most animals, can self-fertilize. Speciation can be easier in many plants due to unique genetic abilities, such as being well adapted to polyploidy. Plants are unique in that they are able to produce energy-dense carbohydrates via photosynthesis, a process which is achieved by use of a structure mostly exclusive to plants: chloroplasts. Chloroplasts, like the superficially similar mitochondria, possess their own DNA. Chloroplasts thus provide an additional reservoir for genes and genetic diversity, and an extra layer of genetic complexity not found in animals.
The study of plant genetics has major economic impacts: many staple crops are genetically modified to increase yields, confer pest and disease resistance, provide resistance to herbicides, or to increase their nutritional value.
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Matching Plant Genetics Colleges
Purdue University-Main Campus
Four or more years; Public; $28,520 average out-state tuition; $9,718 average in-state tuition |
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Four or more years; Public; $37,161 average out-state tuition; $9,273 average in-state tuition |
Michigan State University
Four or more years; Public; $41,290 average out-state tuition; $15,966 average in-state tuition |
Scholarships for Plant Genetics Majors
Edith Nourse Rogers STEM ScholarshipU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
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award Up to $30,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Jewel Scholars Program - Mount Mary CollegeMount Mary College |
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award $27,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Lumpkins Family Merit Scholarship in the College of ScienceUniversity of Notre Dame |
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award $25,000 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Quantitative Biology Research Community (QBReC) FellowshipBrandeis University |
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award Up to $20,500 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Bess Heflin FellowshipUniversity of Texas at Austin, Office of Graduate Studies |
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award $19,000 |
deadline Varies |
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National Space Club Keynote ScholarshipNational Space Club |
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award $15,000 |
deadline December 04, 2023 |
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Alice P. Gast STEM ScholarshipLehigh University |
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award $12,500 |
deadline January 15, 2024 |
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SOLV Energy Women in Solar ScholarshipSolar Energy International (SEI) |
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award $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
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EAGLES Scholarship - PSUPortland State University |
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award $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Allman Medical ScholarshipMiss America Pageant |
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award Up to $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
Plant Genetics Related Majors
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences
- Biochemistry
- Biomedical Sciences
- Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- Zoology/Animal Biology
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Neuroscience
- Biology
- Wildlife Biology
- Physiology
- Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
- Pharmacology
- Biotechnology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Anatomy
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences
- Cell Biology and Anatomy
- Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
- Human/Medical Genetics