EDUCATION

-Master of Science. Plant Physiology and Biotechnology (1999). Texas A&M University. USA.

-Engineer in Agricultural Production, College of Agriculture, Argentine Catholic University (1995). Argentina. 

Research Interest:

My current research project has the long term goal of improving the nutritional quality of sorghum grains to be used for human consumption. Sorghum is one of the main staple crops in many developing countries, particularly those with extreme temperature regimes and drought conditions.

Sorghum nutritional characteristics are similar to those of maize but very little information is available regarding the synthesis and accumulation of carotenoids in sorghum endosperm. Carotenoids are a group of compounds associated to beneficial health effects and some of them considered precursors of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency affects approximately 250 million poor people in the semi-arid region of Africa and Asia, is the primary cause of blindness, increased children and pregnant women mortality and susceptibility to malaria.

My research project involves the genetic and biochemical characterization of carotenoid biosynthesis in sorghum endosperm using QTL analysis and association studies. Once structural and/or regulatory genes are cloned and mapped and superior alleles identified, these resources could be incorporated in a breeding program to obtain sorghum materials with high provitaminA content. Increasing the carotenoid content of sorghum through ÒbiofortificationÓ could have a great impact on food security and health of poor people in developing countries.

WORK EXPERIENCE

NIDERA SEMILLAS S.A.(2000-2002)
R&D Department
Sorghum breeder junior.
Venado Tuerto. Argentina. 

AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY (1996-1997)
Cyanamid of Argentina
R&D Department
Regulatory Affairs Supervisor
Buenos Aires. Argentina

Publications

Hamblin, MT, MG Salas Fernandez, AM Casa, SE Mitchell, AH Paterson, and S Kresovich 2005.  Equilibrium processes cannot explain high levels of short- and medium-range linkage disequilibrium in the domesticated grass Sorghum bicolor. Genetics 171: 1247-1256.

Salas MG, Park SH, Srivatanakul M, and Smith RH. 2001. Temperature influence on stable T-DNA integration in plant cells. Plant Cell Rep. 20:701-705.

Srivatanakul M, Park SH, Salas MG and Smith RH. 2001.Transformation parameters enhancing T-DNA expression in kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus). J. Plant Physiol 158:255-260.

Srivatanakul M, Park SH, Sanders JR, Salas MG and Smith RH. 2000. Multiple shoot regeneration of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) from a shoot apex culture system. Plant Cell Reports 19:1165-1170.

Park SH, Lee BM, Salas MG, Srivatanakul M and Smith RH. 2000. Shorter T-DNA or additional virulence genes improve Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Theor Appl Genet 101:1015-1020.

Srivatanakul M, Park SH, Salas MG and Smith RH. 2000. Additional virulence genes influence transgene expression: transgene copy number, integration pattern and expression. J. Plant Physiol. 157:685-690 

Zapata C, Srivatanakul M, Park SH, Lee BM, Salas MG and Smith RH. 1999. Improvements in shoot apex regeneration of two fiber crops: cotton and kenaf. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 56: 185-191