Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Biochemical Genetics Lab
Led by Jeongim Kim · Horticultural Sciences
What we study
The lab studies how plants make natural products and how stress affects these processes. They use genetic tools to improve crop yield, stress resilience, and nutritional value.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Plants
- No coding
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 6
Current projects
Unraveling the metabolic networks underlying plant stress adaptation
This NSF-CAREER project studies how plants adapt to stress through metabolic changes.
Nickel Farming: Improving a US-native Hyperaccumulator Plant for Commercial Cultivation
This DOE-ARPA-E project develops genetic tools to use a nickel-accumulating plant for mining.
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Elucidating the Role of the 5′ UTR in the Translation Efficiency of MYB28
The lab studies how a short DNA segment before a plant gene controls how much protein is made, affecting natural chemicals in Arabidopsis. The student created CRISPR‑edited plants and measured higher levels of those chemicals.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 132
Genetic Modification of Scutellaria barbata via Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation
Researchers are trying to create a method to insert new genes into the medicinal plant Scutellaria barbata so it makes more health‑beneficial compounds. The student worked on the gene‑insertion technique and will test the resulting plants.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 103
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Unlocking translational control of specialized metabolism in plants through 5′UTR structure
2026 · Science Advances
Discovers how a gene controls plant chemical production in Arabidopsis.
- Postharvest Lettuce Discoloration: Current Understanding and Future Directions
2026 · Agriculture
Reviews why lettuce turns brown after harvest and how to stop it.
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- Hydroxycinnamoyl compounds, flavonols, anthocyanins, sugar profiles, and antioxidant activity of low-chill peach, nectarine, and plum cultivars grown in Florida, USA
2026 · Food Chemistry
- The airborne herbivore‐induced plant volatile indole is converted to benzoxazinoid defense compounds in maize plants
2025 · New Phytologist
Investigates how maize plants convert volatile indole signals into defense compounds.
- Escarolas y endivias: hortalizas nutritivas con alto potencial para Florida
2025 · EDIS
Explores how escarolas and endivias, nutritious greens, grow in Florida and other states, and their challenges like pests and post-harvest issues.
- Tomato pollen tube growth requires flavonol glycosylation
2025 · PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Shows how two flavonol glycosides, K2 and Q2, help tomato pollen tubes grow by attaching sugars to flavonols.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Jeongim Kim hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.