In keeping with the long tradition of excellence in basic and applied plant sciences at UW Madison, the CMB plant biology focus group is a vibrant and collaborative research community with a strong commitment to graduate training. With researchers from many departments including Agronomy, Biochemistry, Botany, Genetics, Horticulture, Microbial Sciences, and Plant Pathology, the CMB plant biology focus group plays a major role in keeping UW Madison at the forefront of plant science research.<br><br>The focus group has strong research programs in the areas of plant development, cell biology, epigenetic regulation of gene expression, ion transport, gravity/mechano sensing, plant/microbe interactions, pathogen defense, and sustainable agricultural practices. Research in these areas make use of agronomically important crop plants (e.g. maize and soybean) as well as a variety of model plant systems including Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, and Medicago. These plant systems offer many advantages for genetic and biochemical investigations and provide opportunities for training in a wide variety of cutting-edge techniques and approaches, ranging from forward and reverse genetics, advanced live-cell and electron microscopy, to state-of-the-art proteomic, metabolomic and bioinformatic methods.