Ralph Dewey

Bio

Dr. Dewey received his graduate training in Plant Molecular Biology at North Carolina State University with Dr. C. S. Levings III and Dr. David Timothy as his mentors. Funded by an NSF postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Dewey received additional experience at the Waksman Institute, Rutgers University under the direction of Dr. Daniel F. Klessig. Since 1991, Dr. Dewey has applied the techniques of molecular biology toward the identification and characterization of genes of potential agronomic value as a faculty member in the Department of Crop Science, NCSU.

He team teaches the course Molecular Biology in Plant Breeding (CS/GN/HS 720) together with Dr. Rongda Qu.

Area(s) of Expertise

Plant Molecular Biology, Tobacco Alkaloids, Tobacco Harm Reduction, Genome Editing, Stevia

Publications

• BBL enzymes exhibit enantiospecific preferences in the biosynthesis of pyridine alkaloids in Nicotiana tabacum L. , PHYTOCHEMISTRY (2024)
• Engineering Sclareol Production on the Leaf Surface of Nicotiana tabacum , JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY (2024)
• Cytoplasmic male sterility and abortive seed traits generated through mitochondrial genome editing coupled with allotopic expression of atp1 in tobacco , FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE (2023)
• CLCNt2 Mediates Nitrate Content in Tobacco Leaf, Impacting the Production of Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines in Cured Leaves , FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE (2022)
• Knockout of a key gene of the nicotine biosynthetic pathway severely affects tobacco growth under field, but not greenhouse conditions , BMC RESEARCH NOTES (2022)
• Constitutive activation of nitrate reductase in tobacco alters flowering time and plant biomass , SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2021)
• Discovery of a naturally-occurring allele of eIF4E1.S in Nicotiana tabacum and development of a co-dominant marker , EUPHYTICA (2021)
• Discovery of a novel eIF4E1.S allele conferring PVY resistance in Chinese tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) landraces , PLANT BREEDING (2021)
• An Efficient Stevia rebaudiana Transformation System and In vitro Enzyme Assays Reveal Novel Insights into UGT76G1 Function , SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2020)
• Genetic and Agronomic Analysis of Tobacco Genotypes Exhibiting Reduced Nicotine Accumulation Due to Induced Mutations in Berberine Bridge Like (BBL) Genes , FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE (2020)