Randall Niedz PhD: Michigan State University, 1987 Affiliate Professor Research interests: plant cell, tissue and organ culture. Contact information Position: Research Geneticist Institution: U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Address: 2001 South Rock Road, Ft. Pierce, FL 34945-3030 Telephone:Office - (772) 462-5919, Cell - (772) 261-2278 Fax:(772) 462-5961 Email: rniedz@ushrl.ars.usda.gov http://www.ars-grin.gov/ars/SoAtlantic/fp/hb/niedz/niedz.html

Research interests
Dr. Niedz is a Research Geneticist conducting research on the development and application of cellular and molecular breeding methods for citrus scion and rootstock variety improvement. These methods are used to transfer known sources of resistance to diseases, pests, and environmental stresses, to improve the horticultural quality of the fruit and tree, and to develop populations suitable for the genetic characterization of these traits in citrus. Specific objectives include the development of seedless citrus, control of tree size and architecture for efficient production and harvesting, and regeneration of trees from high value cell types, tissues, or organs (e.g., immature pollen grains) for citrus genomic studies and mutant isolation.

Recent publications
Niedz, R.P., Hyndman, S.E., Evens, T.J. Using a gestalt to measure the quality of in vitro responses. Scientia Horticulturae 112:349-359, 2007.

Niedz, R.P. and Evens, T.J. A solution to the problem of ion confounding in experimental biology. Nature Methods 3:417, 2006.

Niedz, R.P. Regeneration of somatic embryos from sweet orange (C. sinensis) protoplasts using semi-permeable membranes. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant 84:353-357, 2006.

Maul, P., Bausher, M., McCollum, G., Mozoruk, J., Niedz, R. CsHPt1, a putative histidine-containing phosphotransmitter protein induced during early somatic embryogenesis in Valencia sweet orange. Plant Sci. 170:44-53, 2006.

Shatters, R., Bausher, M., Hunter, W., Chaparro, J., Dang, P., Niedz, R., Mayer, R., McCollum, G., Sinisterra, X. Putative protease inhibitor gene discovery and transcript profiling during fruit development and leaf damage in grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.). Gene 326:77-86, 2004.

Bausher, M., Shatters, R., Chaparro, J., Dang, P., Hunter, W., Niedz, R. An Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) set from Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck whole seedlings and the implications of further perennial source investigations. Plant Science 165:415-422, 2003.

Niedz, R.P., Shatters, R.G., Bowman, K.D., McCollum, G., Bausher, M.G., Hunter, W.B., and Chaparro, J.X. The role of genomics in citrus improvement. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 116:278-282, 2003.

Niedz, R.P., McKendree, W.L., Shatters, R.G. Jr. Electroporation of embryogenic protoplasts of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and regeneration of transformed plants. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant 39:586-594, 2003.

Niedz, R.P., Hyndman, S.E., Wynn, E.T., Bausher, M.G. Normalizing sweet orange (C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck) somatic embryogenesis with semi-permeable membranes. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant 38:552-557, 2002.

Niedz, R.P. and Bausher, M.G. Control of in vitro contamination of explants from greenhouse- and field-grown trees. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant 38:468-471, 2002.