University of Georgia Department of Plant Biology

Ph.D Grass Comparative Genomics, State University Ghent, Belgium 1992

The research in my lab is targeted on enhancing our understanding of the organization of grass genomes, in particular wheat, millets and switchgrass, a biofuel crop. This is done through genetic and genomic analyses in the target species themselves, as well as through comparative analyses between crop and sequenced model genomes.

• NSF – Plant Genome (2010 – 2013) Collaborative Research: The genome effects of selection for herbicide resistance in green foxtail.
• USDA-CSREES-CBGP-0011 (2008-2011) Integrated approaches to improving ethanol production from pearl millet – a crop for marginal lands (Co-PI)
• USDA-NRI (2008-1010), ‘Development of genomic and genetic tools for foxtail millet, and use of these tools in the improvement of biomass production for bioenergy crops (Co-PI)
• NSF – Plant genome (2007-2010), ‘Gaining insight into the organization and evolution of genomes through wheat – Brachypodium – rice comparative analysis’ (PI)
• DOE (2007-2012), ‘BioEnergy Science Center (Switchgrass subgroup) (Co-PI)
• USDA-NRI (2007-2010), ‘Resource development in switchgrass, an important bioenergy crop for the USA’ (PI)

• BBSRC Fellowship (1996-2001)
• STAFF Visiting Research Fellowship, Japan (Jan - March 1998)
• ISIS Fellowship (Dec. 2000 - March 2001)

• Devos KM (2010) Grass genome organization and evolution. Current Opinion in Plant Biol 12:139-145
• Devos KM, Doležel J, Feuillet C (2009) Genome organization and comparative genomics. In: Wheat, Science and Trade (Carver B, ed) pp.327-368
• Doust AN, Kellogg EA, Devos KM, Bennetzen JL (2009) Foxtail millet (Setaria italica): a sequence-driven grass model system. Plant Physiology 149:137-141
• Devos KM, Costa de Oliveira A, Xu X, Estill JC, Estep M, Jogi A, Morales M, Pinheiro J, San Miguel P, Bennetzen JL (2008) Structure and organization of the wheat genome – the number of genes in the hexaploid wheat genome. In: Appels R, Esatwood R, Lagudah E, Langridge P, Mackay M, McIntyre L, Sharp P (eds) Proc 11th Int Wheat Genet Symp. Sydney, Sydney University Press, eO24, pp1-5
• Dida MM, Wanyera N, Harrison-Dunn ML, Bennetzen JL, Devos KM (2008) Population structure and diversity in finger millet (Eleusine coracana) germplasm. Tropical Plant Biology 1:131-141
• Srinivasachary, Dida MM, Gale MD, Devos KM (2007) Comparative analyses reveal high levels of conserved colinearity between the finger millet and rice genomes. Theor Appl Genet 115:489-499
• Nagy ED, Lee T-C, Ramakrishna W, Xu Z, Klein PE, SanMiguel P, Cheng C-P, Li J, Devos KM, Schertz K, Dunkle L, Bennetzen JL (2007) Fine mapping of the Pc locus of Sorghum bicolor, a gene controlling the reaction to a fungal pathogen and its host-selective toxin. Theor Appl Genet 114:961-970
• Dida MM, Srinivasachary, Ramakrishnan S, Bennetzen JL, Devos KM (2006) The genetic map of finger millet, Eleusine coracana. Theor Appl Genetics 114:321-332
• Appleford NEJ, Evans DJ, Lenton JR Gaskin P, Croker SJ, Devos KM, Phillips AL, Hedden P (2006) Function and transcript analysis of gibberellin-biosynthetic enzymes in wheat. Planta 223:568-582

• Crop Science Society of America,
• American Association for the Advancement of Science,
• The Belgian Society of Biochemical and Molecular Biology ,
• The British Genetical Society,