Barbara Demmig Adams
- Professor of Distinction
- Director of EBIO Honors Program
- Ph.D., University of Wurzburg, Germany
- EBIO
Ramaley C434 (office)
Research Interests
1) Plant Physiological Ecology: We integrate the ecology, physiology, and anatomy of plants. A unifying theme of our studies is the question of how plants survive and thrive in their natural environment, including extreme conditions. We compare and contrast these characteristics in plant species with different growth patterns and adaptation strategies. Recently, our group has focused on the regulation of photosynthesis by the demand for energy from the whole organism. This research is identifying opportunities to increase the maximal photosynthetic productivity of plants and algae to benefit food and biofuel production. At this time, we are identifying control points through which the leaf鈥檚 pipelines for water supply and sugar-export help maintain high photosynthetic productivity under challenging heat, drought, or cold conditions. At the moment, we are studying plants adapted to cope equally well with blistering summer heat and cold spells in spring or fall; we hope to provide novel targets for crop enhancement. Another topic of interest is optimization of plant growth during long space missions.
2) Topics in human health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability: I sponsor undergraduate independent literature research in this area that often leads to publication of student-authored comprehensive reviews for diverse audiences of clinicians, nutritionists, teachers, and others.
Selected Publications
**undergraduate student author; *graduate student author
Demmig-Adams B, *Stewart JJ, Baker CR, Adams WW III 2018 Optimization of photosynthetic productivity in contrasting environments by regulons controlling plant form and function. International Journal of Molecular Science 19, 3 available at http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/3/872
Demmig-Adams B, *Stewart JJ, Adams WW III 2017 Environmental regulation of maximal photosynthetic capacity. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 37, 34-41 available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369526616301704?via%3Dihub
**Adams MS, **Adams RB, Wessman CA, Demmig-Adams B 2016 Nutritional cues tie living organisms to their environment and its sustainability. Frontiers in Nutrition 3:28 available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4981599/
Demmig-Adams B, *Stewart JJ, *Burch TA, Adams WW III 2014 Insights from placing photosynthetic light harvesting into context. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 5, 2880-2889 available at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jz5010768
**Adams RB, **Egbo KN, Demmig-Adams B 2014 High-dose vitamin C supplements diminish the benefits of exercise in athletic training and disease prevention. Nutrition & Food Science 44 (2), 95-101 available at https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/NFS-03-2013-0038
Cohu CM, **Lombardi E, Adams WW III, Demmig-Adams B 2014 Increased nutritional quality of plants for long-duration space missions through choice of plant variety and manipulation of growth conditions. Acta Astronautica 94, 799-80 available at
**Adams RB, Demmig-Adams B 2013 Impact of contrasting food sources on health versus environment. Nutrition & Food Science 43 (3), 228-235 10.1108/00346651311327873>
Adams WW III, Muller O, Cohu CM, Demmig-Adams B (2013) May photoinhibition be a consequence, rather than a cause, of limited plant productivity? Photosynthesis Research 117: 31-44 available at
Adams WW III, Cohu CM, Muller O, Demmig-Adams B (2013) Foliar phloem infrastructure in support of photosynthesis. Frontiers in Plant Science 4: 194 available at