With the possible threat of chemical warfare, researchers at Penn State have begun developing a new way to warn of bioterrorism.

Under a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Jack Schultz, professor of entomology, and Ramesh Raina, assistant professor of biology, are attempting to genetically engineer plants that can detect the presence of harmful chemical agents.

The researchers want to take plants and design them to respond to specific stimuli, Schultz said.

"The goal of the grant is to try developing plants for war-related events," he said. "We want plants to be environmental monitors."

Schultz's main responsibility is to "torture" the plants and see what they can respond to and if those responses can be seen in a more natural environment.

In order to analyze the various receptors, Schultz dissects the plants and then inserts different genes.

"We are trying to discover sensors that plants have and position them with genes that would report a response," Schultz said.

Bruce McPheron, associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said a lot of the work done in the college depends upon understanding how plants react to their environment.

Schultz and Raina are attempting to look at how plants respond to microorganisms that could be dangerous to humans, McPheron said.

"Dr. Schultz and Dr. Raina might be able to develop plants that can tell us when a microorganism enters into the field," he said.

Raina said they have chosen the Arabidopsis plant to work with because the entire genome has been sequenced and is publicly known.

"We understand this plant the most out of any plant. This is the model plant," he said.

Raina said they grow several hundred of the Arabidopsis and screen them for different chemicals or pathogens to identify the receptors that are involved in sensing them.

"The interest of the Department of Defense is to build plants that can sense chemicals used in biological warfare," Raina said.

These plants will be grown in places where officials would like to keep track of the entrance of different chemicals and pathogens, Schultz said.

"Prime locations would be by runways of airports and lobbies in buildings," he said.

After the plants have been engineered, the researchers plan to analyze them to discover what they sensed, or if they sensed a particular chemical, Schultz said. If the plants notice changes in the environment they will glow when a light with a particular wavelength is shined on them.

"The plan is to have a plant that detects chemical X and a plant that detects chemical Y -- each plant shining the same way, but indicating a different response," Schultz said.

Not only can the plants help warn against bioterrorism, McPheron said, but they can also protect the country's food source.

"We are trying to protect food and we are concerned with how," he said.

What the research is really doing is getting a very good understanding of the plants' physiology, McPheron said. The plants' reaction will reveal if they are being attacked by a virus or a fungus, which will allow scientists to act fast in finding a solution, he said.

"The long-term results of this research will make us even better able to protect plants for agricultural purposes," McPheron said.