Dr. Michelle Jones is Professor and D.C. Kiplinger Floriculture Endowed Chair.  She received her BS from Iowa State University in Agricultural Biochemistry and her PhD from Purdue University in Horticulture.  After three years on the faculty at Colorado State University she joined the faculty in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University in 2001.

Research in the Jones Floriculture Crop Improvement Lab focuses on improving ornamental plants for both producers and consumers using molecular and physiological approaches. RNA seq experiments have identified genes that are differentially regulated during the senescence of petunia petals.  We are interested in the signaling that occurs between the gynoecium and the petals after pollination to accelerate senescence and the role of plant hormones, like ethylene, in this signaling.  Virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) is used to confirm the functional role of these genes in petal and leaf senescence.  A second focus of the lab is the use of beneficial bacteria to reduce abiotic and biotic stress responses in ornamental plants.  Research is underway to identify bacteria that confer stress tolerance in a variety of greenhouse crops under different greenhouse production systems.