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Mark Alfred Tester (born 6 March 1963 in Tasmania) is an Australian botanist and professor of plant science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, where he is also associate director of the Center for Desert Agriculture. Prior to joining King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in February 2013, he was a professor of plant physiology at the University of Adelaide and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics from 2009 to 2013.

Education

Tester received his BSc with honours in plant sciences from the University of Adelaide in 1984, and his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1988, also in plant sciences. For his PhD, he worked with Enid MacRobbie to study potassium ion channels.

Research

Tester's research aims to understand the molecular processes that allow plants to survive in suboptimal conditions. In 2017, he and his colleagues sequenced the entire genome of quinoa, which he originally started studying to determine how it can tolerate high levels of salt. He has also researched ways to develop genetically modified plants, and he and his colleagues have developed a plant that can tolerate high levels of salt.

Views on genetically modified crops

Tester supports the use of genetically modified crops to reduce poverty. In 2002, he worked as a scientific advisor for a BBC1 drama about GM crops. He subsequently criticised the drama's directors, Alan Rusbridger and Ronan Bennett, stating that they had ignored his criticisms of the piece and produced a documentary "to inflame uninformed anti-GM hysteria". Rusbridger replied by claiming that Tester had changed his mind since he had been shown a copy of the piece's script the previous July, when, according to Rusbridger, his view of the piece was much less critical.

References

1. Butler, Declan (5 February 2015). "Saudi university backs slow road to modernization". Nature News. 518 (7537): 18–19. doi:10.1038/518018a. PMID 25652976.
2. ^ "Mark Tester". King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
3. ^ "Mark Tester CV" (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2017.
4. "Interview with Mark Tester". Trends in Plant Science. 21 (10): 805–806. October 2016. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2016.08.004.
5. Zhang, Cici (8 February 2017). "The quinoa genome could help scientists get it out of the health food aisle". Popular Science. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
6. "Scientists closer to developing salt-tolerant crops". University of Adelaide. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
7. Condon, Michael (19 October 2011). "Scientists debate genetically modified food". ABC Rural. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
8. Tester, Mark (8 July 2009). "GM crops are another tool in the struggle against poverty". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
9. Leonard, Tom (5 June 2002). "GM foods plot a myth, says critic of TV show". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2017.

External links

• Mark Tester publications indexed by Google Scholar

• 20th-century Australian botanists
• Living people
• 1963 births
• People from Tasmania
• Academic staff of the University of Adelaide
• University of Adelaide alumni
• Alumni of the University of Cambridge
• Academic staff of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• 21st-century Australian botanists