Robert Last
Michigan State University‘s (MSU; USA) Robert Last studies tomatoes. Specifically, he researches their hair, or trichomes.
For this study, he focused on a single type of molecule in trichomes – acyl sugars. The secrets Last and a team of MSU scientists found from studying these specialized metabolites open an evolutionary window for the emerging field of plant defence metabolism, insights that could lead to engineering advances for better pest resistance and human medicine.