BANGOR – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded two grants totaling more than $350,000 to the University of Maine in Orono for scientific research.

The funding is being made available through the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, according to an announcement made by U.S. Rep. John Baldacci.

Specifically, a grant of $180,000 will be used by the department of biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology, under the direction of Carol Kim, to study methods for detecting food-borne pathogens. Additionally, a grant of $176,000 will enable the department of plant biology and pathology, under the direction of Jody Jellison, to study wood modification by brown rot fungi.