PhD project: Improving plant cold tolerance to enhance agricultural resilience to abiotic stress

A PhD project is available in the laboratory of Dr Antony Dodd to investigate the role of chloroplasts and the circadian clock in adapting plants to environmental stress.

Photosynthesis within chloroplasts underlies all agricultural productivity. Correct regulation of chloroplast gene expression is essential for optimum plant performance. This PhD studentship will build on our recent breakthroughs investigating the cell signalling pathways that communicate circadian and environmental information to chloroplasts (Noordally et al. Science 2013; Belbin et al. New Phytol. 2016). The aim of the project is to understand the role of chloroplasts in the adaptation of plants to changes in temperature. Underpinning experiments will be conducted using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and findings will be translated into wheat to understand how these signalling mechanisms improve the environmental responses of a globally-important crop.

The project will provide training in molecular biology, plant physiology, circadian timecourse analysis and the translation of fundamental research into crops.

Funding Notes

This project is competitively-funded through the BBSRC South-West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership