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PhD Studentship: Impact of increasing environmental CO2 on plant immunity

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Closing date
Dec 12, 2018

Job Details

Details

Global climate change, including anthropogenic activity, has raised atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) level significantly (~40%) from the pre-industrial era. This is predicted to rise further over the course of the 21st century, and will have significant impact on productivity of the world's most important food crops. Whilst it has been speculated that this may increase crop productivity due to a “carbon fertiliser” effect, the impact this will have on the interactions between crop plants and their pathogens and pests is unknown.
The world's growing population challenges humanity to increase food production by 70% in the next 40 years. However, pathogens can claim up to 40% of crop yields. Filamentous pathogens (e.g. fungi and oomycetes) are exceptionally problematic to control as their evolutionary capacity makes them highly proficient at overcoming the resistance offered by genes or chemical pesticides. Current methods of control depend largely on the use of pesticides, but their use is under strict European regulation due to their toxicity. Therefore, it is urgent to develop alternative strategies to control diseases.
Recently, several studies have reported on the detailed mechanisms by which elevated CO2 (eCO2) can impact plant resistance to disease. For example, changes in CO2 concentration alter the capacity of some plants to express priming of defence, a phenomenon that can generally be understood as a plant vaccine and results on a faster and stronger defence response against pathogens. However, these studies have largely focussed on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In crop and tree species, only a handful of primarily descriptive studies have explored such interactions, and mechanistic insights are missing. Importantly, the effect of eCO2 on pathogen behaviour and virulence has not been reported.

The primary objective of this PhD project is to gain a mechanistic understanding of how plant immunity and pathogen infection strategies will be modified in a future eCO2 world.

Using knowledge gained from A. thaliana as a springboard, this project will explore the impact of eCO2 on disease resistance in two economically-relevant crops, wheat and tomato, and different tree species in a mature forest (including oak trees), against filamentous pathogens. Both crop species have fully sequenced genomes, significant genetic resources and available germplasm plus tractable model pathosystems which will facilitate a wide range of experimental approaches. Translational experiments in trees will offer opportunities for method development.

It is expected that the project will focus on the following key areas;

  • Pathogen bioassays to assess any change in resistance or susceptibility of both plants to a panel of necrotrophic and (hemi)biotrophic filamentous pathogens.
  • Virulence assays in order to assess the impact of eCO2 in pathogen infection strategies.
  • Investigation into the expression of priming at different mechanistic levels: gene expression, plant hormone levels and other signalling components.
  • Impact of eCO2 on the robustness of the PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) branches of the plant immune system.
  • Role of plant physical barriers and surface structures such as stomata and trichomes on relative susceptibility to pathogens under eCO2 conditions.
  • In situ analysis of impacts of CO2 in a natural mature woodland on tree immunity through experiments performed at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) facilities in Staffordshire.


This exciting project will use breakthrough methodology in reproducing future climate conditions to provide the perfect comparative platform for identification of the effect of rising CO2 concentration in the capacity of pathogens to infect, and plants to defend themselves. This work will provide a revolutionary steps-ahead strategy in the fight against biological threats that will contribute towards food security.

Funding Notes

This project is offered through the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP). The MIBTP is a BBSRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) between the University of Warwick, the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester.

References

  • Beerling, D. J., et al. (2018). "Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security." Nature Plants 4(3): 138-147.
  • Williams, A., et al. (2018). "Mechanisms of glacial-to-future atmospheric CO2 effects on plant immunity." New Phytologist 218(2): 752-761
  • Mauch-Mani, B., et al. (2017). "Defense priming: an adaptive part of induced resistance." Annual Review of Plant Biology 68(1): 485-512.

















 

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Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

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