The secret to living fast: why do some plants grow faster than others?

Supervisors: Colin Osborne, Mark Rees (University of Sheffield)

Collaborator: Alistair Rogers (Brookhaven National Lab, USA).

Keywords: plant science, evolution, ecology, crop production, global change

Boosting photosynthesis is widely seen as essential for achieving increased crop production, and this has led to numerous research initiatives aiming to achieve a step change in photosynthetic rates. Out in the field, rising atmospheric CO2 linked to human activities is already beginning to boost photosynthesis, but experiments show that the resultant growth responses vary among species and among genotypes within species. The size of growth responses to enhanced photosynthesis depends on the development of ‘sinks’ to utilize fixed carbon, such as more seeds. However, we currently have no adequate framework for quantifying the limitations on sink development, and this significantly hampers our understanding of source-sink interactions.
The goals of this project are twofold. First, to develop a unified theoretical and methodological framework for understanding growth in terms of tissue development (sink strength), allometry (allocation to leaves verses roots) and physiological activity (photosynthetic carbon- and root nitrogen-uptake). Secondly, to understand how the physiological activity of leaves and roots scales with growth rate, integrating the latest methodological advances in plant science with classic fundamental insights. Methodology will combine state-of-the-art techniques for measuring metabolic activity and growth, with novel modelling methods, and classic understanding of how growth works. Our international collaborator is a world leader in the application of high-throughput metabolic phenotyping. The student will visit our collaborator to apply these methods. The PhD will also provide training in leaf gas exchange analysis, isotope tracer techniques, light microscopy and mathematical modelling. More details are available on request from Colin Osborne (c.p.osborne@sheffield.ac.uk ).

For more information about how to apply, or the application process, please contact Mrs S Carter (s.a.carter@sheffield.ac.uk).

To apply now go to: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/online