Leeds, United Kingdom
June 17, 2009
Biologists are investigating how
to control when plants flower - to help farmers reap a bumper
harvest. The University of
Leeds team will also investigate whether the flowering
process can be made more robust and able to withstand predicted
changes in the climate.
Professor of Plant Development at the University, Brendan
Davies, says: “Flowers are vital to the plant reproduction
process as pollination leads to the development of the fruit,
where the seeds are found. Everything that we eat comes from
flowering plants - even the food that is fed to livestock. This
means that the long-term future of the world’s food supply would
be greatly enhanced if we could predict and control flowering.
Farmers need to be able to plan when their crops should be
harvested and so our study has major significance for
agriculture.”
As part of a three-year European project called BLOOM-NET, the
research team has been awarded £288,000 through the EU to look
into how minute changes in the way genes are expressed in plants
can have a huge impact on when they flower.
Working with computer modelling experts, the plant scientists
will build a digital model that ultimately should be able to
predict the impact of changes in genetic structure in the ‘shoot
apical meristem’– a small cluster of just a few cells that
eventually produce the entire plant, including its flowers. The
model will also calculate the impact of changes in external
factors such as climate.
Professor Davies says: “Flowers are a plant’s reproductive
organs and it is essential for breeding programmes and crop
harvests that farmers and breeders are able to predict when
flowering will take place. This has been done for centuries by
taking note of weather patterns and varying light levels, but we
can now improve on these predictions by adding in other factors
such as minute changes in genetic make-up.
“We now know a great deal about how the genes that control
flowers operate. What we want to find out is how the expression
of these genes, that is the order in which they are turned on
and off, helps to create a flower at a specific time and in
specific environmental conditions. It we could predict, or even
control this process, then over time we may be able to help
farmers improve the quantity and quality of their harvests.”
More information about the
project can be seen at:
www.erapg.org/everyone/16790/18613/19533/19536
Professor Brendan Davies is Director of the Centre for Plant
Sciences at Leeds and his research concentrates on plant
development using molecular genetics and genomics.
The Faculty of Biological
Sciences at the University of Leeds is one of the largest in
the UK, with over 150 academic staff and over 400 postdoctoral
fellows and postgraduate students. The Faculty is ranked 4th in
the UK (Nature Journal, 457 (2009) doi:10.1038/457013a) based on
results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The RAE
feedback noted that “virtually all outputs were assessed as
being recognized internationally, with many (60%) being
internationally excellent or world-leading” in quality. The
Faculty’s research grant portfolio totals some £60M and funders
include charities, research councils, the European Union and
industry.
The University of Leeds is
one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK with
more than 30,000 students from 130 countries and a turnover of
£450m. The University is a member of the Russell Group of
research-intensive universities and the 2008 Research Assessment
Exercise showed it to be among the top UK research powerhouses.
The University's vision is to secure a place among the world's
top 50 by 2015. |
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