News and Events - University of Nottingham · PDF fileNews and Events Broadley). Thesis...
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News and Events School of Biosciences NEWSLETTER JUNE 2017 From the Editor…… Another plethora of published papers this month from the Division and a breakthrough in understanding how plants seek out water in the soil by hydrotropism. Also the announcement of the Future Food beacon award Kevin SUCCESFUL POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE PLANT AND CROP SCIENCES DIVISION. Diriba Kumssa (Supervisor Martin Broadley). Thesis entitled ‘The role of underutilized crops in alleviating hidden hunger’ Masoud Al-Azri (Supervisor Rumiana Ray). Thesis entitled ‘Modelling crop diseases for food security’ Well done all FUTURE FOODS AND BEACON One of the six new Beacon awards for research across the University is Future Foods headed up by Professor David Salt from the Plant and crop Sciences Division. ‘Future Food addresses the challenge of feeding a growing popula5on in a changing world. In the face of climate change we must develop new, resilient crops. Yields must also increase to feed the addi5onal two billion people expected by 2050. BeCer access to healthier, safer, more nutri5ous food is needed in all countries due to the growing prevalence of pollutants, nutrient deficiencies and over-processed foods. Our researchers have exper5se across the food chain – from soil to molecule to meal – to deliver sustainable solu5ons to global food challenges such as ‘hidden hunger’: less diverse diets, naturally low nutrients in our staple crops, and an increasing reliance on over-processed foods mean that more than a quarter of the world’s popula5on are not geKng the goodness they need from what they eat.’ Their web pages are now live so take a look at what they are up to hBps://www.noEngham.ac.uk/world/beacons/ future-food/
Transcript of News and Events - University of Nottingham · PDF fileNews and Events Broadley). Thesis...
News and Events
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SchoolofBiosciences
NEWSLETTER JUNE 2017
From the Editor……
Another plethora of published papers this month from the Division and a breakthrough in understanding how plants seek out water in the soil by hydrotropism. Also the announcement of the Future Food beacon award
Kevin
SUCCESFUL POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE PLANT AND CROP SCIENCES DIVISION. Diriba Kumssa (Supervisor Martin Broadley). Thesis entitled ‘The role of underutilized crops in alleviating hidden hunger’ Masoud Al-Azri (Supervisor Rumiana Ray). Thesis entitled ‘Modelling crop diseases for food security’ Well done all
FUTURE FOODS AND BEACON OneofthesixnewBeaconawardsforresearchacrosstheUniversityisFutureFoodsheadedupbyProfessorDavidSaltfromthePlantandcropSciencesDivision.‘FutureFoodaddressesthechallengeoffeedingagrowingpopula5oninachangingworld.Inthefaceofclimatechangewemustdevelopnew,resilientcrops.Yieldsmustalsoincreasetofeedtheaddi5onaltwobillionpeopleexpectedby2050.BeCeraccesstohealthier,safer,morenutri5ousfoodisneededinallcountriesduetothegrowingprevalenceofpollutants,nutrientdeficienciesandover-processedfoods.Ourresearchershaveexper5seacrossthefoodchain–fromsoiltomoleculetomeal–todeliversustainablesolu5onstoglobalfoodchallengessuchas‘hiddenhunger’:lessdiversediets,naturallylownutrientsinourstaplecrops,andanincreasingrelianceonover-processedfoodsmeanthatmorethanaquarteroftheworld’spopula5onarenotgeKngthegoodnesstheyneedfromwhattheyeat.’TheirwebpagesarenowlivesotakealookatwhattheyareuptohBps://www.noEngham.ac.uk/world/beacons/future-food/
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM PLANT AND CROP SCIENCES STAFF
(in no particular order) Lu,PJ;Wang,CY;Yin,TT;Zhong,SL;Grierson,D;Chen,KS;Xu,CJ(2017)CytologicalandmolecularcharacterizaYonofcarotenoidaccumulaYoninnormalandhigh-lycopenemutantoranges.ScienYficReports7:ArYcleNumber:761.Li,BH;Kamiya,T;Kalmbach,L;Yamagami,M;Yamaguchi,K;Shigenobu,S;Sawa,S;Danku,JMC;Salt,DE;Geldner,N;Fujiwara,T(2017)RoleofLOTR1innutrienttransportthroughorganizaYonofspaYaldistribuYonofrootendodermalbarriers.CurrentBiology27:758-765.Wong,QN;Tanzi,AS;Ho,WK;Malla,S;Blythe,M;Karunaratne,A;Massawe,F;Mayes,S(2017)Developmentofgene-basedSSRmarkersinWingedBean(Psophocarpustetragonolobus(L.)DC.)forDiversityAssessment.Genes8:100.
Mossa,AW;Dickinson,MJ;West,HM;Young,SD;Crout,NMJ(2017)Theresponseofsoilmicrobialdiversityandabundancetolong-termapplicaYonofbiosolids.EnvironmentalPolluYon224:16-25.Yang,J;Yuan,Z;Meng,QC;Huang,GQ;Perin,C;Bureau,C;Meunier,AC;Ingouff,M;BenneB,MJ;Liang,WQ;Zhang,DB(2017)DynamicregulaYonofauxinresponseduringricedevelopmentrevealedbynewlyestablishedhormonebiosensormarkers.FronYersinPlantScience8ArYcleNumber:256.DOI:10.3389/fpls.2017.00256.Ajigboye,OO;Lu,CG;Murchie,EH;SchlaBer,;Swart,G;Ray,RV(2017)AlteredgeneexpressionbysedaxaneincreasesPSIIefficiency,photosynthesisandgrowthandimprovestolerancetodroughtinwheatseedlings.PesYcideBiochemistryandPhysiology137:49-61.Burrell,T;Fozard,S;Holroyd,GH;French,AP;Pound,MP;Bigley,CJ;Taylor,CJ;Forde,BG(2017)TheMicrophenotron:aroboYcminiaturizedplantphenotypingplamormwithdiverseapplicaYonsinchemicalbiologyPlantMethods13:10.White,PJ;Bowen,HC;Broadley,MR;El-Serehy,HA;Neugebauer,K;Taylor,A;Thompson,JA;Wright,G(2017)EvoluYonaryoriginsofabnormallylargeshootsodiumaccumulaYoninnonsalineenvironmentswithintheCaryophyllales.NewPhytologist214:284-293.Joy,EJM;Ahmad,W;Zia,MH;Kumssa,DB;Young,SD;Ander,EL;WaBs,MJ;Stein,AJ;Broadley,MR(2017)Valuingincreasedzinc(Zn)ferYliser-useinPakistan.PlantandSoil411:139-150.KumssaDB,JoyEJ,YoungSD,OdeeDW,AnderEL,BroadleyMR(2017).VariaYoninthemineralelementconcentraYonofMoringaoleiferaLam.andM.stenopetala(Bak.f.)Cuf.:RoleinhumannutriYon.PLoSOne.12(4):e0175503.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175503.eCollecYon2017.
Imagingcropcanopiesin3DAsrecentlypublishedby
Burgess,AJ;Retkute,R;Pound,MP;Mayes,S;Murchie,EH(2017)Image-based3DcanopyreconstrucYontodeterminepotenYalproducYvityincomplexmulY-speciescropsystems.AnnalsofBotany119:517-532.
FROMTHEPRESSOFFICE…….HOWTHIRSTYROOTSGOINSEARCHOFWATERScienYstsfromtheUniversityofNoEngham,EnglandandTohokuUniversity,JapanhavehelpedtosolveamysterythathasfascinatedscienYstssinceCharlesDarwin-howplantrootssensewaterandchangedirecYontofindit.InaworldwherewaterforagricultureisbecomingaglobalchallengethiscouldleadtoimprovedcropvarieYeswhicharebeBeratforagingforwater.Theirresearch-'Roothydrotropismiscontrolledviaacortex-specificgrowthmechanism'-shedsnewlightonwhichpartoftherootperceivesawatersignal,andwhichYssuesthenchangetheirgrowthtomaketherootchangedirecYon.TheirfindingshavebeenpublishedinNaturePlants.Leadresearcher,DrDanielaDietrichfromtheSchoolofBiosciencesatNoEngham,said:“EvenwhenmostoftherootYpwasremovedbylaserorscalpel,rootsofthemodelplantArabidopsisthalianasYllrespondedtoawatergradientinthemediumtheyweregrowingon.Thisshowedthathydrotropism-thewayinwhichplantrootsrespondtomoisturecontentofsoil-dependsonpercepYonandresponseintheelongaYonzone,arapidlygrowingareaoftherootjustbehindtheYp.”So,howdoplantssearchforwater?Hydrotropismislesswellunderstoodthanresponsestootherenvironmentalcuessuchasgravity,lightortouch.AgroupofcellsattheYpoftheroot,knownasthecolumella,areusedtosensegravity,andtheresearcherswantedtoknowwhetherthesamecellswereinvolvedinsensingwater.UsinglaserablaYon,whichcandestroycellswithpinpointaccuracy,theyshowedthatcolumellacellsarenotnecessaryforhydrotropism.TheyalsowantedtounderstandifhydrotropismrequirestheresponseofaspecificrootYssue.TheplanthormoneAbscisicAcid(ABA)iskeytothemolecularsignallingpathwayforhydrotropism,asisagenecalledMIZ1.Bytakingmutantsinwhichkeycomponentsofthissignallingcascadeforhydrotropismweremissing,andtheninducingtheexpressionofthosesamekeycomponentsinspecificYssuelayersonly,theresearcherswereabletodemonstratethatthecortex,theYssuelayerdirectlybelowtheepidermis,iswhererootgrowthchangesinresponsetowaterpercepYon.DrDanielaDietrich,thestudy’sleadresearcherattheUniversityofNoEngham,said:“Weweresurprisedtoseethatinbothcases,expressioninthecortexwasabletorescuethehydrotropismresponse.Forthegravitropicresponse,whichinvolvesauxin,theepidermisisimportant,soitisquiteinteresYngtoseethatthesetwoenvironmentalresponsesarecontrolledbydifferentplanthormones,acYngondifferentrootYssues.”
TheresearchersalsousedmathemaYcalmodellingtoseewhethergrowthchangesinthecortexYssuelayeraloneareenoughtochangethedirecYonoftheroot.WhenanexisYngmodelwasadaptedsothatonlycortexcellsononesideoftherootstartedtoelongateearlier,thechangesinrootYpdirecYonpredictedbythemodelwerereflectedintheplantexperiments.DanielaDietrich,LeiPang,AkieKobayashi,JohnA.Fozard,VéroniqueBoudolf,RahulBhosale,ReginaAntoni,TuanNguyen,SotaroHiratsuka,NobuharuFujii,YutakaMiyazawa,Tae-WoongBae,DarrenM.Wells,MarkusR.Owen,LeahR.Band,RosemaryJ.Dyson,OliverE.Jensen,JohnR.King,SaoirseR.Tracy,CraigJ.Sturrock,SachaJ.Mooney,JeremyA.Roberts,RishikeshP.Bhalerao,JoséR.Dinneny,PedroL.Rodriguez,AkiraNagatani,YoichirohHosokawa,TobiasI.Baskin,TonyP.Pridmore,LievenDeVeylder,HideyukiTakahashi&MalcolmJ.BenneB(2017).Roothydrotropismiscontrolledviaacortex-specificgrowthmechanismNaturePlants3,ArYclenumber:17057(2017)doi:10.1038/nplants.2017.57
WHEATINAUSTRIA
FromMonday24thtoThursday27
thAprilthe
wholeNottinghamWheatResearchCentre
attendedthe13thInternationalWheatGenetics
SymposiuminTulln,Austria.
SurbhiGrewal,UrmilaDevi,JackHeath,Manel
Othmeni,Srinivasachary,andmyselfallpresented
postersonourworkwithintrogressingwild
relativeDNAintothewheatgenome.
OntheWednesday,Ialsopresentedmyfirst
internationalconferencetalkentitled,
“Introgressinggeneticdiversityintowheatfrom
thewildrelativeThinopyrumelongatum”.Nervesranhigh,howeveritwasafantasticexperience
andwentreallywell.Icannotrecommend
enoughpresentingyourworkatconferences–it
trulyhelpsyouappreciatewhereyourworkfits
intotheglobalresearchbeingconducted.The
networkingopportunitiesareexcellenttoo!
TheresearchIpresentedincludedasummaryofourbreedingprogramme,GISHimagesvisualizing
introgressionsproducedsofar,andinitialgenotypingdatathegrouphasproducedtohelpdetect
introgressionsinthefuture.
Futureworktobeundertakenincludesidentifyingasmanydifferentintrogressionsaspossiblein
linesalreadyproducedinourbreedingprogramme,aswellaslookingforlinesthathavesingular
introgressions.Singularintrogressionswillbemoreadvantageousforvalidatinggeneticmarkers
beingusedinthegenotypingandforinitialphenotypingwork.
LaurenBaker
1. The Wheat Research Centre team (from left to right): Urmila Devi, Constance Lavergne Julie
King, Stella Hubbart Edwards, Jack Heath, Surbhi Mehra, Jonathon Atkinson, Lauren Baker,
Ian King and Manel Othmeni
3: Lauren Baker presenting her work on Thinopyrum elongatum
2: Genomic in situ hybridisation of an introgression line. Results show five whole wild relative additions and one recombinant indicated
with the white arrow.
ThisNewsleBerwaseditedenYrelybyKevinPyke,soanymistakesareKevin’sfault.ItisavailableonlineonthePlantandCropScienceswebpageatwww.noEngham.ac.uk/biosciences/subject-areas/plantcrop/index.aspx
ContribuYonsforthenextissuebyJuly21st2017tobepublishedJuly22nd2017.
VIEW FROM THE SHED News from the glasshouse team on what is going on in the glasshouses. · Welcome to Tim Bonner who is now officially our fourth team member. · Glasshouse space is filling up fast. Please submit your booking requests to [email protected] as far in advance as possible, so that we can plan to accommodate your work. · Anyone wishing to bulk seed from Rice, cereals or grow any seasonal summer cold glasshouse crops would be advised to get these plants growing before we run out of optimum growing conditions book now! · G4 is open for Arabidopsis, anecdotally plants sown early in the cycle seem to suffer less from Pests and disease, so lease sow now whilst the compartment is clean . · We have had a busy few weeks cleaning glasshouse, installing new irrigation systems, setting up compartments for the summer season and, amongst other things accommodating in excess of 500 tomato plants! · Teaching Staff We are bulking lots of seed to refresh our seed stocks for teaching practical’s for the coming year, and would be grateful if we could be notified of any plant requirement changes sooner rather than later so we can provide adequate seed stocks for your needs.
