Project background:

On a global scale, 70% of water abstracted by man is used in agriculture but competition from industrial, domestic and environmental needs is increasing. There is a pressing need to minimise the amount of water required to grow crops; this is essential to ensure sustainable production into the future. An important route to achieving this is by developing new crop varieties with higher water-use efficiency (WUE).

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key regulatory hormone that controls plant water balance and response to drought. We have found that engineering plants to over-express a single gene, NCED, encoding the enzyme 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, leads to plants that accumulate more ABA. Such plants have reduced transpiration due to limitations on stomatal opening and are able to produce more biomass per unit of water transpired (higher WUE) [1-4]. However, ABA also impacts on germination and early growth and to fully exploit the gains in WUE we need to understand how increasing ABA content influences the interrelationships between WUE, growth and productivity.

This PhD studentship is part of a larger Defra-funded project, a collaboration between Drs Ian Taylor (University of Nottingham) and Andrew Thompson (University of Warwick) which aims to optimise the quantitative level and tissue-specific expression of NCED genes, using GM and non-GM approaches, so that WUE can be increased with minimal effect on crop growth and development.

Further information:

This studentship is available to UK, EU and International candidates. Funds are only available to cover EU Tuition Fees.

The studentship is for 4 years starting in October 2007 and will be registered at the University of Warwick. The student will be based mainly at the University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, but may also spend time at Warwick HRI. The project will employ a range of molecular biology, biochemical and physiological techniques.

Details of the collaborating research groups can be found at:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/research/plantwateruse/
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/biosciences/plantsci/
lookup/lookup_az.php?id=MDU0NDE2&page_var=personal

References
1. Thompson et al. (2000) Plant Journal 23: 363-74.
2. Taylor et al. (2006) J. Plant Growth Regul. 24: 253-273.
3. Thompson et al. (2007), http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/reprint/143/4/1905
4. Thompson et al. (2007), Plant Cell Environ 30: 67-78.

For more detailed information about the project please e-mail: A.J.Thompson@warwick.ac.uk
For details about how to apply please e-mail Nikki Glover: whri.phd@warwick.ac.uk 

General:

This post may involve the post holder working with:
• Chemicals – high toxicity and category 1 or 2 substances
• Skin or respiratory sensitising agents
• Radionuclides
• Working in areas where there are temperature extremes
• Crop planting, harvesting, recording or grading
• Working with noisy or vibrating equipment
• Computing and using VDUs

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be provided if necessary.

Reasonable assistance to adapt to these requirements will be given to suitable candidates with a disability.

It is a requirement that overseas students will show that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the PhD.
 

DEPARTMENT: Warwick HRI
POST RESPONSIBLE TO PhD SUPERVISORS: Dr Andrew Thompson (Warwick HRI), Dr Ian Taylor (University of Nottingham)
STIPEND: £12,600 per annum
REFERENCE NUMBER: HRI24-057
CLOSING DATE: 22nd June 2007

For further details see:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/international/prospective/applications/englishlanguage/

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/jobs/studentships/

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/jobs/studentships/hri24-0271-v2.doc