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Post-doctoral biochemist investigating the biosynthesis, metabolism and
biological function of the natural Rubisco inhibitor, 2-carboxy-D-arabinitol
1-phospahte (CA1P) and its precursors as well as the effect of CA1P on the
regulation and turnover of Rubisco.
e-mail John.andralojc@bbsrc.ac.uk
Post-doctoral molecular biologist working on the
genetic manipulation of CA1P metabolism and photorespiration
e-mail Pippa.madgwick@bbsrc.ac.uk
Lawes Trust Senior
Fellow investigating Rubisco regulation and other aspects of photosynthetic
carbon metabolism.
e-mail
Alfred.keys@bbsrc.ac.uk
Working on purification of Rubisco from marine diatoms and measuring the specificity (CO2/O2) ratios.
e-mail Philip.jewess@bbsrc.ac.uk
PhD student characterising
plants expressing the gcl and hyi transgenes
e-mail
Elisabet.carmo.silva@bbsrc.ac.uk
This project is in collaboration with the University of Essex evaluating the relative importance of genetic adaptation, physiological acclimation and physiological regulation of algal photosynthesis to the success of phytoplankton taxa in the sea. Project supervised by Richard Geider
e-mail
geider@essex.ac.uk
Research in my laboratory is directed towards the goal of sustainable production, improved yield and quality with reduced inputs by:
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Molecular and biochemical approaches to determine the roles of CA1P and its precursors
in plant metabolism
2-Carboxy-D-arabitinol
1-phosphate (CA1P) is a naturally occurring, transition state analogue of the
carboxylase reaction of Rubisco which binds tightly to the active site of this
enzyme and thus inhibits catalytic activity. CA1P can be derived from
newly assimilated CO2. Up
to 7% newly assimilated carbon can appear as a combination of CA (the immediate
precursor of CA1P) and CA1P in a subsequent dark period. However the capacity
to synthesise or metabolise precursors of CA1P can exceed the requirement for
CA1P. Indeed, many plants which do not make CA1P contain both CA and its sugar
precursor, hamamelose (2-hydroxymethyl D-ribose). It is therefore inevitable
that the precursors - hamamelose and CA - have functions
independent of CA1P synthesis and Rubisco regulation. We are using molecular
and biochemical approaches to identify their
function and the pathways for their
synthesis and metabolism.
Testing strategies to reduce
photorespiratory losses
Photorespiration leads to the wasteful loss of
newly assimilated carbon as CO2. It also involves the deamination of glycine and the generation of
ammonia that must be reassimilated or lost. Our hypothesis is that the
correctly targeted introduction of bacterial enzymes may facilitate the metabolism
of photorespiratory phosphoglycolate without the concomitant release of ammonia
and the need for energy for its reassimilation. We have already generated
tobacco plants with the bacterial transgenes (gcl and hyi) and are now
characterising them. . This research is in collaboration with Prof. Peter Lea
at Lancaster University.
Improving arable production systems by expressing
marine algal rubisco in crop plants (MARISCO)
The
major goal of this EU research project is,
to improve carbon fixation in crop plants, by integrating the results of
genetic, kinetic, phylogenetic and structural characterisation of the Rubisco. Initially our major objective is to identify,
isolate and characterise highly specific Rubisco enzymes from marine arctic
algae.
Chaetoceros socialis
Skeletonema costatum
cruise vessel!
collecting material
Improving the yield stability of Durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions (OPTIWHEAT)
Water is essential to sustaining human and environmental health but is already at scarcity level in some Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries. Agriculture is by far the largest user of water resources accounting for around 75% of consumption, but nevertheless water remains a major determinant of crop yield. Under rain-fed conditions, characterised by low and uncertain rainfall, Durum wheat is one of the most widely cultivated crops.
This EU funded project will use a powerful systems-biology approach combining genomics, crop physiology and agronomy to generate Durum wheat cultivars that have higher and more stable yields under Mediterranean drought conditions. The central thrust of this project is to both identify existing variation in Durum wheat germplasm and to generate novel genetic variation for the stability of yield under drought stress (SYDS) in Durum wheat, generating a novel mutant population and using these lines to establish Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) in Durum wheat. This population will be used for forward and reverse genetic approaches to identify lines with enhanced SYDS and to understand how the structure and expression of specific genes contribute to the variation of yield trait components under Mediterranean conditions. The projects major objective is to generate novel variation in a Durum wheat by random chemical mutagenesis and TILLING technology.
Durum wheat grown from mutagenised seed
RECENT PUBLICATIONS