The impact of global climate change on plant growth and development

Future climate predictions include increased global temperatures, more frequent cold snaps and elevated UV-B levels. Collectively, these environmental stresses have the potential to seriously damage agricultural productivity and threaten future food security. Temperature has dramatic effects on plant growth and development. Small elevations in ambient temperature can dramatically reduce plant biomass, prematurely initiate flowering out of synchronization with pollinators and reduce fertility, thereby reducing crop yield. Conversely, cold snaps can stunt the growth of temperate crops, while decimating more tropical species. Increased UV-B levels result from depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and are highly damaging to living organisms. The effects of UV-B on plant development are two-fold. Exposure to high levels of UV-B can damage DNA and act a major stress whilst exposure to lower doses regulates both the synthesis of protective pigments and plant growth processes. Despite the importance of temperature and UV-B in regulating plant development, no studies have investigated the interaction between these signals.

In this project, the combined effects of temperature change and UV-B exposure will be explored in the model species, Arabidopsis thaliana, and a new, rapid cycling dwarf variety of Wheat, Apogee. Molecular biology and plant physiology will be combined to investigate i) How UV-B controls plant architecture at different temperatures and ii) Whether UV-B affects plant cold acclimation and freezing tolerance.

Overall, this studentship will provide training in plant physiology and plant molecular biology in both a model species and a cereal crop. This combination of skills is rare and much in demand, providing the successful candidate with significant future employment opportunities.