Breeding of elite wheat varieties has led to a significant increase in yields at the farm and global scale, yet those yield gains are beginning to plateau, and in some regions decline. One explanation is that modern cultivars were bred to perform under intensive, but now unsustainable, agricultural management. New approaches are needed in both wheat cultivation/breeding and in diversification of crop choice to maintain food security and biodiversity.
Crop performance in the field is an interaction between the crop genotype and soil/root microbiomes. Nutrient uptake, water relations and pathogen load are driven, directly and indirectly, by microbes, and thus impact overall yields. Understanding the link between crop genotype and soil and root associated microbial communities is the key to predicting traits that will perform well under lower input agricultural systems.
Spelt (Triticum spelta) is an ancient member of the wheat family with diverse genetic origins, and is an increasingly popular grain due to low input requirements and pathogen resistance, but low yields limit its use in agriculture. Our previous work on wheat elite varieties and on pre-1950s landraces of wheat show differences in drought tolerance, colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and susceptibility to pathogens, both in terms of plant-microbe interactions and plant gene expression.
The primary aim of this project is to identify how soil and root microbiomes affect the growth and development of spelt. In this project, you will design experiments to test the interaction between microbial communities, particularly the AM fungi, and the development, growth and yield of varieties of spelt and wheat. Using advanced molecular techniques and associated bioinformatics analysis of, e.g. taxonomic and functional gene analysis of microbial communities, qPCR to quantify gene abundance, and RNAseq gene expression analysis of host plant gene expression, you will identify the link between soil processes and plant development, and how that affects yield.
This project offers a unique opportunity to study the molecular genetics and ecology of an ancient crop species, with the potential to impact cultivation and breeding of an important crop plant. You will join the groups of Professor Thorunn Helgason, a molecular ecologist, and Dr Annis Richardson, a crop molecular scientist. We seek applicants with an interest in applying cutting edge plant and microbial science techniques to inform food security applications.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/thorunn-helgason
www.theplantshapelab.org
The School of Biological Sciences is committed to Equality & Diversity: https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/equality-and-diversity
The “Institution Website” button will take you to our online Application Checklist. From here you can formally apply online. This checklist also provides a link to EASTBIO - how to apply web page. You must follow the Application Checklist and EASTBIO guidance carefully, in particular ensuring you complete all the EASTBIO requirements, and use /upload relevant EASTBIO forms to your online application.
Continue with Facebook
