Flooding is a major threat to global food security, and every year leads to devastating crop losses around the world. As such, there is a pressing need to develop new crop varieties that have enhanced flooding resilience. To achieve this, we first need to understand how plants sense and respond to floods, as this can uncover new genetic and biochemical players that could be targeted in breeding and biotech approaches to generate improved stress-resistant varieties.
During floods, plants suffer from restricted oxygen availability, leading to cellular hypoxia that can cause plant death. Previous work has identified oxygen-sensitive transcription factors (called ERFVIIs) and the histone-modifying polycomb protein VRN2 (part of the PRC2 complex that epigenetically represses gene expression) as key regulators of hypoxia-associated gene expression; their increased stability under hypoxia is critical for redirecting transcription to promote anaerobic metabolism and other survival strategies. We have now identified another histone modifying protein that also targets flooding-regulated genes. In contrast to VRN2, this protein functions as an epigenetic activator. Taken together, this suggests that a network of transcription factors and chromatin modifiers interact to coordinate flooding responses, and we hypothesise that the collective activity of these different regulators is required for promoting immediate stress resilience and longer-term stress memory.
This PhD project will use diverse molecular, genetic, omics and protein biochemistry approaches in the model plant Arabidopsis to: (1) investigate the functional role of this chromatin activator under normal and flooding-stress conditions; (2) uncover how it is specifically targeted/recruited to hypoxia-linked genes during flooding stress; (3) define its global and stress-responsive gene targets, using complementary RNA-seq and ChIP-seq approaches, and investigate how these intersect with VRN2- and ERFVII-controlled genes to shape the transcriptional landscape, and; (4) reveal its spatiotemporal activity and contribution towards direct stress tolerance and stress memory.
Interested candidates from any background are encouraged to contact Professor Gibbs ([Email Address Removed]) with their CV and a brief statement of interest.
One candidate will be selected to work on a project proposal. They will then compete at interview, with up to 7 other candidates, for one of up to four Sainsbury PhD Studentships. Interviews will be held in London on 13th January, 2023. It is expected that the studentship holder spends six months during the 3rd or 4th year at another university/institute to gain additional experience. Please note that students are not normally allowed to apply to the institution where they carried out their undergraduate degree.
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