About the Project
The SWBio DTP is one of the 12 Doctoral Training Partnerships funded by the BBSRC to provide PhD training in areas of their strategic relevance. The SWBio DTP is a consortium comprising the Universities of Bristol (lead), Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, and Rothamsted Research. Together, these institutions present a distinctive cadre of bioscience research staff and students with established international, national and regional networks and widely recognised research excellence. For further details about the programme please see https://www.swbio.ac.uk/
Location: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter EX4 4QJ
Background. The radical pair (RP) model of magnetoreception is perhaps the most plausible example of a non-trivial quantum mechanical effect in biology. This mechanism does not only equip migratory birds with an exquisitely sensitive magnetic compass, but possibly underpins magnetic field effects on plant physiology. Flowering, germination, leaf movement, chlorophyll accumulation, elongation of seedlings, photoreceptor signalling, gene expression and plant vegetative growth have all been found to respond to changes in the magnetic environment. The mechanistic details that provide this remarkable magnetosensitivity are scarcely understood. Under blue-light, the effects are hypothesised to result from RP reactions in the photoreceptor cryptochrome. Magnetic field effects in the dark appear to be linked to reactive oxygen species and the oxidative stress response.
Project Aims. The student will investigate the magnetosensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings with the aim of elucidating its mechanistic underpinnings. This will involve the construction of an exposure system and the subsequent study of the magnetic field response of wild-type seedlings and photoreceptor deficient mutants. The study will focus on plant morphogenesis, metabolomics and gene expression as end points of the magnetic field effect. The putative role of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and other antioxidants will be scrutinized. Data collection will be integrated with mathematical modelling of the spin dynamics, which will provide the basis for interpreting the obtained results and guide the experimental process.
Methods & Skills. In this interdisciplinary project the student will have the opportunity to develop a range of scientific skills useful to both the physical and biological sciences: plant-biological assays, molecular biology, metabolomics using mass spectrometry, biophysics, bioelectromagnetism, and computation & theory (spin dynamic & QM calculations, molecular dynamic simulations).
Suitability. The student will receive full training in the various aspects of the project, and the work can to some extent be tailored according to their skills and interests. Interest in interdisciplinary work at the border of biology and quantum physics is essential; Maths A-level is desirable. Other than that, the project is open to students with a background in biology, (bio-)chemistry, and physics, alike.
For information on the entry requirements please see:http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=3292
Funding Notes
The studentship will provide funding for a stipend which is currently £14,777 per annum for 2018-2019, research costs and UK/EU tuition fees at Research Council UK rates for 48 months (4 years) for full-time students, pro rata for part-time students.
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