Professor Steven Kelly
University of Oxford
Regulation of photosynthesis genes to inform the development of higher yieldings crops.
Most modern-day plants have evolved to use ~3000 genes to convert light, CO2 and water into sugars. These genes encode enzymes that catalyse the biochemical reactions as well as structural building blocks that are needed to make subcellular compartments where the light energy is captured and stored. This large cohort photosynthesis genes is dynamically regulated during plant development and in response to changing environmental conditions. We use a combination of bioinformatics and experimentation to discover how photosynthesis genes are co-ordinately regulated in grasses, how this regulation has evolved in different species, and use this knowledge to help engineer higher yielding crops for the future.
Regulation of photosynthesis genes and crop yield.
