Professr Guy Kirk

Research Area: Adaptations to problem soils

Institution: Cranfield University

Website: https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/people/professor-guy-kirk-788715

Summary of Research Area:

We are interested in rice adaptations to problem soils, especially involving root-soil interactions and processes in the rhizosphere. Current/recent projects are on phosphorus efficiency in upland rice; iron toxicity in lowland rice on highly weathered soils; zinc deficiency and grain zinc content; arsenic contamination. This involves lab, field and modelling studies in collaboration with rice breeders.

Professor Andrew Fleming

Research Area: Leaf form and function

Institution: University of Sheffield

Website: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/andrew-fleming

Summary of Research Area:

Increasing CO2 levels are a predominant feature of climate change. Even if mitigation strategies are implemented, atmospheric CO2 levels will continue to rise over the rest of the century, with a multitude of direct and indirect effects on the global food system. In many countries, rice is the staple crop and there is significant concern as to how yields (and thus food production) will change over the next decades in the face of such CO2-driven climate change. Resilience in rice production in the face of a changing climate is a major challenge for many countries, concerns amplified by the projected rise in population and pressure on natural resources. Failure to adequately address this long-term problem will magnify major humanitarian, social and political challenges for many of the poorest people on the planet.
How rice yield will respond to elevated CO2 (eCO2) is a complex problem, involving not simply the plant itself but also interactions with, e.g., the soil microbiome. In any scenario, optimizing the ability of the rice plant to fix CO2 under future conditions of eCO2 will at least provide a solid foundation for optimizing any potential yield gain (or minimizing/offsetting potential negative effects of eCO2 on crop performance). Our overall goal is to provide future farmers access to rice cultivars which have been bred to optimize photosynthesis in a high CO2 world.

Dr Katherine Steele

Research Area: Genetic diversity and breeding for sustainable crop production

Institution: Bangor University

Website: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/staff/natural-sciences/katherine-steele-008458/en

Summary of Research Area:

My research focuses on identifying and improving genetic markers for breeding disease resistant, stress tolerant, resource-use efficient and nutritionally valuable crops. My group have produced a database of novel genetic markers for rice breeders and have developed and tested DNA analysis protocols for the authentication of Basmati rice. I work with a range of industry and public sector partners for technology transfer. I supervise PhDs and Masters projects in plant diversity, genetics and genomics projects.

Professor Erik Murchie

Research Area: Plant and crop physiology

Institution: University of Nottingham

Website: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/biosciences/people/erik.murchie

Summary of Research Area:

I am interested in understanding the ways in which crop plants, notably rice and wheat, convert resources such as light, CO2 and water into biomass and grain yield. In the coming years we will need to find ways of making our crops carry out such processes with higher efficiency and under increasingly stressful conditions. The research in my lab studies photosynthetic efficiency, photoprotection and the role of increasing night time and day time temperatures in limiting yield. The overall goal is to supply plant breeders with the means to improve and stabilise yield.

Prof Andy Jones

Research Area: Computational biology

Institution: University of Liverpool

Website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/systems-molecular-and-integrative-biology/staff/andrew-jones/

Summary of Research Area:

Our team work in computational biology, mostly related to multi-omics analysis on various systems, including human, eukaryotic pathogens and plants. We have a particular focus on post-translational modifications (PTMs), cell signalling and proteomics, as well as an interest in genome annotation for plants and pathogens.

Professor Adam Price

Research Area: Rice genetics

Institution: University of Aberdeen

Website: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sbs/people/profiles/a.price#research

Summary of Research Area:

We are aiming to improve the sustainability, resilience and quality of rice. The main approach is exploring natural variation, mapping loci that affect important traits and identifying genes and alleles responsible for improved performance. Major tools are mapping populations, exploiting the Bala x Azucena population made in the 1990s, and the Bengal and Assam Aus Panel for association mapping, made in the late 2010s. Traits include abiotic stress resistance (drought, salinity, heat), biotic stress resistance (rice blast, Striga and nematodes), nutrient use efficiency, root growth and grain element composition (especially arsenic, cadmium and iron). We also research plant physiology including plant water relations (e.g. root hydraulic conductance) and root growth, and rice interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Sequencing and bioinformatics are also a mainstay of our current activity.