The role of singlet oxygen signaling in plant responses to heat and drought stress
Not stated
- Location
- Southampton, United Kingdom
- Funding
- INSPIRE studentship; UKRI standard level
- Application deadline
- See university guidance
About the project
Climate change provides a major challenge for plants as they cope with increases in abiotic stresses such as high or low temperature and drought. These conditions will negatively affect responses to biotic stresses caused by insect herbivores and pathogens, and contribute to the ongoing problem of providing sufficient food for an increasing World population (1). Temperature stress and drought can result in the production of reactive oxygen species including singlet oxygen, which signals to the rest of the plant that it is in a stressful environment. Seedling development is a particularly sensitive time during the plant life cycle and seedling damage is a major cause of crop loss. We have shown that singlet oxygen production in seedlings has a similar transcriptional signature to heat stress (2) and we hypothesise that singlet oxygen signalling from the chloroplast sends an SOS signal to the seedling that permits acclimation to environmental stresses. In this project we will test this hypothesis by examining the ability of Arabidopsis mutants (e.g. 3) compromised in SOS to withstand different stress regimes including heat and drought. We will then use our Arabidopsis findings to investigate the SOS response in important crop species including wheat and rice.
For full project details visit the Inspire project page .
Supervisors
- Matthew Terry (University of Southampton)
- Haruko Okamoto (University of Sussex)
Professor Matthew Terry
- Chloroplast development and retrograde signalling to the nucleus
- Light regulation of wheat growth and development
- Improving algal photosynthesis
Entry requirements
A 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent , in one of these subjects:
- biology
- oceanography or marine science
Fees and funding
INSPIRE studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI). The stipend is in line with UKRI standard levels, including the recent cost of living increase.
All studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years.
How to apply
To make an application, visit the how to apply section of the Inspire website .
Contact us
For questions about the project, email Professor Matthew Terry:
For questions about the application process, email the graduate school office:
- mjt@soton.ac.uk
- gsnocs@soton.ac.uk