Research

Growth in plants depends upon the structure and mechanical function of the cell wall. Mechanics acts both at a local level in terms of how individual cells deform depending on local mechanical strain, and acts at a global level, the continuity of adjacent cell walls over space allowing for the rapid dissipation and concentration of mechanical forces. Our projects involve examining the role of mechanics at the level of the individual cell (guard cells) and at the level of the wall substructure. This research involves a combination of molecular genetics, imaging and force measurements using AFM, as well as computational biology, with research students coming from both a biological and physics backgrounds.

Growth in plants depends ultimately on photosynthesis, which itself depends upon the diffusion of CO2 from the atmosphere into the leaf to the site of C fixation within the chloroplast. Theory predicts that the flux of CO2 within a leaf is a major factor limiting the efficiency of photosynthesis which has not yet been optimised via crop breeding. Using Arabidopsis, wheat and rice as tractable systems, we are exploring the effect of altering the cellular architecture of the leaf on photosynthesis and water-use. Can the structure be improved without detrimental affects on other aspects of leaf function? The projects involve a combination of molecular genetics, physiology and advanced imaging, combined with computational biology, set in the context of understanding the links between leaf development, differentiation and  physiology. 

Leaves initiate from a group of pluripotent cells within the shoot apical meristem. These cells grow and divide repeatedly to produce the building blocks for further growth and differentiation. Various strands of data suggest that (in both plants and animals) such rapidly dividing stem cell derivatives display particular metabolic states which constrain or allow differentiation. We are using metabolomics and advanced metabolite imaging techniques to test these theories. In addition, this approach can be used to investigate the link between development and biochemistry in a variety of tissue contexts, including tuber dormancy.