Genes and Development
Biochemical and developmental processes determine how plants grow and respond to external stimuli. We are interested in the molecular basis of particular plant developmental and metabolic pathways. In particular, we address general aspects of post-transcriptional regulation at the level of alternative splicing and non-coding RNAs and how such regulation determines flowering time.
The biochemical pathway of lignin biosynthesis is an extremely important and topical area of research due to the opportunities in biofuels and bioenergy. The potential for biotechnological applications to address areas like biofuels and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in the face of climate change requires research on technologies to express multiple genes or pathways and to target modification of specific genes.
- Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression (John Brown/Craig Simpson)
- Flowering time (Gordon Simpson)
- Lignin biosynthesis (Claire Halpin)
- Technologies for plant improvement (Claire Halpin)
- Transcriptomics (Pete Hedley)
- Sequencing and Microarray Facility (Pete Hedley)
- Functional Genomics Facility (Jennifer Stephens)