Science jobs from John Innes Centre: job description
Size matters: improving crop plant yield by understanding size control- CASE studentship
Full funding to UK Nationals and EU Nationals who have resided in the UK (in full-time education or full-time residency) for 3 years prior to the start date of the studentship. In most other cases EU Nationals will receive funding to cover their tuition-fees only. Please enquire about eligibility before applying.
We have recently identified a plant gene that controls the final size of organs such as petals, leaves, stems and seeds. Plants with a particular mutation in the gene are significantly larger because they take longer to reach their final size. We think the gene functions to limit the final size of organs by controlling how long cell division occurs during organ formation. The mutation in the gene confers an interfering function on normal copies of the gene and on other closely related genes, such that if the interfering version of the gene can cancel the effect of a normal growth inhibiting gene. This means that the mutant gene can be used to increase organ size in otherwise normal plants. In this project we will assess whether this organ size control pathway works in the small model grass species Brachypodium distachyon, and in oil seed rape. The work will establish new ways of increasing seed size in the UK’s most important crops.
- Employer:
- John Innes Centre
- Website:
- http://www.jic.ac.uk/STUDENTS…
- Location:
- Norwich, East Anglia
- Expires:
- March 27, 2009
