Epigenetic temperature sensing in plants

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The changing climate is already having a dramatic effect on the growth and development of the plants that support our entire civilisation. This is likely to be amplified as we await concerted action on climate change. It is therefore essential that we attempt to understand the mechanisms that enable factors such as increased temperature to affect plant performance. Understanding these mechanisms will allow us to engineer altered responses and thereby mitigate the negative effects. We have used a genetic screen to identify novel components of the mechanism that allows plants to decide when to flower in response to temperature. One of the novel genes that we identified directly links the epigenetic control of gene expression to temperature perception. In this project you will discover the underlying mechanism, identify more components and use our new understanding to engineer plants that respond differently to temperature. In addition, you will explore the biotechnological applications of the mechanism. You will join a collaborative team including plant developmental biologists, virologists and RNA biologists to apply advanced molecular genetic and genomic approaches to study this highly topical global challenge.