Silicon enhances stomatal function and protects crop yields

在这个项目中，学生将测试具有高硅吸收能力的小麦和水稻植物是否可以生产“每滴水更多的作物”。硅是一种丰富的元素，长期以来被认为是不活泼的，对植物来说是非必需的。然而，一些植物积累了非常高水平的硅，这对于保护它们免受干旱和病原体攻击等威胁的好处现在已经变得很清楚。例如，我们最近发现硅在植物叶片上气孔的保卫细胞中积累，并帮助它们迅速行动。这些细胞特别重要，因为它们调节气孔来控制多少二氧化碳进入植物进行光合作用，以及多少水分流失。能够更快地对变化的环境做出反应的植物应该能够更有效地利用水，并且在二氧化碳水平上升和未来更温暖，更干燥的气候情景下可能具有优势。学生将学习使用分子和生理技术，并利用这些技术来探索硅在未来食品安全中的潜在作用。

In this project the student will test whether wheat and rice plants with high capacities for silicon uptake can produce 'more crop per drop' of water. Silicon is an abundant element long thought of as being unreactive and non-essential for plants. However, some plants accumulate very high levels of silicon and the benefits of this for their protection against threats such as drought and pathogen attack have now become clear. For example, we have recently discovered that silicon accumulates in the guard cells of stomata on plant leaves and helps them to act quickly. These cells are particularly important as they adjust the stomatal pores to control how much carbon dioxide enters the plant for photosynthesis, and how much water is lost. Plants that can react more quickly to a changing environment should be able to use water more efficiently and could have advantages under rising CO2levels and future warmer, drier climate scenarios. The student will learn to use molecular and physiological techniques and use these to explore the potential role for silicon in future food security