Molecular mechanisms underlying the optimised circadian clock control of Crassulacean acid metabolism

The world is getting hotter and drier due to climate change, and the human population is growing rapidly to the extent that it has been predicted that we will need to increase crop yields by 50 - 70 % by 2050 in order to feed the predicted 9 - 10 billion people. This extra food production has to be achieved using the same land and the same or less fresh water relative to the water used by agriculture today. Achieving such dramatic advances in crop productivity to underpin human food security this century is widely regarded as a key global grand challenge that requires ground-breaking, innovative approaches that "think outside the box". Our research aims to leverage a naturally occurring super-charged adaptation of photosynthesis called Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). This adaptation can enhance plant water use efficiency well beyond that of any of today's major food crop species such as rice, wheat or maize, and has, perhaps, even greater utility for feedstock crops for bioenergy and renewable platform chemicals. Through decoding the genomes and transcriptomes of model CAM species in the genus Kalanchoë and undertaking functional genomics research to investigate the function of candidate CAM genes, our work is establishing the minimal parts list for engineering CAM into C3 crops to enhance water use efficiency and photosynthesis. This project will leverage our recent discoveries by exploring the genes involved in CAM using transgenic approaches to switch genes off or on, and/ or explore gene regulation using reporter gene constructs. In particular, we seek to understand how the endogenous circadian clock (the internal timekeeper that organisms use to optimise their biochemistry relative to the daily light/ dark cycle) signals to the CAM system in order to optimize the steps that occur separately both in the dark and the light. This PhD will allow the student to make a key contribution to our understanding of the genetic elements associated with CAM and its optimal temporal regulation. The student will also become accomplished in plant transformation and the techniques required for the detailed molecular, biochemical and physiological characterisation of the generated transgenic lines.

The world is getting hotter and drier due to climate change and the human population is growing rapidly to the extent that it has been predicted that we will need to increase crop yields by 50 - 70 % by 2050 in order to feed the predicted 9 - 10 billion people. Our research aims to leverage a naturally occurring super-charged adaptation of photosynthesis called Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). This adaptation can enhance plant water use efficiency well beyond that of any of today's major food crop species such as rice, wheat or maize. Through decoding the genomes and transcriptomes of model CAM species in the genus Kalanchoë and undertaking functional genomics research to investigate the function of candidate CAM genes, our work is establishing the minimal parts list for engineering CAM into C3 crops to enhance water use efficiency and photosynthesis. This project will leverage our recent discoveries by exploring the genes involved in CAM using transgenic approaches to switch genes off or on, and/ or explore gene regulation using reporter gene constructs. In particular, we seek to understand how the endogenous circadian clock (the internal timekeeper that organisms use to optimise their biochemistry relative to the daily light/ dark cycle) signals to the CAM system in order to optimize the steps that occur separately both in the dark and the light.