Profile

Career

2008 -	Director	CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York
2003 - 2008	Deputy director	CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York
1999 -	Chair of Biochemical Genetics	CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York
1998 - 1999	Senior Lecturer	Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Glasgow
1994	SERC/NATO funded research scientist	Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institute, Stanford
1993 - 1998	Lecturer	Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Glasgow
1990 - 1993	Post-doctoral research fellow	Department of Plant Science, University of Oxford
1986 - 1989	PhD	PhD    Department of Botany, University of Edinburgh
1982 - 1986	BSc First Class Honours in Botany and Genetics	The Queens University Belfast

Research

Overview

Research interests focus on the metabolic regulation of gene expression in higher plants and metabolic engineering of novel oils in oilcrops. Molecular genetic approaches in the model plant Arabidopsis are used to identify key enzymes and regulatory proteins responsible for controlling metabolism and integration of metabolism with plant development. Seed development, dormancy and germination are the major focus of study since they provide an opportunity to study the co-ordinate regulation of entire blocks of genes and biochemical pathways of lipid metabolism. Genes regulating the accumulation and breakdown of seed storage reserves have potentially important biotechnological applications.

Discoveries

New insights into the mechanisms regulating Coenzyme A biosynthesis (Rubio et al.,2008, Plant Physiology), the flux of unusual fatty acids into triacylglycerol (Burgal et al., 2008, Plant Biotechnology Journal) and the accumulation of oil in seeds (Hughes et al., 2008, Plant Biotechnology Journal). The ABI4 transcription factor regulates mobilisation of storage oil in Arabidopsis embryos (Penfield et al,. 2006, Plant Cell).

Professor Ian Graham is also co-PI on the CNAP Artemisia Research project, the aim of which is to develop new cultivars of Artemisia annua with much higher yields of artemisinin – the anti-malarial drug which is effective against all species of the malarial parasite, including those which are resistant to older drugs. (url: http://www.york.ac.uk/org/cnap/artemisiaproject/index.htm)

Current projects

 A sustainable supply of artemisinin from high-yield Artemisia annua for treatment of malaria (Joint with Professor Dianna Bowles)
 Funding body: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
 
 Jatropha curcas Applied and Technological Research on Plant Traits (JATROPT)
 Funding body: EU
 
 Molecular breeding of a commercial pharmaceutical crop
 Funding body: industrial contract

The role of the oxylipin OPDA in the seasonal sensitivity of seed dormancy
 Funding body: BBSRC  
 
 The regulation of biological signalling by temperature (ROBuST) (Joint with Dr Steve Penfield)
 Funding body: BBSRC  

Research group(s)

Status	Name	Project
Senior Research Administrator	Judith Mitchell (full time)
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Anuja Dave (full time)	The role of the oxylipin OPDA in the seasonal sensitivity of seed dormancy
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Fabian Vaistij (full time)
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Zhesi He (full time)	Molecular breeding of a commercial pharmaceutical crop
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Andrew King (full time)	Jatropha curcas Applied and Technological Research on Plant Traits (JATROPT)
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Tony Larson (full time)	Head of CNAP Metabolite Profiling Unit
Post doctoral fellow	Dr Roxana Teodor (full time)	Molecular breeding of a commercial pharmaceutical crop
Post doctoral fellow (HDM)	Dr Thilo Winzer (full time)	Head of CNAP Molecular Breeding Unit
Student	Jasper Clarke	QTL mapping in Jatropha curcas
Student	Sarah Kendall	Unravelling the molecular basis of a plant’s response to temperature during germination
Student	Vicki Springthorpe	Arabidopsis molecular phenology
Student	Fergus Meade	Biosynthetic regulation in a commercial pharmaceutical crop
Technician	Julie Affleck (full time)	Jatropha curcas Applied and Technological Research on Plant Traits (JATROPT)
Technician	Alison Gilday (full time)	The role of the oxylipin OPDA in the seasonal sensitivity of seed dormancy
Technician	Valeria Gazda (full time)	Molecular breeding of a commercial pharmaceutical crop
Technician	Susan Heywood (full time)	Molecular breeding of a commercial pharmaceutical crop
Technician (HDM)	Filip Kaminski (full time)	Developing new markets and compositions of hemp oil through fast track breeding

Available PhD research projects

Producing Oil in Biomass (for 2012 - 13)

Plant derived oils are structurally similar to the hydrocarbon chains that give functionality to petrochemicals. Consequently, the potential for these oils to act as a sustainable replacement to petrochemicals is well recognised. If oilcrops are to be used as a source of industrial feedstock to replace petrochemicals then we will need to significantly increase global production. Oil production in the majority of existing oilcrops is contained within the seed. In the biofuels area there is now much interest in biomass crops as a means to maximise the amount of carbon matter that is produced per unit hectare. However, efficient conversion of lignocellulosic carbon matter to useful fuel remains a major challenge. We have recently discovered that it is possible to modify plant metabolism so that oil accumulates in biomass. We have used two different strategies to show that this is possible in the model plant Arabidopsis. In the first strategy we have blocked fatty acid breakdown, which results in oil accumulation in the cytosol of leaf mesophyll cells. In the second strategy we have expressed a seed-program transcription factor (LEC2) in leaves using an inducible promoter system. Each of these strategies results in accumulation of oil to about 4 – 5% per unit dry weight insenescing leaves. The aim of the PhD project will be to establish if it is possible to block oil breakdown and induce oil synthesis specifically insenescing tissue. We will use a senescence specific promoter and an RNAi approach to knock down oil breakdown genes in Arabidopsis and oilseed rape and the same promoter to induce LEC2 expression. Characterisation of the resulting transgenic Arabidopsis and oilseed rape material will provide new insight into the biochemical processes associated with oil synthesis and oil body formation.

Available PhD research project
Supervisor: Professor Ian A. Graham

Seed Germination and Oil Mobilisation (for 2012 -13)

Plants have evolved to alter how they grow and develop in response to signals from the environment. A good example of this is the process of seed germination, which marks the start of growth following a period of quiescence or dormancy. Seed dormancy controls the timing of germination and provides an important adaptive strategy for survival during periods of unfavourable environmental conditions. Seed dormancy is also an extremely important trait for crop improvement since it controls pre-harvest sprouting and the uniformity of seed germination and seedling growth.

In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana dormancy is induced during the seed maturation phase and is highest in freshly harvested seeds. The dormancy block on germination is removed by imbibing seeds at low temperatures (stratification).  In nature this ensures that seeds only germinate in spring when conditions are good for growth. Dormancy is also removed following prolonged periods of dry storage referred to as after-ripening. Two plant hormones play a crucial, antagonistic role in regulating dormancy/germination: abscisic acid (ABA) promotes dormancy and inhibits germination, whereas gibberellin (GA) promotes germination. We have made a number of important discoveries about the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with the control of seed dormancy and germination including identifying specific roles for transcription factors such as SPATULA, DELLAS and ABA-INSENSITIVE-4 (Penfield et al., 2005, 2006a, 2006b). We have also recently discovered that a lipid based signalling molecule, OPDA, interacts with ABA to regulate dormancy status (Dave et al., 2011).

A much better known role for lipids in oilseed plants such as A. thaliana and the close relative oilseed rape is as a storage reserve. Lipids, in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG), accumulate during seed development and are mobilised to sucrose upon seed germination. Mobilisation of TAG to sugar involves the coordinated induction of a number of biochemical pathways in different subcellular locations (Graham, 2008). Fatty acids are released from TAG by lipolysis, enter the peroxisome through the ABC transporter protein PXA1, and are converted to acetyl-CoA in a process involving fatty acid ß-oxidation. pxa1 mutant seeds are defective in seedling establishment because they are unable to convert TAG to sugar, which is needed to support growth. This phenotype is rescued by exogenously applied sugar.

Our investigations are now focussed on how different regulatory components interact to control seed germination and oil mobilisation. This PhD studentship will further our knowledge of seed germination in Arabidopsis and should also lead to the identification of key genes that can be targeted for crop improvement. Techniques such as chromatin-immuno precipitation (ChIP) will be used to identify the targets of transcription factors that we know play a key role in the control of germination based on mutant phenotype. Resulting data will be compared with transcriptomic datasets from mutant and wild type plants to identify common gene targets. The student will receive a comprehensive training in seed biology, molecular and biochemical genetics and bioinformatic analysis of large datasets. 

References

Dave, A., Hernandez, L., He, Z., Andriotis, V.M., Vaistij, F.E., Larson, T.R., Graham, I.A. (2011).  12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) accumulation during seed development represses seed germination in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell, 23: 583-599.

Graham, IA (2008).  Seed storage oil mobilization.  Annual Review of Plant Biology 59: 115-42. 

Penfield. S., Josse, E.M., Kannangara, R., Gilday, A., D., Halliday, K.J., Graham, I.A. (2005).  Cold and light control seed germination through the bHLH transcription factor SPATULA. Current Biology 15: 1998-2006.

Penfield, S., Gilday, A., Halliday, K., Graham, I.A. (2006). DELLA mediated cotyledon expansion breaks coat-imposed seed dormancy. Current Biology, 16: 2366-70.

Penfield, S., Li, Y., Gilday, A.D., Graham, S. and Graham, I. A.  (2006).  Arabidopsis ABA INSENSITIVE 4 regulates lipid mobilization in the embryo and reveals repression of seed germination by the endosperm. Plant Cell, 18:1887-99.

Publications

Selected publications

Penfield S, Li Y, Gilday AD, Graham S and Graham IA (2006) Arabidopsis ABA INSENSITIVE 4 regulates lipid mobilization in the embryo and reveals repression of seed germination by the endosperm. Plant Cell 18: 1887-99

Graham IA (2008) Seed storage oil mobilization Annu Rev Plant Biol 59: 115-42

Slocombe SP, Cornah J, Pinfield-Wells H, Soady K, Zhang Q, Gilday A, Dyer JM, Graham IA. (2009) Oil accumulation in leaves directed by modification of fatty acid breakdown and lipid synthesis pathways. Plant Biotechnol J. 7: 694-703

External activities

Memberships

• 2004 - 2007, Member of BBSRC Plant and Microbial Sciences Panel
• 2002 - 2011, Member of the John Innes Centre Governing Council
• 2005 - 2010, Member of the Science Advisory Board, Genoplante (French National Programme in Plant Genomics)
• 2009 onwards, Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) Advisory Board
• 2008 onwards, SUSTOIL Advisory Board
• 2007-2010, Advisory Committee, BBSRC-China Brassica sequencing project

Editorial duties

• 2007- 2009, Member of Editorial Board, The Arabidopsis Book - open access online Arabidopsis book