Plant Biology

Our research addresses fundamental problems across plant sciences.

We study topics including physiological adaptation, plant nutrition, primary and secondary metabolism and intracellular and intercellular signalling.

Our researchers use a diverse range of approaches spanning classical molecular genetics and biochemistry through post-genomic and advanced imaging technologies.

Impact

Our plant biology research delivers positive benefits for industry, the environment and public health.

We focus on research that addresses three global challenges:

Research highlights

Disease tolerant ash trees identified

Detoxifying fruit fly gene detected

Plant 'chemical factory' discovered

People

Name	Expertise
Ian Bancroft	Rapeseed genomics Crop trait associative transcriptomics Comparative plant genomics
Neil Bruce	Metabolism of xenobiotic compounds Detoxification mechanisms Phytotechnologies
Seth J Davis	Plant circadian clocks and mathematics of curves Industrial biotechnology of the red alga Galdieria Complete genome sequencing
Katherine Denby	Plant disease resistance Gene regulatory networks Crop improvement with focus on leafy vegetables
Daphne Ezer	Gene expression dynamics over time and space Relationships between genotypes, environments and phenotypes Machine learning for sequencing data
Leonardo Gomez	Cell wall biology Biomass composition and valorisation Plant carbohydrates Seaweed valorisation
Ian A Graham FRS	Metabolism of alkaloids and terpenoids Medicinal plants Industrial biotechnology of high value chemicals from plants
Andrea Harper	Multi-omic analysis of complex traits Plant health and stress tolerance Crop improvement
Angela Hodge	Plant-soil-microbial interactions Arbuscular mycorrhiza Nutrient cycling
Benjamin Lichman	Plant natural product biosynthesis Evolution of plant specialised metabolism Mechanism and applications of enzymes from plant specialised metabolism
Luke Mackinder	CO2 concentrating mechanisms High-throughput algal biology Systems and synthetic biology
Kelly Redeker	Plant-microbe-soil interactions through metabolism of volatile compounds Biofumigation and pest control Agricultural impacts on climate
Liz Rylott	Plant metal transport Xenobiotic detoxification pathways Phytoremediation
Thierry Tonon	Algal physiology and metabolism Algal metabolic pathways and enzymes Biotechnological applications of algae and algal genes
Charlotte Walker	Algal biology Algal carbon fixation and biomineralisation Synthetic biology