Award details

Investigating the role of short RNAs on wood formation cambium development and adaptation of poplar tree (POPsRNA)

Reference	BB/G024928/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Tamas Dalmay
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	University of East Anglia
Department	Biological Sciences
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	336,308
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/04/2009
End date	30/09/2012
Duration	42 months

Abstract

Short RNAs (sRNA) have been recently recognised as important gene expression regulators but little is known about their role in wood formation. This proposal is a concerted effort to use genomic tools such as deep sequencing and microarray to globally identify wood formation-associated sRNAs in the genome of model tree Populus trichocarpa (poplar). Poplar is an economically important non-food crop with a completed genome sequence. The project will also assess the natural variation and biodiversity of poplar accessions at the sRNA level. The project will create synergies between three research teams with different expertise in order to help plant genomics-based technologies answer biological questions. The Finish group is an expert in wood biology and will provide all biological samples, the UK partner provides the know how about short RNAs and the Dutch partner will process the data using the bioinformatics tools they have developed in the last few years.

Summary

Short RNAs (sRNA) have been recently recognised as important gene expression regulators but little is known about their role in wood formation. This proposal is a concerted effort to use genomic tools to globally identify wood formation-associated sRNAs in the genome of model tree Populus trichocarpa (poplar). Poplar is an economically important non-food crop and we propose fundamental research orientated towards building the knowledge base for exploiting the potentials of this crop. The project will also assess the natural variation and biodiversity of poplar accessions at the sRNA level. The project will create synergies between three research teams with different expertise (biology of wood formation - short RNAs - bioinformatics) in order to help plant genomics-based technologies answer biological questions.

Committee	Research Committee B (Plants, microbes, food & sustainability)
Research Topics	Bioenergy, Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	European Research Area Network in Plant Genomics (ERA-PG) [2006-2009]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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