Award details

A - Understanding and manipulating plant fibre formation through genetic engineering

Reference	JEI09420
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Malcolm Campbell
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Steven Hill, Professor Marc Knight, Professor Ian Moore
Institution	University of Oxford
Department	Plant Sciences
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	42,416
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	19/07/1998
End date	19/01/1999
Duration	6 months

Abstract

The formation of the fibrous tissue known as xylem is critical for the growth and development of land plants. Xylem supports the plant body and conducts water and solutes from the roots to aerial tissues. Xylem is important from an agricultural perspective because it plays a significant role in determining forage crop digestibility. In addition, secondary xylem (wood) is a valuable renewable resource which is used in the manufacture of lumber, paper, mulch, and energy. Thus, the quality and quantity of xylem has significant consequences for both plant development and for the utilisation of plant matter. Surprisingly little is known about the biochemical and genetic mechanisms that direct xylem formation. We have been using a genetic engineering approach to test hypotheses related to the metabolic and regulatory mechanisms which underlie the formation of this important fibrous tissue in model plant species. While we are making progress in these studies, we are now limited by the facility that is available to analyse large numbers of transgenic plants. We propose to develop a larger plant growth facility which will allow us to both extend our analyses of these transgenic plants and to develop new transgenic plants with agro-industrially important plant species.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Plant & Microbial Sciences (PMS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Joint Research Equipment Initiative 1997 (JE2) [1997]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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