Rebecca Jordan

• Bsc Biology (Cellular and Molecular Biology)
• Carbon assimilation in plants under stressful and changing environment

Plants expressing crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) have higher water use efficiencies compared to C3 and C4 plants. They open their stomata and take-up CO₂ mainly during the night to limit water loss. Under increasing global warming CAM plants are thought to become important for biomass production in dry land. This project aims at studying the diversity of CAM-expression among varieties of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana to understand the establishment of the pathway and find the determinants of its expression by comparing different CAM variants within the same species. This would deliver important know how for expressing the pathway in C3 crop plants.

Funding source: Newcastle University