2016 Participants
Nathan Ramsay
It is estimated that food production must increase by 70% in the next 40 years in order to sustain the projected human population. However, a huge percentage of crops are lost annually due to the adverse effects of temperature, drought, disease and salinity (high salt levels). Some plants are naturally resistant to salt-stress and can grow under high levels of salinity. Others, however, die quickly when exposed to high salt levels.
This project aimed to develop a new approach of engineering salt tolerance in plants by modulating gene expression. This was achieved by transferring the P5CS1 gene that controls the production of proline, an important osmoprotectant, from a salt-tolerant plant (Thellungiella salsuginea) into a salt-sensitive plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) together with its native promoter. The recipient plant was shown to have taken up and expressed the gene. The expression of the transgene should have increased the capacity to resist salt stress in the transformed plant.
Funding source: Newcastle University
Supervisor: Dr Tahar Taybi