Jasmine Kenworthy

• Generating New Resources and Pilot Data for Novel Strategies to Increase Future Food Security
• MBiol Biology

In the light of ever-increasing environmental pressures like drought and disease, I worked on three projects investigating key plant physiology aspects, adding to research aiming to improve agricultural practises.

Project 1 involved identifying 21 Hygromycin-resistant Arabidopsis thaliana lines, 5 which were confirmed with PCR screening, to investigate the mechanism responsible for changes in intrinsic Water Use Efficiency (iWUE) in plants expressing the Cyanobacterial bifunctional Enzyme FBPaseSBPase and Red Algal Protein Cytc6 (López-Calcagno, et al., 2020). Project 2 involved performing RNA extractions and cDNA synthesis on 26 tomato samples for future qPCR analysis of small molecular modulators’ effect on tomato’s response to Botrytis Infection. Project 3 aimed to access photosynthetic behaviour in Cytb561 transformants and T-DNA mutants through Chlorophyl fluorescence imaging. 

Thereby, contributing to research developing more sustainable, productive farming practises for more environmentally resilient crops, whilst reducing water and herbicide use. Thus, contributing to a healthier, more food-secure future globally.

Funded by: Newcastle University Research Scholarship

Project Supervisor: Dr Patricia Lopez-Calcagno