Group members

The focus of the research in this programme is aimed at increasing our knowledge of leaf senescence at the molecular level. The identification and characterisation of genes involved in the complex degradative events that occur during leaf senescence and the elucidation of their mechanisms of regulation will present an insight into the complex processes that control this key developmental process.

Senescence affects many aspects of crop production including yield, stress resistance and shelf life and increased knowledge of the regulatory processes will allow future manipulation of senescence for agronomic benefit.

We are also studying the genetic control of shelf life and nutrient content in Brassica vegetables particularly broccoli with the long term aim of using the knowledge gained in Arabidopsis to identify genes controlling post harvest deterioration in green vegetables.

Research Interests:

• Functional analysis of regulatory genes involved in Arabidopsis leaf senescence
• Genetics and genomics of post harvest senescence in broccoli
• Molecular analysis of petal senescence