Abstract

Whilst inorganic fertilisers have been instrumental in dramatically increasing crop yields to meet the demand of an ever-growing world population, their unsustainable nature and environmental cost have led to alternatives being sought. The beneficial symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi has been recognised as potentially playing the role of a natural biofertiliser for our crops. However, one of the long-known limitations of AM symbiosis in this context is its suppression under high nutrient conditions, diminishing its use in fertilised agricultural settings. Nodulation Signalling Pathway (NSP) proteins are GRAS transcription factors that have been found to sit at the interface between nutrient signalling and the regulation of symbiosis and excitingly have the capability through overexpression to override the nutrient suppression of symbiosis in barley. This talk will discuss how NSP proteins are able to integrate environmental status in their control of symbiosis, and how that control is executed.

Due to having to go online, we are restricting the talks to University of Cambridge and alumni to keep them as informal as possible.

Contact reception@plantsci.cam.ac.uk for a Zoom link prior to a talk.