On the way to a C4 Rice (and how mathematical modeling can help)

Date

Tuesday 26 April 2016

Time

12:30-13:30

Venue

CSIRO Black Mountain B1 Lecture Theatre

Speaker

Hugo Alonso-Cantabrana  (Division of Plant Sciences, RSB, ANU, Canberra, Australia).

Synopsis

The C4 Rice Project aims at incorporating the CO2 concentrating mechanism present in C4 plants into rice, a C3 crop. At least 13 labs in 8 different countries participate in the project, covering from transcriptomics and bioinformatics to physiology and mathematical modeling. This talk provides a general overview of the project, and a more detailed description on the aplication of mathematical modeling to estimate the contribution of the C4 cycle to overall photosynt

hesis in C3-C4 intermediate plants. Click here for relevant publication.

Speaker bio

Hugo is a postdoctoral fellow in the von Caemmerer lab (ARC Center of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, RSB, ANU). He is currently part of the C4 Rice project, an international consortium funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve photosynthesis, and hence yield, in rice. The aim is to genetically engineer rice to implement the C4 carbon concentration mechanism, present in other crops like maize or sugarcane. His work involves the use of molecular biology tools to genetically modify key components of the photosynthetic machinery; the effect of these modifications on photosynthesis are then analysed at leaf scale, measuring gas exchange, carbon isotope discrimination and enzyme activities. Hugo holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the University Miguel Hernandez, Spain and a Master in Bioengineering from the University of Alicante, Spain

 This is a public seminar.

No visitor pass is required for non-CSIRO attendees going to Lecture Theatre Building 1.