Analysing hormone dynamics to understand how plants respond to drought

Project description

 

Multiscale biological models enable us to investigate how cellular and subcellular processes affect the growth and development of an organism. These models typically involve using differential equations to model networks within individual cells, transport between cells, fluid dynamics and/or growth. In collaboration with world-leading experimental groups, this project will develop multiscale models to investigate how plants respond to drought. Given climate change is making drought a major problem for global farming and food production, this understanding is fundamental to developing crop varieties that will withstand the challenges of climate change.

The project will focus on the plant hormone ABA which controls key drought responses. However, despite its importance, how ABA enables plants to sense and adapt to the water content of the soil remains unknown. This project will reveal how ABA controls plant responses to drought by developing new multiscale mathematical models.

The mathematical models will help interpret new experimental data generated as part of an major international project co-led by Prof Malcolm Bennett in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham (detailed in these press releases from the Universities of Nottingham and Regensburg). The PhD student will take part in weekly interdisciplinary meetings with other researchers working in this area, which will greatly aid the development and interpretation of the mathematical models.

Please note that experience with ODEs/PDEs and mathematical biology would be beneficial, although any specific biological knowledge would not be expected.