Sustainable Agriculture and Food

Sustainable Agriculture and Food is one of BBSRC’s key strategic research priorities and work funded in this area contributes towards the UK’s multi-agency Global Food Security programme.

MIBTP has 18 studentships each year earmarked for research projects in this area. Sustainable Agriculture and Food is defined broadly as bioscience addressing the challenge to produce and supply enough safe and nutritious food in a sustainable way for a growing global population in the context of global climate change, other environmental changes and declining resources. MIBTP has particular research expertise in the priority areas of Plant and Crop Science, Animal Health, Soil Science, Agri-systems, and Microbial food safety.

Our Topics

Animal Health and Welfare Microbial Food Safety Plant and Crop Science

Animal Health and Welfare

Research considered relevant to Animal Health includes all aspects of diseases of farmed, lab and companion animals; diseases of wild animals which can transmit to farmed, lab and companion animals (and where the possibility of transmission is included in the application); overseas diseases that could spread to UK livestock.

Research considered relevant to Animal Welfare includes dedicated research that aims to improve the conditions and management of farmed, laboratory*, companion and other managed animals (e.g. zoo animals) through improvement to procedures and husbandry which minimise pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.

Current Projects

Aston Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Improve genetic stability in regenerated crops	Dr Marco Catoni
High-throughput genetic analysis of plasmid conjugation systems	Dr Damon Huber
Developing and applying computational methods to study ageing and cellular rejuvenation	Professor Joao Pedro Magalhaes
Digital Twins for Ecotoxicology: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Multi-Omics for Chemical Risk Assessment	Dr Jiarui Zhou
Investigating the effects of microenvironment cues on fungal adaptation	Dr Hung-Ji Tsai
Uncovering the regulatory systems governing mycobacterial cell division	Dr Patrick Moynihan

Harper Adams

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Sainfoin as an alternative legume forage to support livestock health, biodiversity, and reduced emissions	Dr Nicola Randall
The Influence of Sensory Enrichment on Broiler Welfare, Health and Productivity	Dr Karim Farag
The role of virus-induced fatty acid imbalance in the pathogenesis of salmonid alphavirus infection	Dr Tharangani Herath
Use of mini-gut model to study host-pathogen interaction and target control of coccidiosis in chicken	Dr Tharangani Herath

Leicester Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Functional and structural characterisation of glycosyltransferases involved in protein mannosylation	Dr Manuela Tosin
How and when is sex determined – a comparative approach	Professor Karuna Sampath
Identifying new drug targets within Mycobacterium tuberculosis	Professor Phill Stansfeld
Mechanisms of dynein-mediated transport of Marek’s Disease Virus	Dr Anne Straube
Warwick:Pirbright collaboration: understanding host-virus interactions in co-infection	Dr Erin Gorsich
Wildlife disease	Dr Erin Gorsich

Diseases include infestations by “pests”, i.e. internal (helminth) or external (arthropod) parasites, as well as infections by viral, bacterial, protozoal or fungal pathogens. Farmed animals include: livestock, poultry, fish and bees; Studies of vertebrate or invertebrate wildlife reservoirs or vectors of infection are only included if they focus on the role of wild animals in the transmission to and/or maintenance of disease in the target farmed species, and not on the nature or incidence of disease in the wildlife host per se.

The following disease types are included:

TSEs (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) research. Diseases include BSE and Scrapie. Includes research on yeast prions.
Endemic Diseases representing a constant presence of disease or infectious agent within a given geographical area and/or population group. Includes research on: tuberculosis, Marek’s disease, mastitis (including research on Staphylococcus aureusand Streptococcus uberis) and coronavirus.
Exotic Diseases not native to a given area or population. Includes Bluetongue, avian flu, foot and mouth, and African swine fever.
Food-borne Zoonoses - diseases that affect animals, which can be transmitted to humans through the food chain. Research includes food-borne bacteria and viruses, notably the pathogenicity of Campylobacter, Escherichia and Salmonella, where studies are at the animal level. It includes food-borne and other infectious diseases of zoonotic origin with implications for public health that are carried by farmed animals, but do not necessarily have a significant impact on animal health.
Parasitic Diseases resulting from a number of microbial protozoan pathogens, including Leishmania, Eimeria, Toxoplasma, and Cryptosporidia and larger helminths, including nematodes.
Non-transmissible diseases – physiological or metabolic diseases such as cancer in animals, metabolic disorders, immune disorders and reproductive disorders.
Research relating to animal welfare where the focus is a welfare-related disease, such as lameness or mastitis
Research on farmed animals that does not specifically relate to disease, such as: genetics and genomics of farmed animals; basic immunology of farmed animals; research into reproduction of farmed animals

Relevant animal welfare research includes:

The basic behavioural, neurobiological, immune, metabolic, physiological and tissue responses of animals to their environmental conditions
The consequences of human intervention, genetic selection and management for the normal function of animals
The incidence and alleviation of disease, pain and mental disorders
Measures of welfare, including developing and validating new measures
Welfare related health/disease (e.g. foot rot, lameness, mastitis, postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome)
Housing, husbandry and environmental impacts on welfare
Relevant behaviour, cognition and perception
Pain and nociception
The impact of early life challenges on development and long term health and welfare
The influence of production traits on animal welfare.

Microbial Food Safety

Microbial Food Safety describes the production, transportation, handling, preparation, storage and consumption of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. Also includes contamination of food with microbial toxins.

Current Projects

Aston Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Biophysical studies of lipid-protein interactions	Dr Sarah Horswell
High-throughput genetic analysis of plasmid conjugation systems	Dr Damon Huber
Creating Sustainable Food Futures: Assessing Safety and Shelf-Life of Reformulated Food Items	Dr Helen Onyeaka
Investigating the effects of microenvironment cues on fungal adaptation	Dr Hung-Ji Tsai
Prokaryotic transcription: a new direction?	Professor David Grainger
Sensing the impossible, an engineering biology approach	Professor Tim Dafforn
Structure & Function of Predatory Bacteria Surface Recognition	Prof Andy Lovering
Sustainable Food Processing: Investigating Ohmic Heating as a Novel Method for Microbial Inactivation in Foods	Dr Taghi Miri
Understanding genome dynamics in the multiple antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii	Professor David Grainger
Understanding how pandemic microbes evolve	Professor David Grainger
Understanding Multiple Antibiotic Resistance in Gram-negative Bacteria	Professor David Grainger

Harper Adams

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Use of mini-gut model to study host-pathogen interaction and target control of coccidiosis in chicken	Dr Tharangani Herath

Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Impact of Hypermutability and Restriction-Modification by Campylobacter jejuni, a foodborne pathogen, on Bacteriophage Control Measures	Prof Chris Bayliss

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Genomics-driven exploitation of aphid-killing bacteria as a source of novel biopesticides	Dr Mojgan Rabiey
Identifying new drug targets within Mycobacterium tuberculosis	Professor Phill Stansfeld

Includes:

Research relating to microorganisms that potentially cause illness in humans via the contamination of food sources (food poisoning). Relevant microorganisms include: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Listeria Clostridium, entero-hemorrhagic bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC, ETEC, VTEC, etc.), enteric viruses. Research should include that where the emphasis is on the interaction of the microbe with the human or farmed animal host.
Research relating to fungal contamination of grain and other foods with mycotoxins (e.g. ergot, aflatoxins), or contamination of foods with bacterial toxins.
Processing of food to inactivate/delay growth of microbial components, e.g. pasteurisation and sterilisation. Food preservation, storage and handling methods to prevent unwanted microbial growth and spoilage (e.g. salting, chilling, freezing, desiccation) – including products that are modified by desirable microbes (cheese, yoghurt, etc.).
Monitoring of the food supply chain to allow traceability of microbial contamination; development of methods for detection of specific microbes or their toxins.
Microbial safety relating to specific diets, for example, baby foods, maternal diet.

Plant and Crop Science

Crop plants are defined as plants (including algae and cultivated mushrooms) grown to be harvested as food (cereals, vegetables, oils), livestock fodder, or for any other economic purpose. Such purposes include: use of trees for wood and paper production; extraction of non- food plant oils; use as materials (e.g. cotton); use for extraction of bio-pharmaceuticals; production of energy crops (such as for biofuels).

Current Projects

Aston Birmingham

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Behind enemy lines: structural and functional analysis of pathogen secreted proteins	Dr Graeme Kettles
Build or destroy? Investigating how plants connect protein synthesis and degradation to regulate protein quality control	Professor Daniel Gibbs
Chromosomal plasticity and horizontal gene transfer in plant pathogenic fungi	Dr Megan McDonald
Exploiting silenced genes to improve wheat breeding	Dr Marco Catoni
Genomic mechanisms and eco-evolutionary dynamics under stressful and changing environments	Dr Juliano Sarmento Cabral
How did seed plants create male and female sexes? The evolutionary origins of heterospory	Dr Andrew Plackett
Investigating the effects of microenvironment cues on fungal adaptation	Dr Hung-Ji Tsai
Investigating the epigenetic control of development and stress responses in plants	Professor Daniel Gibbs
Neural basis of reproductive behaviour for exploitation in pest control	Dr Carolina Rezaval
Next generation agrochemicals through sustainable mechanochemical manufacture	Dr Deborah Crawford
Quantifying the impact of photorespiration on the photosynthetic carbon uptake of plants	Dr Florian Busch
The evolution of plant oxygen sensing: Lessons from ferns.	Dr Andrew Plackett
Understanding plant development and evolution in the context of environmental responses	Dr Juliet Coates

Harper Adams

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Harnessing Nature's Arsenal: Identification and Characterization of Wild Strains of Entomopathogenic Fungi for Wireworm Control	Dr Ben Clunie
Hiding in wait - examining pathogen evolution via effector gene gain and loss	Professor Dawn Arnold
Improving the agronomic traits of wheat through modified transient carbohydrate accumulation	Dr Alex Watson-Lazowski
Sainfoin as an alternative legume forage to support livestock health, biodiversity, and reduced emissions	Dr Nicola Randall
Strip cropping, autonomous vehicles and regenerative agriculture. Can crop productivity and resilience be improved through combining technology with traditional techniques?	Dr Nicola Randall
The impact of regenerative agriculture on mechanisms underlying above-belowground interactions	Dr Simon Jeffery
The potential of waste wool as a soil amendment to improve plant productivity and agricultural resilience	Dr Nicola Randall

Leicester

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
Enhancing meiotic recombination in wheat by modulating RECQ helicases	Dr James Higgins
Unlocking the genetic potential of barley by modulating recombination	Dr James Higgins

Warwick

Project Title	Primary Supervisor
3D Organ design in plants	Professor George Bassel
Assessment and engineering of the Brassica self-incompatibility locus to enhance seed production	Graham Teakle
Choreographing plant disease; pathogen effector manipulation of organelles – the view from inside	Professor Murray Grant
Clock-watchER: Circadian coordination of the plant endoplasmic reticulum	Lorenzo Frigerio and Isabelle Carré
Cryo-electron microscopy of plant clathrin cages	Professor Corinne Smith
Determining how phosphorylation drives functional protein interactions	Prof Alex Jones
Development of effective phage cocktails for precise crop protection measures	Dr Mojgan Rabiey
Elucidating and exploiting molecular mechanisms of bacterial natural product biosynthesis	Professor Greg Challis
Enhancing stress resistance in plants by targeted epigenome manipulation	Professor Jose Gutierrez-Marcos
Evolution-guided engineering of bacterial NRPS systems	Dr Alex Mullins
Genomics-driven exploitation of aphid-killing bacteria as a source of novel biopesticides	Dr Mojgan Rabiey
Improving plant establishment in Bambara groundnut using CRISPR/Cas9	Professor George Bassel
Integration of environmental signals in plants	Professor George Bassel
Mapping 3D communication networks in plants	Professor George Bassel
Nanoparticles for penetrating complex polysaccharide matrices – cell walls and biofilms	Professor Miriam Gifford
Role of 3D Chromatin Configuration on Environmental Memory	Professor Jose Gutierrez-Marcos
Saving the Brussel sprout – understanding infection dynamics and the hydrathode.	Professor Murray Grant
Sequencing seeds for the future: development of tools for efficient utilisation of crop genetic diversity	Dr Charlotte Allender
Spatial localisation of compounds in plant tissues using mass spectrometry Imaging	Prof Alex Jones
Structural and Mechanistic Characterisation of Bacterial Natural Product Targets	Dr Lona Alkhalaf
TIRrifically complex but TIRribly exciting – unravelling metabolic immunity	Professor Murray Grant

This topic includes:

All research involving crop plants or crop plant cells, including managed grass/clover/pasture and grazing crops
Crop breeding, including by genetic modification
Study of diseases (viral, bacterial or fungal) and invertebrate pests of direct relevance to crops, including studies of crop pests and pathogens not directly involving the crop (e.g. combating resistance of insect pests to insecticides, or the study of crop pathogens on model plants or in isolation)
Influences of the environment on crop plants (e.g. climate change, drought)
Soil-crop interactions and studies on the rhizosphere that directly involve crop plants
Pharming – use of crop plants to produce biopharmaceuticals
Studies on pollinators only where direct interaction with a crop is being studied

Useful Links

BBSRC strategic plan BBSRC's Food Security News Global Food Security University of Warwick's Global Priorities Programme: Food Security Warwick's £5m boost for global food security research

Research Departments

Our Topics

Animal Health and Welfare

Current Projects

Microbial Food Safety

Current Projects

Plant and Crop Science

Current Projects

Useful Links

Research Departments

Aston University

University of Birmingham

Harper Adams University

University of Leicester

University of Warwick