Primary Supervisor: Professor Jose Gutierrez-Marcos (University of Warwick)

Secondary Supervisor: Dr. Cristophe Salaud (Limagrain)

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Start date and duration: 24 January 2024 for 3.5 years

Funding: The project is fully funded for 3.5 years including tuition fees in full and an annual stipend of at least £18,622 (tax free paid monthly in advance).

Application deadline: 15 December 2023

Project description:

Most agronomically important food crops have evolved through a series of human-driven breeding events. Because of this, most modern crop varieties contain limited genetic variation, commonly referred to as ‘genetic bottlenecks’. A trade-off of domestication or repetitive artificial selection was the reduction of secondary shoot outgrowth (branching), resulting in reduced branch formation in most domesticated crops compared with their highly-branched wild relatives. Since branches are produced from the axillary meristems, increased the number of meristems in floral organs is now becoming a sought-after desirable trait to engineer in modern cultivars as it is one way to increase yield. Therefore, understanding how meristem formation occurs is important to ensure greater productivity of our modern crops. We have recently discovered a new molecular pathway that controls the formation of meristems. Based on this finding, this project aims to elucidate the role of this pathway in the formation of floral meristems of maize. Specifically, we will use targeted genome engineering tools to engineer plants with an increased number of meristems. We will use computational and developmental genetic and molecular approaches to unravel the exact nature of this pathway and uncover the regulatory components involved.

We anticipate that this work will not only help us understand how development is achieved in maize and provide essential know-how to engineer new breeding tools and enhance yield.

Eligibility

The University’s standard entry requirements are as follows:

• You must hold an upper second class UK honours degree (2:1) or M.Sc. in an appropriate discipline or equivalent - Overseas Qualifications: UK equivalencyLink opens in a new window
• You must be able to provide 2 satisfactory academic references
• Submit an English Language test certificateLink opens in a new window (if appropriate). Please note: It is a requirement that overseas students will show that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the PhD. Please note that the requirement for admission is IELTS 6.5 (with no component below 6.0) or equivalent. More information can be found at:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/english/

How to apply

• Informal project enquiries can be made to Professor Jose Gutierrez-Marcos via email:
• Complete the online application formLink opens in a new window - selecting course code: P-C1PB - PhD Life Sciences
• Upload a transcript from your current or previous study and any other documents that you feel would support your application.
• Ask your referees to submit a reference for you. Note: when you submit your application, an email will automatically be sent to your referees requesting a reference for you. This email will contain a secure link for your referee to upload a reference for you.
• The deadline for applications is to be confirmed

For further information about applying to Warwick see the application FAQ'sLink opens in a new window page.