Coordinatore | THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Organization address
address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane contact info |
Nazionalità Coordinatore | United Kingdom [UK] |
Totale costo | 200˙371 € |
EC contributo | 200˙371 € |
Programma | FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) |
Code Call | FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF |
Funding Scheme | MC-IEF |
Anno di inizio | 2012 |
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) | 2012-07-01 - 2014-06-30 |
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THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Organization address
address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane contact info |
UK (CAMBRIDGE) | coordinator | 200˙371.80 |
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'Iridescent animals, such as peacocks and butterflies, owe their stunning colours to the manipulation of light by minute structures organized on or just below their surfaces. Iridescence is common in animals where it acts as mimicry or as a signal for mate selection, but it has been poorly studied in plants. The Glover lab recently discovered that flowers also produce structural colours, visible to pollinators, due to ordered striations (like those on a CD) of the cuticle on the petal epidermis. How and when these features develop is unknown. To unveil the genetic mechanisms behind iridescence, I will carry out high-throughput molecular studies along with microscopic observations and biochemical analysis using Venice Mallow (Hibiscus trionum) as a model species to establish the identities and the functions of genes governing the assembly of epidermal ridges. To conduct this work, I will also benefit from ongoing collaboration with physicists to establish the optical properties of these nanostructures, from behavioural ecology tools present in the lab to test pollinators’ reactions to iridescent petals and from the new methodologies I developed during my PhD. This project will discover original developmental pathways, used by flowering plants to shape their surfaces and communicate with insects.'
A recent research project has proposed a mechanism accounting for the development of iridescence in flowers for the first time.
In plants and animals, surface nanostructures can interact with light to produce colours that vary with the observation angle. Known as iridescence, this phenomenon can be observed in the flowers of many plant species and is thought to influence pollinators.
Scientists know very little about the genetics and development of iridescence, in both plants and animals. To address this lack of knowledge, the EU funded the 'Molecular mechanisms of petal iridescence: How do structural colours arise in flowers?' (NANOPETALS) project.
Researchers started by producing a model of nanostructure development in plants, in collaboration with mathematicians. The model proposed that nanoscopic patterns on the petal surface are created through the combined processes of cuticle production (the waxy coating of plant organs) and cell expansion.
To test this model, NANOPETALS studied genes involved in these two processes in a new model plant, Hibiscus trionum. Results indicated that cell growth and cuticle production are central effectors of nanostructure formation but other parameters, such as cuticle polymerisation and wax composition, are also important to achieve a specific pattern.
Lastly, a survey of living plant collections at several botanical gardens in the UK has revealed that iridescent species are present in all main groups of flowering plants. Thus, researchers postulate that petal iridescence has probably evolved more than once. This groundbreaking work on iridescence may lead to improved control of reproduction in crop plants, and improve our understanding of biological pattern formation in general.
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