• UK Research and Innovation close
• 2011 close
• 2014 close

Globally, forests contain a vast reservoir of carbon, approximately 30% of that in the biosphere, much of which is in the form of woody plant tissues. Every year this is added to as plants photosynthesise, but in balanced systems a similar amount is broken down to CO2 and water, and nutrients are released. Understanding what controls this balance is crucial for understanding carbon cycling, and for predicting carbon cycle responses to global climate changes. Recycling of woody resources is almost exclusively confined to a narrow range of specialist fungi: basidiomycetes and a few ascomycetes. Thus, these fungi are central to carbon and nutrient cycling, and yet we still have relatively little understanding of how they grow in wood, how they interact with each other and how different community composition affects decay. Key objectives of this proposal are, therefore, to unravel these processes, and to obtain quantitative data on the way in which fungal communities influence wood decay rate to be able to incorporate these dynamics into global models of carbon cycling. The majority of decay takes place in fallen wood, but wood decay actually begins in standing dead parts of trunks and attached dead branches. Moreover, the fungi that start the process are already latently present while the tissues are still functional. When the wood dries, the latent fungi grow throughout the wood as mycelium and begin the decay process. Later, other fungi, arriving as spores, 'fight' with those already present. Preliminary evidence suggests that fungal community composition, when species become established, and how they interact with each other, have a dramatic effect on the rates of wood decay and thus carbon cycling. We have a general understanding of factors affecting the process built from studies on fungal communities developing in attached branches, and from felled wood, but felled logs do not reflect the situation in nature as they are not already well colonized. In this project we will for the first time investigate community development when naturally colonized wood falls to the forest floor. We will simulate naturally fallen wood by pre-colonising wood slices with fungi that are primary colonizers of attached beech branches. Firstly, we will determine whether certain species effectively 'select' which fungi follow them, by leaving colonized slices on the forest floor and collecting after different times, using new high throughput DNA sequencing technologies and traditional isolation onto agar. Secondly, we will quantify wood decay rate, by measuring loss of density of slices in the field experiment. Thus, we will relate the species mix of primary and later colonisers with decay rate. As decay in the field will also be affected by climatic variables etc., we will also perform lab experiments on the effect on decay rate of adding specific later colonisers to slices pre-colonised with specific primary colonisers, by measuring CO2 evolution and weight loss. Thirdly, we will study how antagonistic interactions between fungi affect decay rate. When fungi interact, the outcome can be deadlock in which neither species gains territory, or replacement of one species by the other. A preliminary study has indicated that decay rate actually changes during the course of replacement of one fungus by another. We will investigate this in detail and also ask whether the outcome of the interaction is related to decay rate, by following CO2 evolution during the interaction. Finally we want to know how different numbers of individuals/species affects decay rate. We will precolonize wood slices and then vary the number of individual strains added, and measure decay rate in the laboratory under standard conditions. This project will reveal how fungal communities alter, how communities affect decay rate, provide data for carbon cycling models, and possibly form the basis for future manipulations of fungal communities to optimise carbon cycling.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Collections of families are useful for genetic studies because their members share a common background, both genetic and environmental, meaning that differences between them are likely to be due to the genes being studied. Family studies can also determine whether a mother?s genes affect the health of her child through inheritance by the child or presence in the mother. For practical reasons it is often difficult to collect data from all the members of a family, so statistical methods can be used to fill in the missing data. In recent years development of such methods has fallen behind similar methods designed for unrelated subjects. This project will extend our previous work on missing data in family studies, developing several new methods that will be applied to a number of collaborative studies.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at www.rcuk.ac.uk/StudentshipTerminology. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Why is the world's upper ocean supersaturated with methane? We know that it is, but do not understand why. Evidence shows that a portion of the methane comes from in situ production in oxygenated waters, however that seems to contradict all we know about methanogenesis; a strictly anaerobic process. This phenomenon has been termed the 'oceanic methane paradox'. If, however, there were anaerobic microsites in the upper ocean, then it is entirely possible that methanogenesis could occur within them. We now think that marine zooplankton, their excreted faecal material and other sedimenting particles may provide these anaerobic microsites in pelagic waters. Work conducted by our research group at SAMS supports this hypothesis. We have now clearly identified the presence of methanogens (methane producing microorganisms) within marine zooplankton faecal pellets and sedimenting particles. This, along with data showing that elevated methane concentrations are associated with these sites, has led to greater insights into how this anaerobic process may be actively occurring in pelagic waters. We also know that methanogens can use a range of substrates, including carbon dioxide and formate. However, some of the methanogens we have studied from zooplankton faecal pellets are affiliated with the genus Methanolobus, and are thought to utilize one-carbon (C1)-compounds, including dimethylsulphide (DMS) and methylamines (MAs). Potential sources of these two compounds are dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and glycine betaine (GB), which are produced by marine phytoplankton to maintain their osmotic balance in seawater. It is likely that when zooplankton eat phytoplankton they consume at least some of the DMSP or GB, which is then packaged into their faecal pellets. DMSP and GB are thought to be converted into DMS and MAs respectively by microbial activity. Grazing therefore represents a pathway for these C1-compounds to enter into the zooplankton gut and faecal pellets, where they may be substrates for methanogenesis. It is thought that aerosol particles generated from either DMS or MAs may contribute to the pH of natural precipitation and play a role in climate control due to their influence on cloud albedo and reflection of solar radiation. Therefore, zooplankton faecal pellets could be instrumental sites both in the production of a greenhouse gas and the removal of climatic feedback gases, having important consequences for our understanding and modelling of the role the oceans play in climate change. We propose to conduct a multidisciplinary project that will further our understanding of the role of zooplankton, their faecal pellets and sedimenting particles as potential sites of in situ methanogenesis in the water column. Our main purpose is to clarify the role of algal derived compounds in methanogenesis, determine the importance of syntrophic relationships in this process and investigate the use of alternative substrates within these sites. This should enable us to determine the main methanogenic groups responsible for this process and how they are influenced by their environment and other microorganisms. The prerequisites for this work have been demonstrated by the group at SAMS and others. However, much of this work, though exciting, is preliminary and the processes remains poorly understood. Research will be carried out using both state of the art techniques (including real-time PCR, stable isotope probing, stable isotope mass spectrometry, CARD-FISH) and established analytical and microbiological methods (culture & culture independent). In addition, through the work of a tied studentship, we hope to add exciting new aspects to this work including further characterisation of isolated methanogens and an increased understanding of their location using CARD-FISH and confocal microscopy. By combining these areas of research with new methodology we hope to start to unravel the ocean methane paradox.

A century ago Karl von Frisch advanced our understanding of animal sensory worlds demonstrating in classic experiments that bees see colours. Many insects as most other animals have colour vision and the perception of colour does not require complex higher brain functions. Insects are small-sized and equipped with compound eyes that give blurred views of a spatially complex world. How colourful are these views and how does an insect recognise colourful objects, patterns and shapes in a visual scene? These questions can be well studied in bees, an important insect model system in ecological, behavioural and physiological research. Foraging bees, as other pollinating insects, usually look for particular flowers to efficiently collect nectar and pollen. They will dismiss many other flowers during their search and not approach or land on them. Such flower constancy requires that floral features, e.g. colours, patterns and odours are learned and recognised by bees. This learning ability can be exploited to easily train bees to artificial food sources, as done by von Frisch, where different colours or patterns signal the presence of reward. Using such experimental methods and new tools to measure and quantify colours as they are perceived by bees, I shall investigate how patterns look to a bee if they are colourful, whether and when a bee sees or learns colours independently from patterns. A crucial hypothesis that I will test is whether pattern and colour vision are segregated in the bee visual system, e.g. whether and to which extent pattern vision in insects may be colour-blind, as has been suggested in the past. I shall also look at flowers through bee eyes and brain using optical and sensory models and make predictions of how detectable and disciminable floral colours and patterns are for bees. Detection is the main visual task if a flower is at a large distance and needs to be picked out from the background. In the first set of experiments I will train bees to detect a pattern which are placed on the back wall of one of two Y-maze arms. The other arm is empty. In the maze the bee will have to decide in which arm it sees the pattern. The distance to the pattern determines the size with which it is projected onto the bee eye. As long as the bee can detect a pattern it will enter the correct arm and find a sucrose reward. Moving the pattern further away the detection limit will be reached when the bee will choose both arms randomly. Detection limits will be determined for a variety of two-coloured patterns that consist of a central disc and a surrounding ring or a disc divided in two halfs, resembling the major types of flower displays as seen through the low-resolution eyes of bees. Colours will be varied systematically to understand how colour hue and colour contrast against the background influence pattern detectability. These parameters will be used to analyse colours and patterns in displays of intact wild flowers that I will record using UV-sensitive multispectral imaging. Pattern elements will be also varied in shape and relative size for identifying possible filter mechanisms in the visual system of the bee. In a second set of experiments bees will discriminate between these patterns. Only one pattern will be rewarded. If bees can distinguish them, they will show a clear preference for the rewarded pattern. These results will tell us, how spatial and colour cues in a pattern are perceived by the bee and which ones may be more important in some patterns. Knowing how bees perform pattern detection and discrimination, I will be able to explain how bees see and memorise complex colourful flower displays. The study will provide new insights the bees' perceptual abilities may have influenced the evolution of complex and colourful displays in flowers that aim to advertise themselves effectively to bees and other insect pollinators with excellent colour vision and learning capacity.

To develop an integrated new product introduction system to support a sustainable growth strategy in existing and new markets.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Durham University hosts one of the world's largest and most active research groups in the field of extragalactic astronomy. We have been at the forefront of many of the most important advances in the fields of galaxy formation and evolution and this is reflected in both our citation record and our leadership of major studies on the world's foremost ground and space observatories (both STFC-supported and other premier international facilities). Our group also benefits from the strong links and deep-rooted synergies between our research programme and the work within the ICC and the CfAI instrumentation groups at Durham. Our programme addresses three of the central questions highlighted in the STFC Roadmap: ``How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?'', ``What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions?'' and ``What is the Universe made of and how does it evolve?''. In this proposal we present the case for support for our coherent and comprehensive programme to address critical elements in all three of these questions. This 5-year programme builds on our research strengths and exploits the new opportunities available through current and future STFC-funded facilities. In particular we will exploit our leadership in multiwavelength studies of galaxy populations at both moderate and high redshift, studies of the Ly-alpha forest, X-ray surveys and studies of AGN and panoramic QSO and galaxy surveys, to answer open questions which lie at the core of these Roadmap questions. Our proposal is constructed around the seven broad themes, each of which comprises a group of goals and associated projects aimed at answering questions in distinct research areas, within the broader scope of the rolling grant programme. The seven themes are: Theme A, Environment and galaxy evolution at z<0.5; Theme B, The physics of high-redshift galaxies; Theme C, The inter-galactic medium and galaxies; Theme D, Dust and gas in obscured galaxies; Theme E, Demographics and properties of AGN; Theme F, Constraining the mechanics of AGN feedback; Theme G, Survey cosmology. Theme A aims to understand the physical processes responsible for the transformation of galaxies in high-density environments, their effect on the morphologies and star formation histories of the galaxies. Theme B investigates galaxy formation at higher redshift, to understand the star formation process in high-z galaxies, the evolution of their metal content and the formation of their galactic structures. Theme C focuses on studies of the relationship between gas and galaxies at low and high z and the cycle of material between galaxies and their gaseous environments. Theme D studies the most extreme, obscured starburst galaxies at high z , to determine their contribution to the star formation density and to test their role in the evolution of other galactic populations. Theme E uses multi-wavelength surveys to investigate the growth of supermassive black holes, the processes which drive this and the effects of obscuration which limit our knowledge of this population. Theme F focuses on the influence of feedback from AGN on their galactic hosts and surroundings. Theme G seeks to constrain cosmological parameters using panoramic photometric and spectroscopic surveys of galaxies, QSOs and clusters.

Arsenic (As) is a carcinogenic and toxic element. Natural contamination of drinking water with As is the main source of exposure to this element in many areas and is particularly prevalent in areas such as Bangladesh, West Bengal, and parts of China and the USA. Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh and West Bengal has been described as the largest mass poisoning of a population in history, with millions of people affected. Rice is one of the main foods in As-epidemic areas and irrigation with As-contaminated water has resulted in rice with elevated levels of As. The European Food Safety Authority has called for As intake to be reduced. This can only be achieved with a better understanding of the pathways of As uptake and transport within rice plants and this is the aim of the first part of my project. This is a problem of genuine international significance that can only be addressed by an interdisciplinary approach.Wheat grain storage proteins are of immense importance in food processing as they form a viscoelastic network in dough trapping the carbon dioxide bubbles formed during sugar fermentation causing the dough to rise when baked. These proteins are deposited in the starchy endosperm region of the grain, which gives the white flour fraction on milling. However, the starchy endosperm is not a homogenous tissue, with clear gradients in the content and composition of starch, protein and cell wall polysaccharides. These gradients have implications for grain processing as they may allow the production of flour fractions with specific compositions and processing properties. However, they are also of fundamental interest in relation to understanding the control of endosperm development and the synthesis of the gluten proteins which determine the processing properties.This project will use NanoSIMS - state of the art high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry - to localise As in the nodes of rice plants, the point in the stem where solutes are split into two streams with one controlling uptake to the leaves and one to the rice grain. Several transporters controlling As uptake into the grain have been identified and I will be comparing the distribution of trace amounts of As at the nodes of wild type rice plants with mutants which are missing these specific transporter genes therefore blocking the uptake of As. In the second part of my project I will use the capability of the NanoSIMS to detect isotopes to investigate the distribution of proteins in developing wheat grains. Wheat plants will be fed with compounds used for nitrogen fertilisation which have been isotopically spiked with 15N. The plant is unable to distinguish naturally occurring 14N from 15N, which has a low natural abundance, therefore its distribution in the grain can be used to directly infer mechanisms of protein synthesis. This research will primarily be undertaken at the Department of Materials at Oxford University. This is a highly collaborative project and will involve scientists working in the fields of plant physiology, environmental science, crop nutrition and cereal grain structure and composition to develop new methodologies and improve understanding of the uptake and deposition of key elements in plants. Sample preparation of biological samples for SIMS analysis is difficult and complex. The Life Sciences department at Oxford Brookes University have a lot of expertise in preparing biological materials for TEM and, as we have discovered, NanoSIMS analysis. Samples will be grown at Rothamsted Research, prepared at Oxford Brookes University and the distributions of the key elements will be determined with the NanoSIMS in the Oxford Materials department. The strong collaborative links will be used to interpret these results to make an impact to the scientific knowledge in many aspects of plant science.