LABORATORY OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS

  • Cyanobacteria
    Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae,
    obtain their energy through photosynthesis,
    making use of much the same pathways as plants.
    It is thought that modern plants arose through
    a symbiotic association with cyanobacteria,
    which have since evolved to form the chloroplasts
    of higher plants thus providing energy to the
    host. For these reasons, cyanobacteria have long
    been used as a model with which to study the
    process of photosynthesis.
  • Water Scarcity
    Water scarcity and changes in the global
    environment are the most serious threats to
    global food security. Many parts of the USA,
    Australia and Asia as well as the mediterranean
    countries have seen substantial increases in
    water deficits over the past decade. Even in the
    UK, the demand for irrigation water has risen
    almost 10-fold in the past 20 years. Recurrence
    of the Dust Bowl phenomenon that devastated the
    American wheat belt is a real concern.
  • Begonia
    Begonias represent one of the largest and most
    diverse genera among the angiosperms. Several
    Begonia species exhibit complex stomatal
    patterning and variable stomatal clustering,
    which may be important for their physiological
    adaptation to extreme wet environments such as
    around waterfalls, and is a focus of research
    in the Laboratory.
  • Broad Bean
    Vicia faba is familiar to us as the broad bean
    or butterbean. It is a robust, upright annual
    that grows well in cooler environments. It’s
    rounded, segmented leaves are easy to dissect
    by hand and have long been a favourite for
    research on stomatal guard cells and their
    control of gas exchange in plants. Data that
    comes from studies of Vicia remains the gold
    standard in the field of membrane transport
    and its control.
  • Oilseed rape
    Brassica napus is a major focus
    for translational research building on work
    from Arabidopsis. The leaves and stems are
    commonly eaten in Southeast Asia and are often
    found in asian groceries sold as tender greens.
    Over 60% of its cultivation in the EU currently
    goes into biodiesel production. Rapeseed demands
    substantial water and N fertilization, although
    newer varieties grown in Canada have been
    reported to be more drought-tolerant.
  • Arabidopsis Flowers
    The Arabidopsis genome was the first plant genome
    to be fully sequenced. This knowledge, together
    with a large body of mutational data, tools for
    genetic manipulation and access to closerelatives
    with varied physiological traits, greatly speeds
    fundamental research in the plant sciences.
  • Jungle Night
    Amorphophallus Paeoniifolius is one of a number
    of giant arums found in tropical central
    Americas. Its close relative, Amorphophallus
    titanium, produces the largest flower in the
    world, which can grow to over 2 meters in
    height. Like many giant arums, A. paeoniifolius
    grows from an elongated tuber. The leaf
    structure, stomatal organisation and venation,
    visible here, are well-adapted for highly humid
    environments.

Contact Us

For general enquiries about our laboratory, its staff and the research in which we are engaged, please contact us at:

Postal Address:
General Enquiries,
Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biophysics,
Bower Building,
University of Glasgow,
Glasgow G12 8QQ UK.

Telephone: +44 (0)141 330 4771 Email: info@psrg.org.uk

 

Key Notes


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