Brassinosteroid: a unique target for crop improvement

Seminario con Priti Krishna
23 marzo 2020
23 marzo 2020

Venue: Palazzo della Ricerca e della Conoscenza, via Mach 1 (San Michele all'Adige) – Seminar room
Time: 11.00

  • Brassinosteroid: a unique target for crop improvement

with Priti Krishna, professor & fountdation chiar of sustainable agricolture, Western Sydney University

Abstract

To increase food production and achieve sustainable agriculture, crop varieties that can effectively face the unexpected cascades of multiple stresses during their lifecycles must be developed. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a class of plant steroidal hormones that provide a unique opportunity to simultaneously enhance plant yield and stress tolerance. BRs control plant architecture, growth rate, grain filling, and both biotic and abiotic stress responses.  Recent advances in our knowledge, through genomic and genetic analyses, have identified BR-responsive genes that confer multiple beneficial effects on plants, including seed yield increase, root system architectural changes and broad-range stress tolerance.  These novel and key regulators of both growth and stress tolerance are excellent candidates for crop improvement.

Biography

Professor Priti Krishna has a strong background in diverse but related disciplines: Microbiology (MSc), Medical Biochemistry (PhD), Plant Molecular Biology and Sustainable Agriculture (>25 year academic career), and proven record of leadership in developing and executing pioneering research projects. Her research outputs with highest impact are: 1) establishing the role of brassinosteroids, a new class of phytohormones, in stress tolerance; 2) developing molecular tools for plant Hsp90, which were instrumental in proving the essential role of Hsp90 in disease resistance; and 3) aiding the development of a nutraceutical industry in Ontario for sea buckthorn through research. Early in her career she was awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Faculty Award, and more recently the Vincent Fairfax Chair in Sustainable Agriculture at Western Sydney University.