Contact
- workRoom 306 South Laboratory
Sutton Bonington Campus
Sutton Bonington
Leicestershire
LE12 5RD
UK - work0115 951 6082
- fax0115 951 6060
- erik.murchie@nottingham.ac.uk
Biography
2006 - current
Lecturer in Crop Science, University of Nottingham.
1996 to 2005
Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA): Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, U.K.
PI: Professor Peter Horton
1994-2006
Post doctoral Research Associate, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Versailles, France
Expertise Summary
I study photosynthesis in crop plants. in particular the regulation of photosynthesis in response to environmental factors. it is clear that photosynthesis operates below optimal efficiency inthe field and if we could improve this it would have an impact on grain yield. I use model crops such as rice to understand the genetic basis for processes such as photoprotection.
Techniques used:
Photosynthetic physiology: Infra red gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence quenching analysis
Plant canopy analysis : light interception, analysis of radiation use effiicency, field analyses of chlorophyll fluorescence
Plant biochemistry : Protein analysis (electrophoresis) , pigment analysis (HPLC), microarray RNA analysis
Recently : modelling analysis of photosynthesis in plant canopies
Teaching Summary
I convene the following modules:
Resource Capture by Plants: Cell to community (D223P8), Level 2. This module covere essential aspects of plant biochemistry and physiology as it relates to the fundamental processes of capture of water, minerals and radiation.
Resource capture by Crops (D24C08), Level 4. This Masters module covers the processes by which crops acquire water and radiation. It focusses on basic principles and leads to agricultural case studies.
Crop Research Techniques (D24CO3). This MAsters module is practical based and builds on the principles learnt in D24CO8, giving students the chance to get to grips with monitoring crops in the field, developing their own field crops research proposal and measuring radiation use efficiency.
I also contribute lectures to the following modules:
Plant responses to environmental Stress (D224P5)
Plants and the Light environment (D224P5)
Research Techniques in Agriculture, PLant and Animal Science (D224Z4)
World Agroecosystems (D224P4)
Temperate Field Crops (D24AO2)
Genetic Improvement of Crop Plants (D23BA7)
Applications of Biology (D211A1)
Research Summary
My laboratory web pages can be found here: http://www.murchielab.com/
Optimising photosynthesis in crop canopies
I am studying the factors that regulate and limit photosynthesis in crop plants. I examine the fundamental processes in crop plants such as light harvesting, carbon assimilation and energy dissipation and identify targets and strategies for improvement of crops in both optimal and suboptimal (stressful) environments. The rate of leaf and canopy photosynthesis is becoming more important as a target for raising crop yields. We know this from studies that identify total biomass accumulation rate as a limiting factor (Murchie et al, 2009).
The processes of harvesting and converting photosynthetically active radiation in plants are capable of operation with a very high efficiency at the molecular level. However the upscaling of these processes to plants, canopies and agroecosystems involves losses caused by metabolic and environmental factors and we measure this as a reduction in radiation - use efficiency (RUE)*.
Current Projects
Removing the inefficiencies of 3-dimensional canopy photosynthesis by the manipulation of leaf light response dynamics and architecture (BBSRC grant BB/J003999/1)
Due to start early in 2012
Genetic Manipulation of photoprotection and photooxidative stress tolerance in rice (BBSRC Grant BB/G003157/1)
1st January 2009 - 1st January 2012
Post doctoral Research Fellow : Dr Stella Edwards
PhD students working on this project :
Liang Zhao, Ajigboye Olubukola
What is photoprotection and why is it important for crop photosynthesis ?
Photoprotection refers to a suite of regulatory chloroplast processes which are induced when the amount of light absorbed exceeds that which can be utilized in photosynthesis. They are thought of as 'protective' because they prevent the over-excitation of chlorophyll which increases the likelihood of reactions with molecular oxygen and hence oxygen radical production. They cause a down-regulation of photosynthesis and the quantum yield of CO2. Non-photochemical quenching' or NPQ is integrated closely with photochemical processes and essentially help to regulate the balance between the harvesting of light energy and the harmless dissipation of excitation energy within the chloroplast. Models have shown that delayed recovery of NPQ should result in a reduction of canopy carbon gain of up to 30 %.
Two components of NPQ are the xanthophyll cycle and the thylakoid membrane protein PsbS. Recent work suggests that these regulate different aspects of NPQ , with PsbS responsible for a shift between light-harvesting and dissipative states, and the xanthophyll cycle altering the rate of induction and relaxation of NPQ.
We are analyzing rice plants which have been transformed to possess altered levels of PSBS and xanthophyll cycle pool sizes and hence altered patterns of NPQ. We are quantifying leaf photosynthesis in fluctuating light levels and apply this knowledge to canopy - level studies and test the current models of canopy carbon gain.
Xanthophyll cycle carotenoids such as zeaxanthin are also powerful membrane anti-oxidants and increased pool sizes have been shown to improve tolerance to high light and temperature stress. We will test this effect in rice plants.
Screening for novel photosynthetic mutants: charting new pathways to C4 rice
February 2009 - February 2012
(Project funded by The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as part of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project) . See : http://c4rice.irri.org/
PhD students working on this project :
Mohamed Ahamadeen Nagoor (Mubarak) (Started February 2009, IRRI - funded)
Ian Smillie (started October 2007, BBSRC - funded)
Aryo Feldman (started September 2008, registered University of Nottingham Malaysia campus)
Rice is a tropical species which operates the C3 photosynthetic pathway. The C4 pathway improves carboxylation efficiency by operating a remarkable pump which concentrates CO2 around the enzyme Rubisco. There is much interest internationally to introduce C4-characteristics into rice which is predicted to raise the potential yield of tropical rice.
The C4 rice consortium is an international collective of scientists who recognize the value of introducing the mechanism of C4 photosynthesis into tropical rice and who devote time and resources to research to establishing the means by which it may be achieved. For more details, see http://c4rice.irri.org/
For this project and in collaboration with IRRI, we are currently screening a set of plants derived from the IR64 deletion mutant collection which has been produced by Dr Hei Leung at IRRI. We are also working with other mutant collections as they become available, such as activation - tagged lines produced by other members of the C4 rice consortium.
Together with the C4 rice consortium we are developing methods for screening rice mutant collections both in the field and laboratory. We are examining C4 traits and where possible those which are relavant to improving existing C3 photosynthesis (CO2 compensation point, variation in vein spacing and mesophyll arrangement in rice leaves, Amax, phiPSII, NPQ).
Other projects
The evolution of photosynthesis during plant breeding
Rice varieties released by the International Rice Research Institute since 1966 have shown a steadily improving grain yield, although yield potential has stagnated. We recently demonstrated that leaf photosynthetic capacity within such a series was positively associated with the improvement of certain agronomic characteristics such as biomass production rates, but negatively associated with others such as harvest index and pest/disease improvement. One working hypothesis is that some beneficial traits actually improve photosynthesis per unit ground area whilst acting as a surrogate for photosynthesis per unit leaf area. (Hubbart et al, 2007).
* pioneering research by Prof. John Monteith at Sutton Bonington in the 1970's established the relationships between light interception and crop growth that are now used routinely by crop scientists worldwide.
Other Grants Held
2006-2007 University of Nottingham New Researchers Fund.
Improving yields in UK and tropical cereals: pump-priming research into photosynthesis.
Selected Publications:
Ruban, A. and Murchie, E.H. (2012) Assessing the photoprotective effectiveness of non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching: a new approach. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, IN PRESS.
Smillie, I.R.A., Pyke, K. and Murchie, E.H.(2012) Variation in vein density and mesophyll cell architecture in a rice deletion mutant population. Journal of Experimental Botany, accepted for publication.
Edwards S, Ajigboye OO, Horton P and Murchie EH, 2012. The photoprotective protein PsbS exerts control over CO2 assimilation in fluctuating light in rice The Plant Journal. (In Press.)
Murchie EH, Niyogi KK (2011) Manipulation of photoprotection to improve plant photosynthesis. Plant Physiology 155: 86-92
Murchie EH and Reynolds M (2011) Crop radiation capture and use efficiency. Encyclopaedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, in press.
Foulkes MJ and Murchie EH (2011) Optimising canopy physiology traits to improve the nutrient-utilization efficiency of crops. In : The molecular basis of nutrient use efficiency in crops Ed Hawkesfrod M and Barraclough P. Wiley - Blackwell.
96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
Murchie EH, Pinto M and Horton P (2009) Agriculture and the new challenges for photosynthesis research. New Phytologist, Tansley review, 181: 532-552.
Llorens L, Llusia J, Murchie EH, Penuelas J, and Beerling DJ (2008). Monoterpene emissions and photoinhibition of "living fossil" trees grown under CO2 enrichment in a simulated Cretaceous polar environment. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, article number G01005.
Nyarko G, Alderson P, Craigon J, Murchie EH, Sparkes DL (2008) Comparison of cell membrane thermostability and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for the determination of heat tolerance in ten cabbage lines. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 83(5) 678-682.
Hubbart S, Peng S, Horton P, Chen Y, Murchie EH (2007) Trends in leaf photosynthesis in historical rice varieties developed in the Philippines since 1966. Journal of Experimental Botany,58(12), 3429-3438.
Lizana C, Wentworth M, Martinez JP, Villegas D, Meneses R, Murchie EH,Pastenes C, Lercari B, Vernieri P, Horton P and Pinto M (2006) Differential adaptation of two varieties of common bean to abiotic stress. I. Effects of drought on yield and photosynthesis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57, 685-697.
Wentworth M, Murchie EH, Gray JE, Villegas D, Pastenes C, Pinto M and Horton P (2006) Differential adaptation of two varieties of common bean to abiotic stress. II. Acclimation of photosynthesis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57, 699-709.
Xiaodong X, Wang Y, Williamson L, Holroyd GH, Tagliavia C, Murchie EH, Theobald J, Knight MR, Davies WJ, Leyser O, Hetherington AM (2006) The identification of genes involved in the stomatal responses to reduced atmospheric relative humidity. Current Biology 16, 882-887.
Murchie EH, Hubbart S, Peng S, Horton P (2005) Acclimation of photosynthesis to high irradiance in rice: gene expression and interactions with leaf development. Journal of Experimental Botany, 56, 411, 449-460.
Murchie EH, Hubbart S, Chen Y-Z, Peng S and Horton P (2002). Acclimation of rice photosynthesis to irradiance under field conditions. Plant Physiology 130, 1999-2010.
Murchie EH, Yang J, Hubbart S, Horton P and Peng S (2002). Are there associations between grain-filling rate and photosynthesis in the flag leaves of field grown rice? Journal of Experimental Botany 53, 2217-2224.
Recent Publications
EDWARDS S, AJIGBOYE OO, HORTON P and MURCHIE EH, 2012. The photoprotective protein PsbS exerts control over CO2 assimilation in fluctuating light in rice The Plant Journal. (In Press.)
ERIK MURCHIE and MATTHEW REYNOLDS, 2012. Crop radiation capture and use efficiency. In: ROBERT MEYERS, ed., Encyclopaedia of Sustainability Science and Technology Springer. (In Press.)
RUBAN AV and MURCHIE EH, 2012. Assessing the photoprotective effectiveness of non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching: a new approach Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Bioenergetics. (In Press.)
IAN R.A. SMILLIE, KEVIN A. PYKE and ERIK H. MURCHIE, 2012. Variation in vein density and mesophyll cell architecture in a rice deletion mutant population Journal of Experimental Botany. (In Press.)