Mathematical modelling of environmental information processing in hybrid aspen

About the Project

Understanding how plants will be affected by climate change will be crucial in forthcoming years. The complexity of this problem renders it beyond intuitive understanding, necessitating quantitative predictions using mathematical and computational modelling. The Antoniou-Kourounioti group has used such models to uncover some of the key physical and biological mechanisms of how plants respond to environmental signals, but many challenges remain.

In this project, the PhD candidate will develop mathematical models to simulate and uncover the mechanisms of bud break in hybrid aspen. Daylength and temperature control the cycle of growth pausing and resumption through the seasons. Molecular and cellular responses have been measured experimentally in different temperatures, generating data and candidate mechanisms. However, what is missing is a unified overview of how temperature-sensitive gene regulation and cell-to-cell communication through mechanical forces within the dormant bud combine to correctly time bud breaking. This will involve developing new mathematical models, including differential equations for temperature-sensitive gene expression, multicellular simulations of cells in the dormant bud and biomechanical models of the bud cells.

The PhD candidate will work closely with a unique supervisory team, which combines a world-leading experimentalist, an expert in mathematical modelling for impactful biology, and an authority in biomechanics.