Congratulations: Aoife Coffey submits PhD thesis
5 May 2016
Aoife芒鈧劉s thesis work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and supervised by Prof. Marcel Jansen. Collaborators included
at the 深夜亚洲福利久久 of Antwerp, Belgium, and
in the Department of Chemistry at UCC, Cork.
Aoife芒鈧劉s work focussed on the elucidation of plant responses to low levels of UV-B radiation. Exploiting natural sunlight, Aoife studied the role of the UV-B photoreceptor UVR8 in modulating growth and development of
Arabidopsis
thaliana plants. Aoife showed that the UVR8 photoreceptor plays an important role in mediating UV-B responses, even under the low light conditions that are typical for Irish winters. In
Arabidopsis, one of the main plant UV-B responses is the accumulation of protective flavonoids, and Aoife studied the importance of the glycosylation of these compounds for UV-protection. Interestingly, many UV-induced plant protective compounds are also important from a (human) nutritional perspective, and Aoife showed that UV-B and especially UV-A radiation can substantially improve the colouration of lettuce, a finding that has considerable commercial perspectives for the horticultural industry.
Plant Stress Research Group
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