Research: Collaborations

Gary Loake and Eleanor Gilroy in collaboration with plant scientists from the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) have developed the first viral induced silencing system for cultivated potato, a tetraploid plant (see: Faivre-Rampant et al. (2004). Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Potato Leaves and Tubers. Plant Physiology 134, 1308-1316).

This discovery now provides a technology platform for high throughput functional genomics studies in this important crop species. 

Also in collaboration with scientsits from SCRI, Gary Loake and Eleanor Gilroy are investigating the role of proteases in the development of plant programmed cell death, activated during the establishment of plant disease resistance.