Mylnefield Trust Scholars: Molecular Guardians: Building Stress-Resilient Crops for the Future in Dundee

Legumes such as beans and peas are central to sustainable food systems, providing dietary protein and many other nutrients, contributing to sustainable soil fertility and supporting climate-resilient agriculture. However, their productivity is increasingly constrained by abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures, which are expected to intensify under climate change. Enhancing stress resilience in legumes requires the identification of novel protective mechanisms and the exploitation of natural variation across species and varieties.

A promising but underexplored candidate is the naturally occurring trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). TMAO is a well-known osmolyte in marine organisms for its role in protein stabilisation and stress protection, and it has recently been reported in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a novel plant metabolite that promotes abiotic stress tolerance. Its exogenous application or endogenous accumulation has also been associated with enhanced abiotic stress resilience in Solanaceae, Eucalyptus, and Sorghum. Despite this emerging evidence, the occurrence, role, and potential applications of TMAO in legumes remain completely unexplored.

This project is driven by the hypothesis that TMAO is a conserved, universal mechanism of abiotic stress protection in plants, and therefore also present in legumes. By leveraging the natural resilience and genetic diversity present in legumes, this PhD project aims to understand the protective role of TMAO in legume plants and how its action may alter biochemistry and food quality (e.g. protein content) in these crops. The accumulated knowledge will first be validated in Arabidopsis for functional genomic characterisation, with the aim of identifying the most relevant molecular targets for translational applications, as gene editing will also be implemented in a legume crop.

Specifically, and taking into account the student's intellectual contribution, the PhD candidate will:

• Determine variation in TMAO content and natural stress resilience within existing legume cultivars;
• Identify the molecular responses of legumes linked to the external application of TMAO;
• Evaluate the protective potential of externally applied TMAO as a biostimulant and bioprotectant;
• Generate and characterise Arabidopsis lines with altered TMAO levels to identify molecular targets for translational applications;
• Deploy biotechnological approaches (precision breeding/gene editing) on selected molecular targets in legumes to enhance plant stress resilience and its impact on food quality.

Addressing this significant and growing challenge will help uncover sustainable and resilient traits for smarter farming, generating major legume crops and varieties that are highly sought after by commercial breeders, agronomists, and farmers. The project will be led by young, enthusiastic supervisors eager to share their knowledge and train future scientists and entrepreneurs, seeking a balance between academic and applied research. Dr Raul Huertas is a plant molecular physiologist with experience working on plant adaptations to environmental stressors (such as salinity and temperature) in combination with biotechnology, including legumes. Dr Martin Balcerowicz is a Royal Society University Research Fellow with extensive expertise in plant temperature responses, and Dr Marta Maluk has extensive experience working with legumes, spanning from biotechnological to agronomic aspects.

Research findings will be disseminated through presentations at relevant industry events and academic conferences. The work will take place at the new Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC) at the James Hutton Institute, which also houses the Plant Sciences Division of the University of Dundee (UoD). The strong synergy between JHI and UoD within the APGC provides unique collaboration opportunities alongside state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and high-throughput plant growth and phenotyping spaces.

This 4 year studentship opportunity is open to UK students and provides funding to cover stipend, UK tuition fees and consumable/travel costs. Students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance on UK and international candidates. Applicants will have a first-class honours degree in a relevant subject or a 2.1 honours degree plus Masters (or equivalent). This project is based at the Dundee site of the James Hutton Institute, UK.