Objetivo Iridescent animals, such as peacocks and butterflies, owe their stunning colours to the manipulation of light by minute structures organized on or just below their surfaces. Iridescence is common in animals where it acts as mimicry or as a signal for mate selection, but it has been poorly studied in plants. The Glover lab recently discovered that flowers also produce structural colours, visible to pollinators, due to ordered striations (like those on a CD) of the cuticle on the petal epidermis. How and when these features develop is unknown. To unveil the genetic mechanisms behind iridescence, I will carry out high-throughput molecular studies along with microscopic observations and biochemical analysis using Venice Mallow (Hibiscus trionum) as a model species to establish the identities and the functions of genes governing the assembly of epidermal ridges. To conduct this work, I will also benefit from ongoing collaboration with physicists to establish the optical properties of these nanostructures, from behavioural ecology tools present in the lab to test pollinators’ reactions to iridescent petals and from the new methodologies I developed during my PhD. This project will discover original developmental pathways, used by flowering plants to shape their surfaces and communicate with insects. Ámbito científico engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcolorsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologynatural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesbehavioural ecology Programa(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Tema(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development" Convocatoria de propuestas FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria Régimen de financiación MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinador THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Aportación de la UE € 200 371,80 Dirección TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge Reino Unido Ver en el mapa Región East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Tipo de actividad Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contacto administrativo Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Coste total Sin datos
