Research Theme: Starch Metabolism
Starch is a major food reserve of plants. As a storage carbohydrate, it plays a central role in the carbon economy of the plant. Starch also constitutes an important part of the diet of humans and their domesticated animals and it provides raw materials for a wide range of industries.
We aim to understand how plants store and mobilise starch, and how the amount and properties of starch can be manipulated to enhance its value in food or industrial materials.
Our current work utilises genetic variants to explore the ways in which starch granules are synthesised and degraded, the evolution of these pathways and the functional significance of differences between plant species in starch metabolism.
Keywords: Starch biosynthesis and degradation; Starch composition and granule morphology; genetics and phylogenetics of starch metabolic enzymes; starch mutants of barley and other grasses.
Opportunities
Enquiries from potential postgraduate and postdoctoral scientists interested in the Denyer lab are always welcome. Studentship and employment opportunities will be advertised in the popular and scientific press and will be posted on the JIC website:
