Plant and Crop Science at the University of Warwick
School of Life Sciences and Warwick Crop Centre
The University of Warwick School of Life Sciences, incorporating the Warwick Crop Centre, is a
centre of excellence for research into plant science and its application to sustainable agriculture,
horticulture, food security and healthy nutrition.
The School of Life Sciences, based at the University’s Gibbet Hill Campus, is a major contributor to
international plant science research. It hosts over 20 research groups, covering a uniquely
comprehensive range of research stretching from underpinning fundamental bioscience through
to applied crop science and horticulture. The School has leading international groups in plant and
crop genetics, disease and stress resistance, plant reproduction, plant circadian clocks, seed
biology, plant-environment interactions, nutrient usage, rhizosphere biology, post-harvest quality,
weed science, pest and pathogen biology and crop evolution. The School incorporates research
previously based at Warwick HRI, which was rated the top UK department for research quality in
Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Science in RAE 2008. The University of Warwick has recently
invested in two new academic positions within plant science. The University of Warwick is
investing over £5 million in facilities for plant science in the School, including a state-of-the-art
Controlled Environment and Glasshouse facility, housing growth cabinets, walk-in rooms and
environmentally controlled greenhouses based on the main campus (Phytobiology Facility). This,
as well as upgraded laboratories in the current Life Sciences building on Gibbet Hill, ensure that
plant scientists have access to cutting-edge facilities and techniques. The University of Warwick is
also planning to initiate construction of a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary bioscience centre, the
Warwick BioInterface (WBI) building, on the main campus in 2013. This will significantly enhance
integration between research in the School of Life Sciences and complementary disciplines such as
engineering, mathematics, computing, chemistry, medical and social sciences that are already
located on main campus. The School of Life Sciences provides training in plant biology at
undergraduate, postgraduate and professional levels.
The Warwick Crop Centre, based at the University’s Wellesbourne Campus, is an internationally
recognised centre for research on horticultural crops, particularly annual vegetable crops
propagated from seed. The Centre has a wide range of expertise and focuses on strategic and
applied research, thus forming an interface with the horticultural and wider agricultural industries.
Warwick Crop Centre is home to the Genetic Resources Unit, a leading international resource of
genetic diversity for horticultural crops. The Wellesbourne site has experimental field plots and
glasshouses, serviced by a highly skilled team of technicians and is ideally suited to industry-facing
research. It has an important role in training, leading MSc courses in Environmental Bioscience in a
Changing Climate, Food Security and Sustainable Crop Production.
Wellesbourne Campus
Phytobiology Facility (2013)
Gibbet Hill Campus
MAJOR RESEARCH THEMES:
Systems Biology: The School of Life Sciences, in collaboration with the Warwick Systems Biology
Centre, is leading the way in applying Systems Biology to elucidate plant responses to the
environment. In a major collaborative project funded under the Systems Approaches to
Biological Research (SABR) initiative, we are developing predictive models of global gene changes
at the whole plant level stimulated by abiotic stress, pathogen infection and developmental
senescence. We are extending these models by carrying out functional genomics screens
including the construction of a global protein interaction network in plant immunity and yeast
one-hybrid screens to identify novel regulatory components in plant stress responses. We are
working towards systems analyses of the lateral root development in Medicago truncatula and
Arabidopsis and its association with nodulation using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)
in plant roots to reveal and model the gene networks in specific cell types. We are also using
systems approaches to understand the control of the plant circadian clock.
Brassicas: Brassica species include a range of important arable and vegetable crops. The School
of Life Sciences is an international leader in the development of genetic and genomic resources
in the vegetable brassicas. The Brassica oleracea genome sequence has been completed in an
international effort that included significant input from our scientists and has allowed the
generation of a high-resolution integrated genetic map that is anchored to genome sequence.
Important traits being studied using genetic diversity in Brassica include post-harvest
deterioration and phytonutrient content, dormancy, germination and seedling vigour, nitrogen
and water use efficiency, flowering time and juvenility, resistance to virus, fungi and insects.
Combining systems analysis, allele identification and genetic analysis will enable genes
underlying key agronomic traits to be identified and exploited in translational research. Brassica
may be the first target for translation but knowledge of genes that confer valuable traits will also
be applicable in other crops.
Horticulture: The mix of expertise in the School of Life Sciences enables its scientists to
undertake a continuum of horticulture research from basic to applied science, facilitating a flow
of knowledge and technology through to industry via the Warwick Crop Centre. Scientists in the
School contribute their expertise in genetics and genomics, seed development, flowering, root
physiology, weed biology, and are undertaking research on a range of traits associated with crop
quality and resource use efficiency. The Warwick Crop Centre offers specific expertise on pest
and disease biology, soil microorganisms and the environmental impact of different farming
systems. It is the host for the Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN), which brings
together researchers, industry partners and other stakeholders to develop common goals and
priorities for vegetable plant breeding in the UK. The Warwick Crop Centre runs and takes part in
regular events to engage with industry partners and facilitate knowledge exchange.
RESOURCES:
The University of Warwick provides the full range of laboratory and field facilities to support
advanced research in Plant and Crop science. Researchers have access to the latest genomics
technology via the in-house Genomics facility. We are investing in a new Controlled Environment
and Glasshouse facility on the main campus (Phytobiology Facility). The Wellesbourne campus
has over 6 hectares available annually for field vegetables and associated trials work, a range of
glasshouses, polytunnels, frames and tygan houses for plant growth experiments, and an insect
rearing unit. It also hosts the Genetic Resources Unit.
School of Life Sciences
The University of Warwick
Gibbet Hill Campus, , Coventry CV4 7AL
Email: life.sciences@warwick.ac.uk
Warwick Crop Centre
The University of Warwick
Wellesbourne Campus, Warwick CV35 9EF
Email: cropcentre@warwick.ac.uk