Abiotic Stress Tolerance
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Principle Investigators: Dr Paul Hills, Prof Jens Kossmann,
Dr Shaun Peters and Dr Christell van der Vyver
Abiotic stress tolerance in plants is regulated by complex systems. At the Institute we try to understand these systems in order to manipulate plants to enhance drought tolerance in particular by means of forward and reverse genetic approaches. Work is done mainly on monocotyledonous species such as sugarcane and wheat, but also involves model systems such as Arabidopsis and resurrection plants. This type of research is especially important in a country such as South Africa, where precipitation levels are unpredictable and farming is done in dry regions.
