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SUMMARY:C4 photosynthesis: from leaf evolution to global ecology - Prof Co
 lin Osborne (University of Sheffield)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T161500Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T183000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/74f7dcb8-6937-4dfa-b4d0-33782e8d76d4/
DESCRIPTION:OCTF seminar followed by drinks - all welcome - booking requir
 ed\n\nSpeaker:  Prof Colin Osborne\, Professor of Plant Biology\, Universi
 ty of Sheffield\n\nC4 plants use a carbon-concentrating mechanism to impro
 ve photosynthetic efficiency compared with the ancestral C3 type in hot\, 
 low CO2 environments. The evolution of this photosynthetic physiology has 
 been widely credited for the ecological success of grasses in dominating t
 ropical savannas. This talk will examine how the evolution of C4 photosynt
 hesis overcame environmental limitations\, how a greater efficiency of pho
 tosynthesis changed the biology of the whole plant\, and how the resulting
  changes in plant-environment interactions transformed ecosystems. Experim
 ental work comparing large numbers of plant species has established some g
 eneral mechanisms responsible for C4 plant success. In combination with la
 rge-scale biogeographic analyses\, this work shows the importance of evolu
 tionary history in understanding global ecology today.\n\nColin is Profess
 or of Plant Biology\, and Associate Director at the Grantham Centre for Su
 stainable Futures at the University of Sheffield\, a university-wide initi
 ative that aims to build a global community of sustainability leaders thro
 ugh its PhD programme\, and to help connect sustainability research with o
 ngoing policy debates. Colin has been at Sheffield for 21 years\, followin
 g a PhD at the University of Essex and BSc at the University of Manchester
 .\n\nColin’s research investigates how physiological diversity in wild p
 lants arises from evolutionary and ecological processes\, and the conseque
 nces of this diversity for ecosystem structure and function. Photosynthesi
 s and growth are of particular interest\, since the productivity of photos
 ynthetic organisms is the energetic basis for almost all life on Earth. Ho
 w have evolutionary innovations and domestication increased the productivi
 ty of wild species? And how does growth interact with other traits to infl
 uence ecological behaviour? Work in this area is multi-disciplinary\, span
 ning biogeographical analyses\, phylogenetic investigations across evoluti
 onary timescales\, experimental physiology comparing multiple species\, an
 d genomic investigations of plant evolution.\n\nSpeakers:\nProf Colin Osbo
 rne (University of Sheffield)
LOCATION:Dyson Perrins Building (Herbertson Room\, Ground Floor)\, off Sou
 th Parks Road OX1 3QY
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/74f7dcb8-6937-4dfa-b4d0-33782e8d76d4/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:C4 photosynthesis: from leaf evolution to global ecology 
 - Prof Colin Osborne (University of Sheffield)
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