Origins of AgricultureWe study the factors that affected which wild plants our ancestors began to cultivate, and the selective pressures involved in their domestication. We focus on two important groups: grasses – such as rice, wheat and maize – and legumes – including common beans, lentils and soybean. Read more.
The C4 pathway is a fuel injection system for photosynthesis that increases the rate of leaf sugar production in hot climates. Our research tackles the problems of when, how and why C4 photosynthesis evolved in the grasses, and investigates its ecological significance in modern grass species. Read more.