Dr Gita Yadav, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
Science on Sundays is a programme of free, informal, monthly, drop-in plant science talks, bringing the latest discoveries in plant science to our visitors in a 30 minute nutshell.
Dr Gita Yadav, has recorded the talk she was going to present in the Garden on Sunday 17 May.
For thousands of years plant-derived natural products have been harvested for their medicinal properties in an effort that is now called ‘bioprospecting’.
The astonishing chemical diversity of biologically active substances in various organisms reflects an equally staggering diversity in function. Despite enormous diversity, most phytochemicals are derived from five-carbon isoprene units assembled and modified in thousands of ways, all of which enable plants to communicate with and react to their environment. Understanding the mechanism by which few initial substrates are converted into a tremendous chemical arsenal, holds promise for improving agro-biochemical and pharmacological potential of plants.
In this talk, Dr Gita Yadav will talk about how we push and merge boundaries of modern technologies like machine learning, genomics and complex networks, to enable a thorough investigation of the plant chemical production line. The Cambridge University Herbarium offers an untapped opportunity to expand this investigation to cover very wide taxonomic, and spatio-temporal scales by making use of collections spanning over a century from various parts of the world.
Online talk: Unpacking Plant Chemical Arsenals
Science on Sundays
Science on Sundays is a programme of free, informal, monthly, drop-in plant science talks, bringing the latest discoveries in plant science to our visitors in a 30 minute nutshell.
As access to the Garden is restricted due to COVID-19 this year, we have had to cancel these talks in person, however we are trying to deliver some virtually, as above. Please check the website and social media for updates, thank you.
Other talks part of this series:
15 March-now online Dr Sarah Robinson, Sainsbury Laboratory: The mechanics of plant development
19 April- now online Prof Beverley Glover, Director, Cambridge University Botanic Garden: How does one plant species become two?
19 July- now online Dr Sebastian Eves-van den Akker, Department of Plant Sciences: The overlooked enemy: nematode worms eating the plants from under our feet
16 August- online soon Dr Chantal Helm, Cambridge University Botanic Garden: Exploring wildlife diversity at CUBG and why it matters
