LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zhiyi-yu

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Lab 308, Bower Building, Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, United Kingdom, G12 8QQ

Plants in a changing climate! CO₂-sensitive mechanisms for stomatal control

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and global climate change pose significant challenges to the planet, with implications for food, water, and land availability. Atmospheric CO₂ has increased from 280 μmol mol^-1 to 400 μmol mol^-1 since the pre-industrial era and is expected to reach 900 μmol mol^-1 by the end of the 21^st century. The resulting greenhouse effect has raised temperatures, affecting global precipitation, pest infestations, and pathogen loads. To understand plant responses to these changes, it is essential to examine how plants regulate water loss and CO₂ uptake in a changing environment.

CO₂ is vital for photosynthesis in plants and is acquired through microscopic pores called ‘stomata’ with water loss in transpiration as an exchange. Plants respond to elevated CO₂ through short-term adjustments in stomatal movements and long-term changes in stomatal development. CO₂ regulates osmotic solute transport and membrane trafficking to influence stomatal behaviour, and the mechanics of this regulation remain largely unexplored. Understanding CO₂-sensitive membrane traffic and its regulation can provide insights into plant behaviour in a changing environment.

List by: Type | Date

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Nov 2020 - Nov 2021

Genes, Molecules & Cells Tutorial 3

Demonstrator

Nov 2020 - Jan 2024

Demonstrating in several labs and classes for molecular biology, engineering biology, or bioinformatics.