Colville, Louise
Job Title
Biochemist
Department
Seed Conservation
Section
Research
Science Teams:
Joined Kew:
2007Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University of Wales, Bangor, 2002
PhD Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, 2006
Member of The Biochemical Society
Role
Biochemical characterisation of seed ageing, desiccation and viability loss to identify diagnostic markers for seed viability
Research focuses on the mechanisms of seed deterioration using biochemical approaches such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and 2D-electrophoresis to monitor the intracellular changes that take place during ageing of orthodox seeds and desiccation of recalcitrant seeds leading to seed death. A better understanding of the process of seed ageing and viability loss will enable identification of diagnostic markers of seed viability, which may provide a more convenient means of assessing seed viability than conventional germination testing. Non-invasive techniques for determining seed viability using GC-MS to monitor volatile compounds released by seeds are being developed.
Another area of interest is chemotaxonomy, and current projects are profiling the tissue-specific distribution of antioxidants, which are important for human nutrition and also as key molecules involved in seed storability, across the plant kingdom. Other activities include supervising and training work experience, internship and visiting PhD students (>18 supervised since 2007) and reviewing manuscripts for scientific journals including Plant Growth Regulation, Annals of Botany and Planta.
Keynote speaker: Seed Persistence Workshop, Perth, Australia 2011.
Main research interests: Oxidative stress and antioxidants; seed ageing and longevity; desiccation tolerance; chemotaxonomy.
Projects
- Reactive Oxygen Species as Markers of Seed Quality
- Ex situ Conservation of Plant Germplasm from Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Mexico
- Understanding “Stress” and How To Measure It
- Non-Invasive Techniques for Diagnosing Seed Viability
- Survival of Legume Seeds
- Oxidative Stress and Death Phenomena
- Role of Glutathione and Low-Molecular-Weight Thiols in Seed Survival
- Taxonomy of Vitamin E Distribution Across the Plant Kingdom
- Thermal Fingerprinting and Chemical Composition of Asteraceae, Brassicaceae and Other Oily Seeds
- Project MGU - the Useful Plants Project
Selected Recent Publications
Colville, L., Bradley, E.L., Lloyd, A.S., Pritchard, H.W., Castle, L., Kranner, I. (2012). Volatile fingerprints of seeds of four species indicate the involvement of alcoholic fermentation, lipid peroxidation, and Maillard reactions in seed deterioration during ageing and desiccation stress. Journal of Experimental Botany 63: 6519-6530 (IF 5.364).
Birtic, S., Colville, L., Pritchard, H.W., Pearce, S.R. & Kranner, I. (2011) Mathematically combined half-cell reduction potentials of low-molecular-weight thiols as markers of seed ageing. Free Radical Research 45: 1093-1102 (IF 2.878).
Kranner, I. & Colville, L. (2011) Metals and seeds: Biochemical and molecular implications and their significance for seed germination. Environmental and Experimental Botany 72: 93-105 (IF 2.985).
Colville, L. & Kranner, I. (2010) Desiccation tolerant plants as model systems to study redox regulation of protein thiols. Plant Growth Regulation 62: 241-255 (IF 1.604).
Roach, T., Beckett, R.P., Minibayeva, F.V., Colville, L., Whitaker, C., Chen, H., Bailly, C. & Kranner, I. (2010) Extracellular superoxide production, viability and redox poise in response to desiccation in recalcitrant Castanea sativa seeds. Plant, Cell and Environment 33: 59-75 (IF 5.215).
Colville, L. & Smirnoff, N. (2008) Antioxidant status, peroxidase activity, and PR protein transcript levels in ascorbate-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana vtc mutants. Journal of Experimental Botany 59: 3857-3868 (IF 5.364).
