Howard Griffiths (scientist)
| Howard Griffiths | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 64–65) |
| Website | www |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plant Physiological Ecology |
| Institutions | |
Howard Griffiths is Professor of Plant Ecology in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His scientific interests focus on plant physiological ecology, particularly in the application of molecular biology techniques and physiology to investigate the regulation of photosynthesis and plant water-use efficiency.
Griffiths specialisations include:
Griffiths has a particular interest in introducing the dynamics of plant processes without the need for time-lapse photography. His lectures demonstrate how the spatial segregation of photosystem 1 and photosystem 2 creates a highly dynamic system, with lateral mobility and migration of damaged photosynthetic reaction centres through thylakoid membranes. He studies the reaction mechanism of RuBisCO and how plants have evolved turbocharging "carbon concentrating mechanisms" to enhance the operating efficiency of photosynthesis. His work uses stable isotopes of carbon (carbon-13 and oxygen (Δ18O) to integrate carbon and hydrological cycles for individual plants, rainforest ecosystems and Antarctic moss deposits.
His research focuses on biochemical mechanisms such as C₄ carbon fixation which spatially separate one of the anaplerotic reactions of CO₂ fixation by Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase within mesophyll tissues and RuBisCO in an inner bundle sheath cell: CO₂ concentrations are elevated and offset the wasteful oxygenase activity and the salvage pathway, photorespiration, leading to improved radiation, water and nitrogen use by C₄ plants. As of 2017[update] his programmes are focusing on
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