2013 - Professor Department of Biology, University of York 1998 - 2013 Project Leader John Innes Centre 1994 - 1998 Senior Post-doc John Innes Centre 1989 - 1994 Post-doc John Innes Centre 1987 - 1988 Post-doc Michigan State University 1986 PhD University of Lancaster 1983 BSc University of Lancaster

Our research focuses on the relationships between genome evolution and the control of characteristics of plants that are of relevance to food security, health, conservation or sustainability. We use Brassica napus (a species that includes oilseed rape and several other crop types) as a model for polyploid genomes and have developed computational approaches for the deployment of “second generation” sequencing technologies to analyse molecular variation. Exploiting comparative genomics and the transcriptome as a means of analysing both gene sequence variation and gene expression variation, either directly or via our network of collaborations we are uncovering the genetic bases of a range of traits in B. napus including leaf, seed and seed oil composition. We are applying the technology in additional species, including various traits in Triticum aestivum – bread wheat, and ash dieback tolerance in the European Ash tree Fraxinus excelsior.

Our research focuses on the relationships between genome evolution and the control of characteristics of plants that are of relevance to food security, health, conservation or sustainability. We use Brassica napus (a species that includes oilseed rape and several other crop types) as a model for polyploid genomes and have developed computational approaches for the deployment of “second generation” sequencing technologies to analyse molecular variation. Exploiting comparative genomics and the transcriptome as a means of analysing both gene sequence variation and gene expression variation, either directly or via our network of collaborations we are uncovering the genetic bases of a range of traits in B. napus including leaf, seed and seed oil composition. We are applying the technology in additional species, including various traits in Triticum aestivum – bread wheat, and ash dieback tolerance in the European Ash tree Fraxinus excelsior.

A.L. Harper, M. Trick, J. Higgins, F. Fraser, L. Clissold, R. Wells, C. Hattori, P. Werner and I. Bancroft (2012). Associative Transcriptomics of traits in the polyploid crop species Brassica napus Nature Biotechnology 30:798-802 Bancroft, C. Morgan, F. Fraser, J. Higgins, R. Wells, L. Clissold, D. Baker, J. Meng, X. Wang, S. Liu and M. Trick (2011). Dissecting the genome of the polyploid crop oilseed rape by transcriptome sequencing. Nature Biotechnology 29:762-6