Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Birmingham, UK. After completing post-doctoral studies at Royal Holloway, University of London and University of California , Berkeley, Taylor joined the James Hutton Institute (then SCRI) in Dundee Scotland, to lead studies in molecular physiology in potato. The main thrust of his research has been on understanding the molecular basis of quality and developmental traits in potato tubers.

• A wide range of contemporary approaches, including transcriptomics, and phytochemical analysis, exploiting variation of traits of interest in germplasm collections and using transgenic models as proof of function are being used to investigate quality and developmental traits in potato. Currently Taylor leads a Work Package in the EU FP7 project METAPRO [1] that aims to optimise carotenoid accumulation in plant storage organs using transgenic approaches. An outcome of this work is the findings about carotenoid cleavage enzymes in potato (Pasare et al., 2013, Campbell et al, 2010).
• Taylor also currently leads a major Scottish Government funded project entitled “Crops and horticultural plants with improved performance in terms of resource use and outputs” (2011-2016). Here the responses of potato to elevated temperature are being investigated [2] – genetic screens are being developed to analyse the response to temperature and the molecular physiology of temperature associated processes are under study.
• Regulation of the potato tuber life-cycle. Processes such as tuberisation and dormancy are fundamental in developing an improved potato crop and yet there are still major gaps in our knowledge about them. With recent advances in potato genomics it is now possible to unravel the mechanisms that control the tuber life-cycle. A particular focus will be on tuber dormancy in a project due to start in 2013.
• Consumer traits such as flavour, texture and glycaemic index are also being studied in the Taylor laboratory. A new project, co-funded by the Potato Council and industry on glycaemic index in potato is scheduled to start in October 2013.