Natasha Yelina

Profile

I received my BA, MSc and PhD working on RNA silencing in plant-virus interactions. During my post-docs funded by Royal Society/NATO, EMBO and Broodbank Postdoctoral Fellowships, I pursued my interests in RNA silencing, epigenetics and plant meiosis at the Sainsbury Laboratory (Norwich) and Department of Plant Sciences (University of Cambridge). My current research is focused on the mechanisms of meiotic recombination control with the overarching aim to accelerate conventional crop breeding.

Research interests

I study plant meiosis – a specialized cell division during sexual reproduction that results in gametes (egg and sperm/pollen) with half the genetic material of mother cells. During meiosis parental chromosomes physically exchange parts, or recombine. This leads to novel trait combinations that can be selected by breeders to create new and improved crop varieties. Despite their importance for breeding, meiotic recombination events, or crossovers, are limiting because they are rare and uneven. This leaves a substantial proportion of traits inaccessible to breeders and slows down breeding programmes. Breakthroughs in the field, including my work, have identified mechanisms that control crossover recombination. I aim to gain a deeper fundamental understanding of crossover control and translate this fundamental knowledge into step-changing breeding technologies. I research aims to address the following questions: How can we boost trait reassortment in crops? What determines crossover positioning along chromosomes? How can we overcome sensitivity of reproduction, meiosis and crossovers to temperature stress in order to engineer climate-resilient crops?

Qualifications

• PhD
• HEA Associate