Next generation facilities at the University of Sheffield

Plant Production and Protection (P3) is a translational biology facility that works to solve some of the biggest problems in the global food and agriculture sector. The centre encompasses the breadth of plant and soil science expertise within the University of Sheffield, includes 24 different research groups and addresses several research themes, including:

• Climate change
• Genomics, proteomics and metabolomics
• Modelling and theoretical biology
• Pests, diseases and weeds
• Photosynthesis and development
• Soil and soil biology

The facility features state-of-the-art research equipment which includes advanced controlled environments. The plant growth chambers and rooms can accommodate a wide range of plant species and growing conditions as they are able to moderate a number of different variables such as temperature, humidity, light and also the carbon dioxide levels.

​Growing crops in a controlled way enables researchers to study exactly what the impact on the plant would be under a particular environmental stress, pathogen stress or what might occur under different climate scenarios.