Dr. Fiona C. Robertson

Qualifications:

DPhil (2008) – University of Cambridge, UK BSc Hons – Plant Science (2003) – University of Edinburgh, UK

Academic Appointments:

Lecturer

Research Interests:

Plant Virology
Plant Virus Interactions
Plant Circadian Biology
Crop Protection

Faculty: Science

Department: Biotechnology and Biochemistry

Research Category: Bioscience

Biography:

Dr Fiona C Robertson is a senior lecturer at the Biochemistry Department at the University of Zimbabwe. She gained her BSc in Plant Science at the University of Edinburgh and a PhD studying molecular plant virology from the University of Cambridge. She is an expert in Plant Molecular Biology and Plant Biotechnology and has worked in Zimbabwe, UK, Japan, South Africa and the USA. She is particularly interested in building the understanding of, and capacity for, plant molecular and synthetic biology in Zimbabwe. Most of her students are trying to develop genetically superior crops for Zimbabwean farmers with very little resources and they are particularly interested in developing virus resistant sweet potato and cassava.

Email: fionacrobertson@gmail.com

Phone: +263 242 303211

Publications:

1. Ruiz, M.C.M., Hubbard, K.E., Gardner, M.J., Jung, H.J., Aubry, S., Hotta, C.T., Mohd-Noh, N.I., Robertson, F.C., Hearn, T.J., Tsai, Y.C. and Dodd, A.N. (2018). Circadian oscillations of cytosolic free calcium regulate the Arabidopsis circadian clock. Nature plants, 4(9), p.690.
2. Voß, U., Wilson, M.H., Kenobi, K., Gould, P.D., Robertson, F.C., Peer, W.A., Lucas, M., Swarup, K., Casimiro, I., Holman, T.J. and Wells, D.M. (2015). The circadian clock rephases during lateral root organ initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature communications, 6, p.7641.
3. Kim, J.M., To, T.K., Tanaka, M., Endo, T.A., Matsui, A., Ishida, J., Robertson, F.C., Toyoda, T. and Seki, M. (2014). Highly reproducible ChIP-on-chip analysis to identify genome-wide protein binding and chromatin status in Arabidopsis thaliana. In Arabidopsis Protocols (pp. 405-426). Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.
4. Haydon, M.J., Mielczarek, O., Robertson, F.C., Hubbard, K.E. and Webb, A.A. (2013). Photosynthetic entrainment of the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock. Nature, 502(7473), p.689.
5. Webb, A.A. and Robertson, F.C. (2011). Calcium signals in the control of stomatal movements. In Coding and Decoding of Calcium Signals in Plants (pp. 63-77). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
6. Dalchau, N., Baek, S.J., Briggs, H.M., Robertson, F.C., Dodd, A.N., Gardner, M.J., Stancombe, M.A., Haydon, M.J., Stan, G.B., Gonçalves, J.M. and Webb, A.A. (2011). The circadian oscillator gene GIGANTEA mediates a long-term response of the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock to sucrose. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(12), pp.5104-5109.
7. Dalchau, N., Hubbard, K.E., Robertson, F.C., Hotta, C.T., Briggs, H.M., Stan, G.B., Gonçalves, J.M. and Webb, A.A. (2010). Correct biological timing in Arabidopsis requires multiple light-signaling pathways. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(29), pp.13171-13176.
8. Dodd, A.N., Gardner, M.J., Hotta, C.T., Hubbard, K.E., Dalchau, N., Robertson, F.C., Love, J., Sanders, D. and Webb, A.A. (2009). Response to comment on “The Arabidopsis circadian clock incorporates a cADPR-based feedback loop”. Science, 326(5950), pp.230-230.
9. Hubbard, K.E., Robertson, F.C., Dalchau, N. and Webb, A.A. (2009). Systems analyses of circadian networks. Molecular BioSystems, 5(12), pp.1502-1511
10. Lewsey, M., Surette, M., Robertson, F.C., Ziebell, H., Choi, S.H., Ryu, K.H., Canto, T., Palukaitis, P., Payne, T., Walsh, J.A. and Carr, J.P. (2009). The role of the Cucumber mosaic virus 2b protein in viral movement and symptom induction. Molecular plant-microbe interactions, 22(6), pp.642-654.