UCT scientists scoop prestigious research grant to explore plant symmetry
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Cape Town - A research team of international scientists, including a University of Cape Town (UCT) professor, have been awarded a prestigious research grant from the International Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Organization.
The organisation funds international teams of scientists who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches to address questions related to complex mechanisms of living organisms.
Professor Nicola Illing from the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology said in the next three years the research team will investigate the genetics of how symmetry is broken in mirror image flowers of two endemic South African plants, namely Wachendorfia paniculata (commonly known as red root) and Cyanella alba (commonly known as five fingers or yellow ladyâs hands), and compare it to Heteranthera multiflora, which is found across the Americas.