Nihal Öztolan Erol
PhD Student
Plant Genetics
Tel. +(31)(0)317-483149
Email: nihal.erol-oztolan@wur.nl
Project Title
Genetic Analysis of Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana
Research Interest
Nitrogen (N) is an essential macronutrient, affecting plant growth, crop production and photosynthesis. N deficient plants show retarded growth in shoot and root, and pale colour of light green or yellow in older leaves. Currently EU agriculture is generally using a surplus of N fertilization, causing several problems, such as N leaching to groundwater and over-fertilization of surface waters. Therefore it would be advantageous to use crop varieties which are more efficient in using N. This project aims to unravel the genetics of N use efficiency (NUE), which can be defined as weight or product yield per available N in soil, in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Education Background
· 2009-Present: PhD candidate, Plant Genetics, Plant Sciences, Wageningen University
· 2007-2009: MSc, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BIO), Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS), Sabanci University (SU), Istanbul, TURKEY
M.S. Thesis: Antioxidant capacity of selenium enriched wheat and its effect on mammalian cells.
M.S. Thesis Advisor: Prof Dr. İsmail Çakmak
· 2002-2007: BSc, BIO, FENS, SU, Istanbul, TURKEY
· 1995-2002: Saint Joseph French High School, Izmir, TURKEY
Promoter: Prof. Dr. Maarten Koornneef
Supervisors: Dr. Mark Aarts and Dr. Joost Keurentjes