Franklin-Tong was awarded a
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) advanced fellowship. investigates the cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the
cell-cell recognition system of
self-incompatibility in
Papaver rhoeas. Self-incompatibility prevents
inbreeding through the recognition and inhibition of a flower's own pollen, ultimately determining the
reproductive success of
flowering plants. Franklin-Tong developed an
in vitro bioassay that allowed for the first investigations into the
cell biology of self-incompatibility, unravelling the mechanisms that underpin the rejection of pollen that is not compatible. She identified an intricate intracellular signalling network that regulates this self-incompatibility and culminates in cell death. When transgenic
Arabidopsis thaliana pollen is exposed to recombinant
Papaver rhoeas a similar response occurs to those detected in incompatible
Papaver rhoeas pollen. This indicates that PrpS is a species with no self-incompatibility that diverged over one hundred million years ago. == Selected publications ==