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Finding the missing links in salt and water transport in plants. Grain crops and horticultural plants use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, but a group of these proteins can also transport some important nutrient ions as well as toxic sodium ions. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and ion transport via aquaporins using advanced techniques in biophysics and molecular biology. These results will provide novel insights into how plan ....Finding the missing links in salt and water transport in plants. Grain crops and horticultural plants use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, but a group of these proteins can also transport some important nutrient ions as well as toxic sodium ions. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and ion transport via aquaporins using advanced techniques in biophysics and molecular biology. These results will provide novel insights into how plants coordinate and adapt to changing water and salt conditions, addressing a missing link in how ions and water move in and out of plant vacuoles. Benefits include an expanded, innovative range of targets for plant breeding programs to improve plant productivity in our changing climate.Read moreRead less
Controlling accumulation of elements in the shoots of higher plants by manipulating processes in specific cell types in the roots. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the processes controlling accumulation of elements in the shoots of plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of processes relevant to stress tolerance, plant nutrition, human nutrition and the removal of toxic metals from soils by plants. These are all areas of great importance to Australian ag ....Controlling accumulation of elements in the shoots of higher plants by manipulating processes in specific cell types in the roots. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the processes controlling accumulation of elements in the shoots of plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of processes relevant to stress tolerance, plant nutrition, human nutrition and the removal of toxic metals from soils by plants. These are all areas of great importance to Australian agriculture, environmental sustainability and human health. The increased understanding arising from this project will underpin future work to increase agricultural productivity and the quality of life for all in the Australian and international communities.Read moreRead less
Microgenomics - a tool to dissect effects of salinity on gene expression in specific cell types of Arabidopsis and rice. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in salinity tolerance in higher plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of a range of processes relevant to salinity tolerance, an area of great importance to Australian agriculture and environmental sustainability. The increased understanding arising from this ....Microgenomics - a tool to dissect effects of salinity on gene expression in specific cell types of Arabidopsis and rice. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in salinity tolerance in higher plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of a range of processes relevant to salinity tolerance, an area of great importance to Australian agriculture and environmental sustainability. The increased understanding arising from this project will underpin future work to increase agricultural productivity and the quality of life for all in the Australian and international communities.Read moreRead less
Engineered graphene-based nanofertilizers to improve crop nutrition. This project seeks to evaluate the unique properties of graphene to more effectively engineer novel fertilizers with properties that can enhance nutrient efficiency and reduce losses to the environment. More efficient and effective fertilizer formulations are needed to improve nutrient use efficiency in agricultural systems globally, and for effective biofortification of staple food crops with essential micronutrients. Nitrogen ....Engineered graphene-based nanofertilizers to improve crop nutrition. This project seeks to evaluate the unique properties of graphene to more effectively engineer novel fertilizers with properties that can enhance nutrient efficiency and reduce losses to the environment. More efficient and effective fertilizer formulations are needed to improve nutrient use efficiency in agricultural systems globally, and for effective biofortification of staple food crops with essential micronutrients. Nitrogen may be lost from soil through leaching and gaseous losses to the atmosphere. Phosphorus, as well as copper, manganese and zinc, are prone to reactions in soils and during manufacturing which reduces their effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Harnessing genetic diversity for complex traits. Genetic diversity underpins crop improvement but has become increasingly narrow in our major crops. Strategies exist for mobilising simple traits (e.g. disease resistance) from wild accessions or landraces into cultivars, but there are no effective approaches for introducing complex traits, including stress tolerance or components of yield. Using barley as an important crop and a genetic model, the project aims to address this problem by applying ....Harnessing genetic diversity for complex traits. Genetic diversity underpins crop improvement but has become increasingly narrow in our major crops. Strategies exist for mobilising simple traits (e.g. disease resistance) from wild accessions or landraces into cultivars, but there are no effective approaches for introducing complex traits, including stress tolerance or components of yield. Using barley as an important crop and a genetic model, the project aims to address this problem by applying a novel approach; partial redomestication of wild accessions by introgressing genes required for modern farming, then evaluating the resulting partially adapted germplasm in hybrids with elite cultivars. The project expects to generate new and diverse germplasm pools for breeding.Read moreRead less
IMPROVING NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN CROP PLANTS: ROLE OF THE AMMONIUM TRANSPORT FAMILY AMT. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants will reduce the use of environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilisers that threaten through leaching the sustainability of Australia's agricultural sector and local water ecosystems. Plants contain genes that encode transport proteins required for the uptake of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) from the soil. We will identify the in planta activity of the A ....IMPROVING NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN CROP PLANTS: ROLE OF THE AMMONIUM TRANSPORT FAMILY AMT. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants will reduce the use of environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilisers that threaten through leaching the sustainability of Australia's agricultural sector and local water ecosystems. Plants contain genes that encode transport proteins required for the uptake of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) from the soil. We will identify the in planta activity of the AMT family of ammonium transporters and associated signalling pathways which control the uptake and assimilation of ammonium in plants. This project will confirm the mechanisms involved in ammonium uptake from the soil and lead to the development of ammonium-nitrogen efficient crop plants.Read moreRead less
What is the function of gamma-aminobutyric acid-gated anion channels in plants? The project will identify the molecular basis of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signalling in plants. This is significant because GABA regulates proteins that release molecules involved in root-soil interactions, growth, and fertilisation. The project's discoveries will allow improvement of these agronomic traits that ultimately determine crop yield.
Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this proces ....Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this process and clarify their mode of action. The genes ensuring grain retention have been so critical for domestication that the region surrounding them has become genetically fixed. The project will assess the implication of fixation on genetic diversity and develop options to bring novel variation into breeding programs.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of PQ loop proteins in plants: are they voltage insensitive nonselective cation channels? Millions of hectares of Australian agricultural land are affected by salinity. This results in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year. The identification of the pathway for the initial influx of Na+ into plants from the soil will be important in helping to develop crop plants that are salt tolerant. This will increase our understanding of the mechanisms of salinity ....Characterisation of PQ loop proteins in plants: are they voltage insensitive nonselective cation channels? Millions of hectares of Australian agricultural land are affected by salinity. This results in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year. The identification of the pathway for the initial influx of Na+ into plants from the soil will be important in helping to develop crop plants that are salt tolerant. This will increase our understanding of the mechanisms of salinity tolerance, an area of great importance to Australian agriculture and environmental sustainability. The future applications of this work will increase agricultural productivity and enhance the quality of life for both Australians and the international community.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing wheat evolution using ancient DNA. The domestication of wild grasses by farmers was a step change in human history; it led to the emergence of modern cereals and with them, western civilisation. This project will apply modern DNA sequencing methods to 5000-year-old cereal seeds to reconstruct the history of wheat, barley and other crops, and identify lost ancient forms and diversity.