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Photosynthesis under extreme conditions. The aim of this project is to characterise modifications to the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis of simple, single cell organisms that live under harsh environmental conditions including: i) elevated temperature; ii) low, variable and low energy (red) light; iii) arid and variable hydration; and iv) chemical stress e.g. low pH. In a changing biosphere brought about by anthropological climate change, a better understanding of existing adaptions ....Photosynthesis under extreme conditions. The aim of this project is to characterise modifications to the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis of simple, single cell organisms that live under harsh environmental conditions including: i) elevated temperature; ii) low, variable and low energy (red) light; iii) arid and variable hydration; and iv) chemical stress e.g. low pH. In a changing biosphere brought about by anthropological climate change, a better understanding of existing adaptions of bacterial photosynthetic organisms may allow more resilient crops and other essential plants to be developed in the future. The project brings together an international consortium of world renowned experts across key aspects of photosynthesis. Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100056
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,795,000.00
Summary
Smart Plants and Solutions for Enhancing Crop Resilience and Yield. The Fellowship aims to produce transformative solutions targeting crop resilience and food security. The chloroplast, the site of photosynthesis, regulates a suite of cellular processes that control photosynthesis, growth and drought resilience. It is expected that a first ever blueprint of the suite of communication networks used by the chloroplast will be discovered. I will use synthetic biology to rewire the network in order ....Smart Plants and Solutions for Enhancing Crop Resilience and Yield. The Fellowship aims to produce transformative solutions targeting crop resilience and food security. The chloroplast, the site of photosynthesis, regulates a suite of cellular processes that control photosynthesis, growth and drought resilience. It is expected that a first ever blueprint of the suite of communication networks used by the chloroplast will be discovered. I will use synthetic biology to rewire the network in order to generate 'smart plants' that are higher-yielding and more resilient in both good and bad seasons by precisely switching on and off resilience. Such re-imaginings of crop systems, inclusive of societal implications, will help chart the future of Australian agriculture.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms of signalling by plant immune receptors. This project aims to understand how resistance proteins function and to find new sources of these proteins. Plant diseases account for 15% loss of global crop production, representing a threat to food security. Fungicides, one key form of protection, represent environmental concerns. The other key form of protection corresponds to resistance gene breeding, which is limited by lengthy breeding processes, restricted choice of genes from ....Molecular mechanisms of signalling by plant immune receptors. This project aims to understand how resistance proteins function and to find new sources of these proteins. Plant diseases account for 15% loss of global crop production, representing a threat to food security. Fungicides, one key form of protection, represent environmental concerns. The other key form of protection corresponds to resistance gene breeding, which is limited by lengthy breeding processes, restricted choice of genes from sexually compatible species and short effective time spans in the field. Building on previous research, this project aims to characterise the molecular basis of the Toll/interleukin-1 receptor domain-mediated nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) cleavage and the structural architecture of plant NLR complexes. This knowledge will support the long-term objective of protecting crops from pathogens.Read moreRead less
The roles of pathogen effectors in promoting rust diseases of plants. Rust diseases threaten global food security. This cross-institutional project aims to discover how proteins secreted by rust fungi promote disease following their translocation into plant cells. It will use the interaction between flax and the flax rust fungus as a powerful model system to test the hypothesis that manipulation of host RNA metabolism is a fundamental mechanism underpinning rust pathogenesis. This research is in ....The roles of pathogen effectors in promoting rust diseases of plants. Rust diseases threaten global food security. This cross-institutional project aims to discover how proteins secreted by rust fungi promote disease following their translocation into plant cells. It will use the interaction between flax and the flax rust fungus as a powerful model system to test the hypothesis that manipulation of host RNA metabolism is a fundamental mechanism underpinning rust pathogenesis. This research is intended to dramatically improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by rust fungi to establish infection. The knowledge gained is expected to facilitate the development of new strategies for rust disease management in food crops by identifying pathogenic processes that can be targeted for intervention.Read moreRead less
Molecular basis for susceptibility and immunity to Fusarium wilt disease. Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease of many important crop plants, including banana, cotton and tomato. There are significant gaps in our understanding of this disease that need to be addressed to enable better disease management. This project aims to identify and analyse tomato proteins targeted by Fusarium effector proteins (virulence factors), determine how corresponding tomato receptors (resistance proteins) recogni ....Molecular basis for susceptibility and immunity to Fusarium wilt disease. Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease of many important crop plants, including banana, cotton and tomato. There are significant gaps in our understanding of this disease that need to be addressed to enable better disease management. This project aims to identify and analyse tomato proteins targeted by Fusarium effector proteins (virulence factors), determine how corresponding tomato receptors (resistance proteins) recognise these effectors, and identify the signalling pathways and critical defence responses activated by these receptors. The intention is to close the gaps in our understanding and use the knowledge gained to develop new strategies for disease control by interfering with fungal pathogenicity and enhancing plant resistance.Read moreRead less
Improving plant reproductive success under heat stress: A sweet approach. This project aims to determine how genetic manipulation of cell wall invertase (CWIN) activity could regulate pollen germination, elongation and fruit set under heat stress using tomato as a model. Plant reproductive processes are highly susceptible to heat stress, which often leads to pollination failure and fruit and seed abortion, hence irreversible yield loss. Research has established that CWIN-mediated sugar metabolis ....Improving plant reproductive success under heat stress: A sweet approach. This project aims to determine how genetic manipulation of cell wall invertase (CWIN) activity could regulate pollen germination, elongation and fruit set under heat stress using tomato as a model. Plant reproductive processes are highly susceptible to heat stress, which often leads to pollination failure and fruit and seed abortion, hence irreversible yield loss. Research has established that CWIN-mediated sugar metabolism and signaling may play crucial roles in pollen growth and fruit set under heat stress. The intended outcome is the generation of critical knowledge that will advance understanding on reproductive development under heat stress, thereby providing significant benefits, such as novel ideas and solutions for improving crop yield.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100047
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Accelerated Future Crop Development . The Centre will create a new generation of leaders in the implementation of advanced gene and field technologies for the benefit of the Australian agriculture industry. We will build the workforce and foundations that will drive translation of breakthroughs in advanced breeding, phenotyping and genetic technologies into higher-yielding crops. This will increase productivity across the sector and create new markets. Our technical trai ....ARC Training Centre for Accelerated Future Crop Development . The Centre will create a new generation of leaders in the implementation of advanced gene and field technologies for the benefit of the Australian agriculture industry. We will build the workforce and foundations that will drive translation of breakthroughs in advanced breeding, phenotyping and genetic technologies into higher-yielding crops. This will increase productivity across the sector and create new markets. Our technical training programs for graduates, trainees and industry will interface with best evidence-based practices in the wider socio-economic, regulatory and environmental contexts. Coupled with community and stakeholder engagement, the Centre will redefine and secure Australia’s future in agriculture. Read moreRead less
Harnessing peptide hormone outputs to improve root nodulation’s efficacy. This project aims to transform our understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules. Root nodulation sustainably fixes sizeable amounts of nitrogen to boost crop production worldwide yet its utilisation is waning in favour of using nitrogen fertilisers. The project applies cutting-edge tools to define how two hormone systems boost and limit nitrogen fixation, respectively. The project expects to reveal w ....Harnessing peptide hormone outputs to improve root nodulation’s efficacy. This project aims to transform our understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules. Root nodulation sustainably fixes sizeable amounts of nitrogen to boost crop production worldwide yet its utilisation is waning in favour of using nitrogen fertilisers. The project applies cutting-edge tools to define how two hormone systems boost and limit nitrogen fixation, respectively. The project expects to reveal ways to reconfigure these hormone outputs to improve nodule number and the efficacy of nitrogen fixation. The findings will benefit agriculture by reducing the reliance on costly nitrogen fertilisers, thus mitigating the huge environmental damage they cause, and will provide more sustainable ways to ensure food security.Read moreRead less
Can altered sugar sensing improve crop productivity? This project aims at genetically manipulating sugar sensing pathways in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis, and at replacing sugar sensors in the model C3 crop Oryza sativa (rice) with those from S. viridis. This project expects to elucidate the impact of altered sugar perception on crop photosynthesis and yield. Expected outcomes includes advancing a novel “pull” approach to improve yield in C3 crops by using C4-like sugar sensors to reduce f ....Can altered sugar sensing improve crop productivity? This project aims at genetically manipulating sugar sensing pathways in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis, and at replacing sugar sensors in the model C3 crop Oryza sativa (rice) with those from S. viridis. This project expects to elucidate the impact of altered sugar perception on crop photosynthesis and yield. Expected outcomes includes advancing a novel “pull” approach to improve yield in C3 crops by using C4-like sugar sensors to reduce feedback regulation of photosynthesis which in turn limits productivity. This is in contrast to previous ‘push’ approaches aimed at directly increasing photosynthesis. Hence, this project provides significant benefits by contributing to the next green revolution needed to lift agricultural yields.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100323
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,000.00
Summary
Synthetic biology to engineer novel disease resistance in cereal crops. This project aims to engineer disease resistance in crops to dangerous fungal pathogens. The strategy is to exploit our knowledge of the plant immune system using structural biology and directed evolution of natural resistance genes, improving their ability to recognise and respond to fungal attack. Fungal pathogens cause some of the most harmful crop diseases in Australia and worldwide. The rapid evolution of fungi overcome ....Synthetic biology to engineer novel disease resistance in cereal crops. This project aims to engineer disease resistance in crops to dangerous fungal pathogens. The strategy is to exploit our knowledge of the plant immune system using structural biology and directed evolution of natural resistance genes, improving their ability to recognise and respond to fungal attack. Fungal pathogens cause some of the most harmful crop diseases in Australia and worldwide. The rapid evolution of fungi overcomes natural plant resistance and management of these diseases is a major challenge to agriculture. Expected outcomes of the project include engineered wheat plants with more effective disease resistance, reducing fungicide usage. This project intends to accelerate crop breeding and contribute to world food security.Read moreRead less