Identifying components of a novel imprinting mechanism that regulates seed size in plants. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. This project will study a fundamental biological process of seed development as seeds are a major food staple and an important export product for Australian farmers.
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unp ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unpredictable environmental challenges adversely affect plant growth and further perturb plant energy balance, limiting yield. The epigenetic controls, gene variants and signals discovered will provide a new basis for sustainable productivity of crops and will future-proof plants in changing climates.Read moreRead less
Heterotrophically grown microalgae as a feed source for the Australian aquaculture industry. The Australian aquaculture industry has rapidly grown in the past decade producing premium quality, high value species, e.g. tuna and oyster. In the new millennia it is predicted that the Australia aquaculture industry will be the most profitable area within the Australian seafood industry. An integral component for the long-term sustainability of the Australian aquaculture industry is the availability o ....Heterotrophically grown microalgae as a feed source for the Australian aquaculture industry. The Australian aquaculture industry has rapidly grown in the past decade producing premium quality, high value species, e.g. tuna and oyster. In the new millennia it is predicted that the Australia aquaculture industry will be the most profitable area within the Australian seafood industry. An integral component for the long-term sustainability of the Australian aquaculture industry is the availability of top-quality microalgal concentrates, shelf-stable pastes or live feeds, which provide the nutritional requirements of aquatic species in the hatcheries. This project will develop novel microalgal production strategies that would add value to the Australian aquaculture industry.Read moreRead less
Engineering the plant mitochondrial electron transport chain for tolerance of environmental stress. Plants often face hostile environments that place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced under these conditions act as signals to activate defense mechanisms, but also cause cell damage. Mitochondria are subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant growth and development, but they have also been implicated in the response of plants to environmen ....Engineering the plant mitochondrial electron transport chain for tolerance of environmental stress. Plants often face hostile environments that place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced under these conditions act as signals to activate defense mechanisms, but also cause cell damage. Mitochondria are subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant growth and development, but they have also been implicated in the response of plants to environmental stress, and in production of reactive oxygen molecules. This project will investigate special features of plant mitochondria that ameliorate oxidative stress. Potential outcomes include crops better able to cope with environmental stress.Read moreRead less
Activating the female germline during plant development. This project aims to investigate the mechanistic basis for female germline formation in two plant species including barley, which is of agricultural relevance to Australia. This project’s approach will integrate novel regulatory genes and data from Arabidopsis and barley. This knowledge will provide significant benefits, such as novel reproductive strategies for crop improvement.
The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was i ....The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was identified through a transcriptional interaction with a membrane localised bHLHm1 transcription factor. Both bHLHm1 and AMF1 belong to a unique chromosomal regulatory locus common across sequenced dicot plant species.Read moreRead less
Assessing the impact of a native parasitic plant, Cassytha pubescens, on the weeds gorse (Ulex europaeus) and English broom (Cytisus scoparius). Each year invasive plants cost Australia billions of dollars through costs associated with their control and through lost agricultural production and degradation of native ecosystems. Two particularly damaging plants are gorse and broom. The problems gorse causes are so serious that it has been recognized as a Weed of National Significance (Federal Depa ....Assessing the impact of a native parasitic plant, Cassytha pubescens, on the weeds gorse (Ulex europaeus) and English broom (Cytisus scoparius). Each year invasive plants cost Australia billions of dollars through costs associated with their control and through lost agricultural production and degradation of native ecosystems. Two particularly damaging plants are gorse and broom. The problems gorse causes are so serious that it has been recognized as a Weed of National Significance (Federal Department of Environment and Heritage). Biological control efforts have seldom use native agents, and even less often, parasitic plants. This project will help to develop strategies for the control of two noxious species using a native parsitic plant.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100346
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Improving salt tolerance by optimising ion transport in chloroplasts. This project aims to discover the ion transport mechanisms and their molecular origins in chloroplasts that differentiate halophytes from glycophytes, allowing halophytes to optimise photosynthesis during salt stress. Yield losses in crop plants are linked to the effects of salt stress on their chloroplasts, but some plants maintain growth and yield irrespective of high soil salinity. This project will use biophysics to charac ....Improving salt tolerance by optimising ion transport in chloroplasts. This project aims to discover the ion transport mechanisms and their molecular origins in chloroplasts that differentiate halophytes from glycophytes, allowing halophytes to optimise photosynthesis during salt stress. Yield losses in crop plants are linked to the effects of salt stress on their chloroplasts, but some plants maintain growth and yield irrespective of high soil salinity. This project will use biophysics to characterise mutants deficient in targeted chloroplast transporters, comparing a model glycophyte and closely related halophyte. The expected outcome of these fundamental molecular is salt-tolerant crop plants.Read moreRead less
Defining pathways that establish and maintain reproductive cell identity in plant ovules and seeds. Unlike animals, individual somatic cells in plants have the remarkable ability to regenerate into new plants, depending on the signals they perceive. This developmental plasticity is particularly important during normal plant growth, when mature cells adopt new identities within multicellular environments. Tissue complexity is critical for the utilisation of plants in society as food, fuel and fib ....Defining pathways that establish and maintain reproductive cell identity in plant ovules and seeds. Unlike animals, individual somatic cells in plants have the remarkable ability to regenerate into new plants, depending on the signals they perceive. This developmental plasticity is particularly important during normal plant growth, when mature cells adopt new identities within multicellular environments. Tissue complexity is critical for the utilisation of plants in society as food, fuel and fibre, but how and why plant cells adopt or change identity has been difficult to determine. This project aims to employ next-generation molecular methods to identify pathways driving differentiation of specific ovule and seed cell-types, which directly impact crop quality, yield and end-use.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354787
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Research Network for Biotechnological and Environmental Applications of Microalgae (BEAM). The network will facilitate inderdisciplinary and collaborative research into the limitations on microalgal growth leading to the development of new, commercial-scale microalgae culture systems, the production of fine chemicals, bioactive compounds and renewable fuels (hydrogen), as well as environmental applications such as monitoring the physiological state of phytoplankton in the environment, CO2 biorem ....Research Network for Biotechnological and Environmental Applications of Microalgae (BEAM). The network will facilitate inderdisciplinary and collaborative research into the limitations on microalgal growth leading to the development of new, commercial-scale microalgae culture systems, the production of fine chemicals, bioactive compounds and renewable fuels (hydrogen), as well as environmental applications such as monitoring the physiological state of phytoplankton in the environment, CO2 bioremediation and algal/bacterial systems for the bioremediation of contaminated soils. This will be achieved by applying research on photosynthetic light utilisation efficiency and carbon fixation, chlorophyll fluorescence, biochemistry of secondary metabolites, molecular biology and photobioreactor design and engineering, informed by an understanding of the ecology of these algae.Read moreRead less