Novel methods for the production of micronutrient-enriched rice. The increasingly productive Australian rice industry generated AUD$1 billion revenue in 2012. By targeting a rice gene that we recently identified as a key regulator of iron uptake and transport, this project will produce high value, micronutrient-enriched rice grain to improve the nutritional health of people in Australia and throughout the world.
Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiati ....Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiation to biomass in arid, high-light and saline environments, which are expanding due to global climate change. The outcomes of this project could define what is required to engineer plant varieties with increased yield and the ability to withstand effects of climate shift, and contribute to our understanding of convergent evolutionary processes.Read moreRead less
Advanced plant breeding and food manufacturing for healthier bread. This project aims to generate bread containing high amounts of biologically available iron through targeted manipulation of plant-derived phytonutrients at several points along the wheat-to-bread supply chain. The project expects to generate new knowledge for developing healthier bread and address consumer demands for value-added food products. Anticipated outcomes are novel plant breeding and food manufacturing techniques that ....Advanced plant breeding and food manufacturing for healthier bread. This project aims to generate bread containing high amounts of biologically available iron through targeted manipulation of plant-derived phytonutrients at several points along the wheat-to-bread supply chain. The project expects to generate new knowledge for developing healthier bread and address consumer demands for value-added food products. Anticipated outcomes are novel plant breeding and food manufacturing techniques that enhance the nutritional composition of wheat grain and bread making products, resulting in higher-value agricultural commodities and breads. The project should benefit bread retailers and crop growers involved in Australia’s $4.7 billion bread market and reduce the environmental impacts of bread production.Read moreRead less
Developing biotechnology solutions for improving phosphate acquisition in plants using functional genomics in rice. Global supplies of the most currently used phosphate fertilisers are predicted to be exhausted in less than a century. These fertilisers are non-renewable resources based on phosphate rock deposits and their use are key drivers of both plant production costs and environmental damage in Australia and internationally. Using the power of genetic and functional genomics analyses in ric ....Developing biotechnology solutions for improving phosphate acquisition in plants using functional genomics in rice. Global supplies of the most currently used phosphate fertilisers are predicted to be exhausted in less than a century. These fertilisers are non-renewable resources based on phosphate rock deposits and their use are key drivers of both plant production costs and environmental damage in Australia and internationally. Using the power of genetic and functional genomics analyses in rice, this project will reveal key controllers of phosphate acquisition in plants. Hence, novel biotechnology based solutions can be implemented in a variety of cereal crops to aid reduced use of phosphate fertiliser in agriculture and unlock the large phosphate pool not used by plants in soil.Read moreRead less
The Australian endemic grass tribe Neurachninae: a new paradigm to investigate the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Two biochemical pathways, known as C3 and C4, account for the photosynthesis of most plants, and C4 plants evolved from C3 ancestors. This project will identify anatomical, biochemical and genetic changes that led to the evolution of C4 plants, aiding development of plant varieties with increased yield and ability to tolerate climate change effects.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101570
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$352,000.00
Summary
Inducible hyper-expression as a tool for metabolic engineering. This project aims to develop methods to improve plant natural products yields and diversify the products manufactured from a wide array of plant species. Valuable plant metabolites, including chemotherapeutics and opiates, are usually synthesised in minute amounts and can be so complex they can’t be chemically manufactured, limiting their use and affordability. This project aims to develop an inducible system that confers hyper-elev ....Inducible hyper-expression as a tool for metabolic engineering. This project aims to develop methods to improve plant natural products yields and diversify the products manufactured from a wide array of plant species. Valuable plant metabolites, including chemotherapeutics and opiates, are usually synthesised in minute amounts and can be so complex they can’t be chemically manufactured, limiting their use and affordability. This project aims to develop an inducible system that confers hyper-elevated levels of gene expression and independent control of multiple genes involved in metabolite synthesis in the same host. This technology is expected to enable flexible multi-trait bio-factories to be developed.Read moreRead less