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Exploring evolvability: its causes, consequences and practical applications in a changing environment. Are some species better able to adapt to a changing world? This question has been the focus of theoretical debate, but, as the scale of current environmental change becomes apparent, it has increasing practical importance, because it concerns the ability of biological communities to respond to climate change and the potential for agriculture to adapt a changing landscape. This project is the fi ....Exploring evolvability: its causes, consequences and practical applications in a changing environment. Are some species better able to adapt to a changing world? This question has been the focus of theoretical debate, but, as the scale of current environmental change becomes apparent, it has increasing practical importance, because it concerns the ability of biological communities to respond to climate change and the potential for agriculture to adapt a changing landscape. This project is the first of its kind, because it translates theoretical concepts into practical information needed for the development of salt-tolerant crops, new strategies for avoiding the growing problem of resistance in parasites, and new ways of detecting biological communities at risk of extinction and invasion. Read moreRead less
Enhancing plant photosynthesis by engineering the carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Improving the ability of crops to use water, sunlight and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits for Australia and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. Photosynthesis research has confirmed that such improvements are theoretically possible by enhancing the efficiency of the protein, Rubisco, which initiates the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon ....Enhancing plant photosynthesis by engineering the carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Improving the ability of crops to use water, sunlight and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits for Australia and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. Photosynthesis research has confirmed that such improvements are theoretically possible by enhancing the efficiency of the protein, Rubisco, which initiates the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon compounds required for growth. The biotechnological research proposed here uses unique capabilities to improve our understanding of structural features in Rubisco that influence its assembly and functional efficiency in plants. This knowledge will pave the way for transplanting more efficient Rubisco into crops to improve their growth.Read moreRead less
3D Structure determination of biomacromolecular assemblies from sparse data. This project has direct impact on pharmaceutical research: Biomacromolecular interactions are key points for pharmaceutical intervention and detailed structural knowledge of dynamic protein interactions can significantly accelerate drug development. Australia has invested in expensive instrumentation that can be used with new laboratory methods to obtain information on delicately balanced biomacromolecular interactions, ....3D Structure determination of biomacromolecular assemblies from sparse data. This project has direct impact on pharmaceutical research: Biomacromolecular interactions are key points for pharmaceutical intervention and detailed structural knowledge of dynamic protein interactions can significantly accelerate drug development. Australia has invested in expensive instrumentation that can be used with new laboratory methods to obtain information on delicately balanced biomacromolecular interactions, and how they malfunction in disease. This project will provide a computational framework to increase the impact of this investment by integrating measurements from a range of novel technologies and developing understanding of changes in structure of large protein complexes in different functional states.Read moreRead less
Climate dependence of plant respiration in a warmer, drier world. This research will greatly assist in predictions of future net carbon exchange that are necessary if Australia is to better manage its vegetation resources. Crucial to predicting future rates of net carbon exchange is an understanding of how drought and long-term changes in temperature impact on plant respiration. Using laboratory and field studies, this research will develop an understanding of how water availability and temperat ....Climate dependence of plant respiration in a warmer, drier world. This research will greatly assist in predictions of future net carbon exchange that are necessary if Australia is to better manage its vegetation resources. Crucial to predicting future rates of net carbon exchange is an understanding of how drought and long-term changes in temperature impact on plant respiration. Using laboratory and field studies, this research will develop an understanding of how water availability and temperature impact on plant respiration of a broad range of economically important and ecologically relevant plant species. Equations will be formulated that allow modellers to better predict drought-dependent variations in plant respiration (and thus plant productivity), both now and in a future, warmer world.Read moreRead less
Developing an Essential Research Platform for the Molecular Engineering of Photosystem II. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by plants and algae to drive photosynthesis and to store chemical energy. Possibly the most fundamental contribution photosynthesis makes to earth is to generate gaseous oxygen, the result of solar driven water-splitting chemistry. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not exactly known. In this proposal we will construct a new model cyanobacteria host to stu ....Developing an Essential Research Platform for the Molecular Engineering of Photosystem II. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by plants and algae to drive photosynthesis and to store chemical energy. Possibly the most fundamental contribution photosynthesis makes to earth is to generate gaseous oxygen, the result of solar driven water-splitting chemistry. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not exactly known. In this proposal we will construct a new model cyanobacteria host to study water splitting. The host organism will be genetically modified to enable mechanistic questions of water oxidation to be tested and will provide new and pure forms of isolated protein. This model organism will provide team of international researchers with a remarkable tool new to study photosynthesis.Read moreRead less