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Calcium compartmentation in leaves: testing an integrated model of water and calcium transport with cell specific functional genomics. Calcium is a vital nutrient to animals and humans and its storage in vegetation is important for its accessibility. We believe this storage is linked to water flow in the leaf by a novel mechanism. This project will provide fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in calcium storage and water flow in plants. High calibre PhD and Hono ....Calcium compartmentation in leaves: testing an integrated model of water and calcium transport with cell specific functional genomics. Calcium is a vital nutrient to animals and humans and its storage in vegetation is important for its accessibility. We believe this storage is linked to water flow in the leaf by a novel mechanism. This project will provide fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in calcium storage and water flow in plants. High calibre PhD and Honours students will be educated to maintain the momentum of international excellence within Australia in the field of plant nutrient relations. The increase in understanding will allow future work to improve calcium availability and water use by plants to the benefit of agricultural productivity and quality of life.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of arsenic tolerance in plants: how do symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi reduce uptake? Arsenic contamination of soil is a major problem caused by irrigation with contaminated ground-water, mining and application of pesticides. Plant uptake leads to entry into food chains, with severe consequences for crop growth and human health. This project will aid the search for mechanisms to reduce plant arsenic accumulation by exploring roles of beneficial plant-fungus symbioses in r ....Mechanisms of arsenic tolerance in plants: how do symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi reduce uptake? Arsenic contamination of soil is a major problem caused by irrigation with contaminated ground-water, mining and application of pesticides. Plant uptake leads to entry into food chains, with severe consequences for crop growth and human health. This project will aid the search for mechanisms to reduce plant arsenic accumulation by exploring roles of beneficial plant-fungus symbioses in reducing uptake. Results will be relevant to most crop plants, because of the widespread occurrence of the symbioses. The project will enhance collaboration with China where arsenic toxicity is prevalent, provide education and training in an internationally recognised laboratory and enhance Australia's reputation for tackling soil contamination.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347746
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$199,000.00
Summary
Circular-dichroism stopped-flow spectrometer for rapid molecular interactions and membrane transport. A stopped-flow spectroscope is requested that can capture the rapid kinetics of changes in conformation of biopolymers, macromolecules and chiral catalysts as they interact with other molecules. This includes measurement of rapid transport of solutes through membrane proteins in lipid membranes. The versatile instrument can also determine circular dichroism spectra of peptides, proteins, tannins ....Circular-dichroism stopped-flow spectrometer for rapid molecular interactions and membrane transport. A stopped-flow spectroscope is requested that can capture the rapid kinetics of changes in conformation of biopolymers, macromolecules and chiral catalysts as they interact with other molecules. This includes measurement of rapid transport of solutes through membrane proteins in lipid membranes. The versatile instrument can also determine circular dichroism spectra of peptides, proteins, tannins, pigment complexes and chiral catalysts that is required within several existing collaborations to understand the tertiary structures, stability and interactions between the complex molecules. The instrument will significantly strengthen research on macromolecules and polymers that have applications in the wine industry, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Root aquaporins as sensors and regulators of plant water transport. The knowledge we will gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use. Because such large quantities of water move through aquaporins in membranes, our understanding of the pores could enable us to manipulate plants to conserve or use water depending on predicted climatic conditions. Molecular aspects of the project will reveal potential novel ways of controlling root water uptake by shoot and root m ....Root aquaporins as sensors and regulators of plant water transport. The knowledge we will gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use. Because such large quantities of water move through aquaporins in membranes, our understanding of the pores could enable us to manipulate plants to conserve or use water depending on predicted climatic conditions. Molecular aspects of the project will reveal potential novel ways of controlling root water uptake by shoot and root manipulation. High calibre PhD and Honours students will also be educated to maintain the momentum of international excellence within Australia in the field of plant water relations.Read moreRead less
Multifunctional channels as key components of biotrophic interfaces in legumes. In legumes there are two types of membrane interfaces between different genomes that are critical for growth and yield (nitrogen fixation and seed loading), which require cell-signalling pathways to control nutrient exchange. The membranes of these interfaces contain specialised proteins that form multifunctional channels through which water, uncharged molecules and electrolytes move. These channels are likely to be ....Multifunctional channels as key components of biotrophic interfaces in legumes. In legumes there are two types of membrane interfaces between different genomes that are critical for growth and yield (nitrogen fixation and seed loading), which require cell-signalling pathways to control nutrient exchange. The membranes of these interfaces contain specialised proteins that form multifunctional channels through which water, uncharged molecules and electrolytes move. These channels are likely to be responsible for supporting the bulk of transported nutrients and in controlling their exchange. We aim to discover how these channels function in nitrogen fixation and seed loading with a view to developing new technologies that may enhance crop productivity.Read moreRead less
Development and regulation of thermogenesis in thermoregulating flowers. Flowers of certain primitive plants produce enough heat to raise their temperatures up to 40 C above the air, and regulate it at a nearly constant level. Like warm-blooded mammals, the flowers increase heat production as environmental temperature falls. However, they thermoregulate on a cellular level, unlike mammals with their complex nervous system. We aim to elucidate the mechanisms involved in regulation of heat-prod ....Development and regulation of thermogenesis in thermoregulating flowers. Flowers of certain primitive plants produce enough heat to raise their temperatures up to 40 C above the air, and regulate it at a nearly constant level. Like warm-blooded mammals, the flowers increase heat production as environmental temperature falls. However, they thermoregulate on a cellular level, unlike mammals with their complex nervous system. We aim to elucidate the mechanisms involved in regulation of heat-production, with molecular, biochemical and stable isotope techniques. We will investigate spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression and activity of putative regulatory enzymes. The results will have implications for human physiology and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Diversity of pollination biology in heat-producing flowers. This research is an entirely new approach to understanding pollination biology. It will highlight the value of ecological diversity in tropical ecosystems and will work toward conservation of these threatened habitats. The project is very strong in developing international links, involving Australia, Germany, France, Turkey, Brazil, Guyana, India and Malaysia. By supporting research involving the International Canopy Crane Network, A ....Diversity of pollination biology in heat-producing flowers. This research is an entirely new approach to understanding pollination biology. It will highlight the value of ecological diversity in tropical ecosystems and will work toward conservation of these threatened habitats. The project is very strong in developing international links, involving Australia, Germany, France, Turkey, Brazil, Guyana, India and Malaysia. By supporting research involving the International Canopy Crane Network, Australia will be recognised as a major contributor to the multinational effort. The project deals with energetics of scarab beetles, with work on reproductive energetics of natural and pest species. Research maintains and develops critical thought, essential for effective university teaching and training.Read moreRead less
Targeted analysis of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenome in a model host, tomato. We will capitalise on our previous discovery of novel phenotypic variation in arbuscular mycorrhizas in mutant and wild-type tomato, to explore development and function of the symbiosis at the molecular-genetic level. We will clone and sequence the gene responsible for mycorrhiza-defective phenotypes to provide inferences on function and relations with other genes. We will determine if plant defence blocks ....Targeted analysis of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenome in a model host, tomato. We will capitalise on our previous discovery of novel phenotypic variation in arbuscular mycorrhizas in mutant and wild-type tomato, to explore development and function of the symbiosis at the molecular-genetic level. We will clone and sequence the gene responsible for mycorrhiza-defective phenotypes to provide inferences on function and relations with other genes. We will determine if plant defence blocks fungal colonisation in the mutant and/or varies with different wild-type phenotypes and explore molecular mechanisms of nutrient transfer from fungus to plant in relation to phenotypic diversity. The project will provide new insights into genome/phenome interactions controlling this widespread beneficial symbiosis.Read moreRead less