Turning sand into sheep feed - Lebeckia ambigua an agricultural perennial! This project aims to develop nitrogen-fixing legumes adapted to the changing climate. Nitrogen fixation from legumes is worth $3 billion to the Australian agricultural economy, but changing rainfall patterns threaten much of this. One solution is to transition pasture growth to a reliance on perennial plants, which are less affected by unseasonal rain. Lebeckia ambigua is an outstanding perennial legume to begin this chan ....Turning sand into sheep feed - Lebeckia ambigua an agricultural perennial! This project aims to develop nitrogen-fixing legumes adapted to the changing climate. Nitrogen fixation from legumes is worth $3 billion to the Australian agricultural economy, but changing rainfall patterns threaten much of this. One solution is to transition pasture growth to a reliance on perennial plants, which are less affected by unseasonal rain. Lebeckia ambigua is an outstanding perennial legume to begin this change, but its nitrogen fixation is compromised by nodulation failure caused by death of its symbiotic rhizobia. This project intends to improve the survival in acid and infertile soils of the unique rhizobial symbionts the research team has discovered for Lebeckia ambigua in South Africa.Read moreRead less
Deciphering the role of microRNAs during pathogen attack: new concepts for disease resistance in plants. Small non-coding RNAs called ‘microRNAs’ regulate diverse pathways in plants including plant defence against pathogens. This project will investigate the roles of plant microRNAs in response to four economically important viruses and compare these to a bacterial and a fungal pathogen. The aim is to dissect the underlying molecular mechanism of microRNA-based gene regulation during pathogen in ....Deciphering the role of microRNAs during pathogen attack: new concepts for disease resistance in plants. Small non-coding RNAs called ‘microRNAs’ regulate diverse pathways in plants including plant defence against pathogens. This project will investigate the roles of plant microRNAs in response to four economically important viruses and compare these to a bacterial and a fungal pathogen. The aim is to dissect the underlying molecular mechanism of microRNA-based gene regulation during pathogen infection and specifically identify common microRNAs which have evident impact during virus attack. This study is crucial due to its focus on virus diseases that cause severe damage to many crop plants; a global issue with strong implications for food security. This project is expected to provide basic new concepts for disease resistance in plants.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100018
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Understanding bioacoustics in plants. From lush tropical rainforests to small urban gardens, plants take advantage of the surrounding soundscape to flourish, yet how they do this is still unknown. This will be the first experimental study to explore how and why plants sense sound in their environment, hence pioneering a brand-new research area in behavioural and evolutionary ecology.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis seeks to develop and harness advances in photosynthesis research, crop bioengineering, plant phenomics and computational tools to realise increased and sustainable crop yields, opening new routes to achieving the next revolution in plant productivity. It will deliver improved yield by undertaking a continuum of fundamental and applied photosynthesis research and targeting proj ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis seeks to develop and harness advances in photosynthesis research, crop bioengineering, plant phenomics and computational tools to realise increased and sustainable crop yields, opening new routes to achieving the next revolution in plant productivity. It will deliver improved yield by undertaking a continuum of fundamental and applied photosynthesis research and targeting projects with a high probability of producing increased yield. Links with national and international institutions, consortia and breeding companies will enhance the prospects of translating genetic improvements into crops such as wheat, rice and sorghum for improved yield.Read moreRead less
Eco-friendly pesticides for crop protection. The aims of the project are to develop robust methods for measuring bioactive pesticidal molecules in butterfly pea cultivars, characterise their modes of action, determine the exposure and persistence of these molecules in field runoff and waterways and, in the longer term, develop butterfly pea cultivars with optimised bioactivity and safety. The major outcome of the project is the generation of new knowledge that will contribute to the development ....Eco-friendly pesticides for crop protection. The aims of the project are to develop robust methods for measuring bioactive pesticidal molecules in butterfly pea cultivars, characterise their modes of action, determine the exposure and persistence of these molecules in field runoff and waterways and, in the longer term, develop butterfly pea cultivars with optimised bioactivity and safety. The major outcome of the project is the generation of new knowledge that will contribute to the development of novel antifungal and insecticidal agents. This outcome is significant as there is a huge need for new pesticidal agents that exhibit wide safety margins, reduce problems associated with resistance to existing treatments, and that are safe for the environment.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
Rhizosphere priming regulates soil carbon cycle under high carbon dioxide. Australian farmers will be producing crops under elevated CO2 in the future. However, it is unknown how the increased CO2 level will affect agricultural production and soil health. This project aims to understand the effect of high atmospheric CO2 on carbon and nitrogen cycles in major cropping soils. It will examine how combinations of crop and soil types lead to differences in loss of soil organic carbon. Soil microorga ....Rhizosphere priming regulates soil carbon cycle under high carbon dioxide. Australian farmers will be producing crops under elevated CO2 in the future. However, it is unknown how the increased CO2 level will affect agricultural production and soil health. This project aims to understand the effect of high atmospheric CO2 on carbon and nitrogen cycles in major cropping soils. It will examine how combinations of crop and soil types lead to differences in loss of soil organic carbon. Soil microorganisms that link to carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils will be examined in the long-term field trials. The project intends to provide fundamental information that is essential to evaluate the future impact of climate change on the fertility and productivity of our poor, already infertile soils in semi-arid regions.Read moreRead less
Environmental regulation of root architecture by a gene controlling auxin transport. This project will study the function of a gene that we found to control root branching in response to the availability of nutrients in the environment. This could lead to new strategies for breeding of crop plants with improved ability to withstand environmental change.
Developing a novel carbon negative fertiliser . Food security is vital to support our growing population. However, our increasing reliance on intensive farming systems necessitates increased fertiliser use, leading to increased water pollution and soil degradation - threatening both the Australian environment and food security. Increasing carbon storage capacity by soil and decreasing fertiliser use are two of the primary pathways for restoring the bio-support capacity of soils and reducing farm ....Developing a novel carbon negative fertiliser . Food security is vital to support our growing population. However, our increasing reliance on intensive farming systems necessitates increased fertiliser use, leading to increased water pollution and soil degradation - threatening both the Australian environment and food security. Increasing carbon storage capacity by soil and decreasing fertiliser use are two of the primary pathways for restoring the bio-support capacity of soils and reducing farming footprints. This innovative and first-of-its-kind project aims to develop a cost-effective, carbon negative fertiliser that reduces fertiliser inputs and increases soil carbon storageRead 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