Reducing environmental footprint by improving phosphorous use efficiency. While modern agriculture relies heavily on the use of phosphorous fertilizers, most of them are not used by plants and lost in runoff, resulting in a massive environmental damage through contamination of waterways (termed eutrophication). This project takes advantage of an untapped resource - a unique collection of Tibetan wild barley genotypes, to reveal key traits that confer superior phosphorus use efficiency in wild ba ....Reducing environmental footprint by improving phosphorous use efficiency. While modern agriculture relies heavily on the use of phosphorous fertilizers, most of them are not used by plants and lost in runoff, resulting in a massive environmental damage through contamination of waterways (termed eutrophication). This project takes advantage of an untapped resource - a unique collection of Tibetan wild barley genotypes, to reveal key traits that confer superior phosphorus use efficiency in wild barley and identify appropriate candidate genes and their position on chromosomes for further incorporating these traits into commercial barley cultivars. This will reduce the environmental footprint of modern agricultural practices on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems without compromising food security.Read moreRead less
Translocation of secreted effector proteins from fungal pathogens into host plant cells. Every year, fungal diseases of plants cause huge losses in agricultural productivity and extensive environmental damage in Australia. Disease control in major crops, like wheat, currently relies heavily on breeding for disease resistance. However, fungal pathogens continually adapt to overcome plant defences, necessitating identification of new sources of resistance. The research in this project will eluc ....Translocation of secreted effector proteins from fungal pathogens into host plant cells. Every year, fungal diseases of plants cause huge losses in agricultural productivity and extensive environmental damage in Australia. Disease control in major crops, like wheat, currently relies heavily on breeding for disease resistance. However, fungal pathogens continually adapt to overcome plant defences, necessitating identification of new sources of resistance. The research in this project will elucidate the molecular basis of a new aspect of the establishment of plant infection by fungi, and in so doing will provide new avenues for the development of novel disease resistance strategies, with relevance in particular to devastating cereal diseases like wheat rust.Read moreRead less
Isolation and functional characterisation of a pathogen meta effector able to inhibit detection of multiple disease effectors by resistant plants. The rust fungi are a major economic threat to crop production in Australia. This project will investigate the molecular mechanism used by a rust fungus to prevent detection of multiple disease-inducing proteins by resistant plants and generate knowledge that will lead to the development of new and more effective disease control strategies.
Role of fungal secreted proteins as plant disease effectors. Many crop diseases are economically significant threats to agricultural productivity in Australia, with rust fungi in particular being a major problem for cereal grain production. Current methods of rust disease control are based on breeding for resistance but continued adaption by rust fungi to overcome plant defences means there is an urgent need for new methods of crop protection. This project will investigate molecular processes ....Role of fungal secreted proteins as plant disease effectors. Many crop diseases are economically significant threats to agricultural productivity in Australia, with rust fungi in particular being a major problem for cereal grain production. Current methods of rust disease control are based on breeding for resistance but continued adaption by rust fungi to overcome plant defences means there is an urgent need for new methods of crop protection. This project will investigate molecular processes underlying fungal infection of plants, focusing on mechanisms that enable fungi to take over the metabolism of infected cells. The research will provide basic knowledge for development of novel and durable disease resistance strategies.Read moreRead less
Clocks in crops: exploring the role of circadian rhythms in crop adaptation. The project aims to analyse how the circadian clock provides adaptive advantages in legumes and cereals, two major crop groups of global importance. The project expects to produce new fundamental knowledge about how the clock in these crops coordinates their development, physiology, and metabolism in response to environmental cues. The anticipated outcome is a better understanding of key similarities and differences in ....Clocks in crops: exploring the role of circadian rhythms in crop adaptation. The project aims to analyse how the circadian clock provides adaptive advantages in legumes and cereals, two major crop groups of global importance. The project expects to produce new fundamental knowledge about how the clock in these crops coordinates their development, physiology, and metabolism in response to environmental cues. The anticipated outcome is a better understanding of key similarities and differences in clock functions in different species. Another is knowledge of how the ancient clock gene variants still in use today may limit the current or future performance of those crops. This will provide significant benefits, such as to improve productivity of crop plants in diverse and changing environments.Read moreRead less
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
Molecular basis of rust infection and host plant resistance. Plant diseases threaten agricultural productivity in Australia, with rust fungi being a major problem for cereal grain production. This project will investigate molecular processes underlying the infection of plants by rust fungi and will provide basic knowledge for development of novel and durable disease resistance strategies.
Unlocking secrets of fertility restoration for hybrid breeding in crops. Hybrid varieties give higher and more stable yields than conventional lines, but a cost-effective system to make hybrid seed on a commercial scale is still missing for economically important crops like wheat or barley. By elucidating the mode of action of a new type of restorer gene plus exploiting ancient or exotic wheat and barley collections this project will reveal aspects of largely understudied mechanisms underlying f ....Unlocking secrets of fertility restoration for hybrid breeding in crops. Hybrid varieties give higher and more stable yields than conventional lines, but a cost-effective system to make hybrid seed on a commercial scale is still missing for economically important crops like wheat or barley. By elucidating the mode of action of a new type of restorer gene plus exploiting ancient or exotic wheat and barley collections this project will reveal aspects of largely understudied mechanisms underlying fertility restoration in wheat and barley. The expected outcomes of the proposed research have the potential to deliver new tools for hybrid seed production programs in wheat and barley. Higher and more stable yields from hybrids will ensure food security in the face of an uncertain climate and growing human population.Read moreRead less
Preparation of Photo-Affinity Molecular Probes for the Identification of Gibberellin Receptors. Bioactive gibberellins affect numerous processes during plant growth and development, including seed germination, leaf expansion, stem elongation, flowering and fruit development. However, only very limited information is available regarding their mode of action at the molecular level. The central aim of the project is to prepare a family of photo-affinity molecular probes based on the gibberellin m ....Preparation of Photo-Affinity Molecular Probes for the Identification of Gibberellin Receptors. Bioactive gibberellins affect numerous processes during plant growth and development, including seed germination, leaf expansion, stem elongation, flowering and fruit development. However, only very limited information is available regarding their mode of action at the molecular level. The central aim of the project is to prepare a family of photo-affinity molecular probes based on the gibberellin molecule that will be designed to provide critical information on the location and structure of gibberellin receptors. Screening of the probes for potential effectiveness will be determined initially by the measurement of alpha-amylase produced in a standard barley aleurone assay.Read moreRead less
Linking Stress Tolerance to Molecular Evolution of Grass Stomata. Salinity and drought are two detrimental environmental stresses, affecting agricultural productivity and ecosystem health in Australia and around the world. This project will focus on the evolutionary, physiological and molecular aspects of stomatal regulation between wheat, barley and their wild relatives for salinity and drought tolerance. This project will advance the scientific knowledge in the evolution of stomatal regulation ....Linking Stress Tolerance to Molecular Evolution of Grass Stomata. Salinity and drought are two detrimental environmental stresses, affecting agricultural productivity and ecosystem health in Australia and around the world. This project will focus on the evolutionary, physiological and molecular aspects of stomatal regulation between wheat, barley and their wild relatives for salinity and drought tolerance. This project will advance the scientific knowledge in the evolution of stomatal regulation in two staple crops wheat and barley. The project will also assist plant breeders with increasing crop salinity and drought tolerance for global food security.Read moreRead less