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Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this proces ....Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this process and clarify their mode of action. The genes ensuring grain retention have been so critical for domestication that the region surrounding them has become genetically fixed. The project will assess the implication of fixation on genetic diversity and develop options to bring novel variation into breeding programs.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$255,000.00
Summary
Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement p ....Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement programs such as are based at the Waite Campus. The outputs will include crops with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, a reduced dependence on chemical inputs such as fertilisers and improved food quality, with consequent benefits to the environment and human health and nutrition.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
Harnessing genetic diversity for complex traits. Genetic diversity underpins crop improvement but has become increasingly narrow in our major crops. Strategies exist for mobilising simple traits (e.g. disease resistance) from wild accessions or landraces into cultivars, but there are no effective approaches for introducing complex traits, including stress tolerance or components of yield. Using barley as an important crop and a genetic model, the project aims to address this problem by applying ....Harnessing genetic diversity for complex traits. Genetic diversity underpins crop improvement but has become increasingly narrow in our major crops. Strategies exist for mobilising simple traits (e.g. disease resistance) from wild accessions or landraces into cultivars, but there are no effective approaches for introducing complex traits, including stress tolerance or components of yield. Using barley as an important crop and a genetic model, the project aims to address this problem by applying a novel approach; partial redomestication of wild accessions by introgressing genes required for modern farming, then evaluating the resulting partially adapted germplasm in hybrids with elite cultivars. The project expects to generate new and diverse germplasm pools for breeding.Read moreRead less
Defining pathways that establish and maintain reproductive cell identity in plant ovules and seeds. Unlike animals, individual somatic cells in plants have the remarkable ability to regenerate into new plants, depending on the signals they perceive. This developmental plasticity is particularly important during normal plant growth, when mature cells adopt new identities within multicellular environments. Tissue complexity is critical for the utilisation of plants in society as food, fuel and fib ....Defining pathways that establish and maintain reproductive cell identity in plant ovules and seeds. Unlike animals, individual somatic cells in plants have the remarkable ability to regenerate into new plants, depending on the signals they perceive. This developmental plasticity is particularly important during normal plant growth, when mature cells adopt new identities within multicellular environments. Tissue complexity is critical for the utilisation of plants in society as food, fuel and fibre, but how and why plant cells adopt or change identity has been difficult to determine. This project aims to employ next-generation molecular methods to identify pathways driving differentiation of specific ovule and seed cell-types, which directly impact crop quality, yield and end-use.Read moreRead less
What is the function of gamma-aminobutyric acid-gated anion channels in plants? The project will identify the molecular basis of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signalling in plants. This is significant because GABA regulates proteins that release molecules involved in root-soil interactions, growth, and fertilisation. The project's discoveries will allow improvement of these agronomic traits that ultimately determine crop yield.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100217
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Harnessing Mendel’s workhorse: meiotic crossovers for genetic diversity in crop breeding. Introducing genetic diversity from wild species into elite lines of wheat and barley may increase their resistance to the stresses they are exposed to in the field. Modern breeding cultivars could capture up to ten times more genetic variation. This project aims to gain fundamental insights into the genetic and environmental factors that limit the rates at which new genomic combinations can be made. This wi ....Harnessing Mendel’s workhorse: meiotic crossovers for genetic diversity in crop breeding. Introducing genetic diversity from wild species into elite lines of wheat and barley may increase their resistance to the stresses they are exposed to in the field. Modern breeding cultivars could capture up to ten times more genetic variation. This project aims to gain fundamental insights into the genetic and environmental factors that limit the rates at which new genomic combinations can be made. This will transform wheat and barley breeding methods, unlocking available genetic diversity to produce new varieties. Read moreRead less
Deciphering the genetic regulation of inflorescence development in wheat. The project aims to identify genes and molecular processes that regulate inflorescence architecture in wheat, using state-of-the-art genetic resources to identify novel biological mechanisms that regulate the development of spikelets – reproductive branches that contain grain-producing florets. The research is highly significant as little is known about how spikelet and floret numbers are determined genetically in wheat, a ....Deciphering the genetic regulation of inflorescence development in wheat. The project aims to identify genes and molecular processes that regulate inflorescence architecture in wheat, using state-of-the-art genetic resources to identify novel biological mechanisms that regulate the development of spikelets – reproductive branches that contain grain-producing florets. The research is highly significant as little is known about how spikelet and floret numbers are determined genetically in wheat, and new traits need to be identified to increase yields for the world’s growing population. Project outcomes will include new insights into the biology that underpins grain production of wheat, with expected benefits enabling sustainable increases of yields by breeders and growers to help bolster global food security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100784
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Improving cereal grain quality using epigenetic regulators. The project aims to determine the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that control cereal grain quality and yield under water-deficit and heat stress. The project will use next-generation sequencing to identify key epigenetic regulators and their functional target genes, which confer superior grain quality to elite genotypes under adverse environments. Project outcomes will benefit cereal breeding by providing more-tailored screening stra ....Improving cereal grain quality using epigenetic regulators. The project aims to determine the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that control cereal grain quality and yield under water-deficit and heat stress. The project will use next-generation sequencing to identify key epigenetic regulators and their functional target genes, which confer superior grain quality to elite genotypes under adverse environments. Project outcomes will benefit cereal breeding by providing more-tailored screening strategies and superior parental germplasm with enhanced quality and yield. The development of nutritionally improved crops will benefit the Australian cereal industry and export opportunities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100908
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,815.00
Summary
Maximising the beneficial impacts of mycorrhizal fungi on grain nutrition. This project aims to determine the effects of beneficial soil fungi on wheat and rice grain quality for human nutrition using an innovative combination of physiological, molecular and agronomic techniques. The project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in sustainable agriculture, to improve grain quality and value. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying improve ....Maximising the beneficial impacts of mycorrhizal fungi on grain nutrition. This project aims to determine the effects of beneficial soil fungi on wheat and rice grain quality for human nutrition using an innovative combination of physiological, molecular and agronomic techniques. The project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in sustainable agriculture, to improve grain quality and value. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying improved grain quality, and the capacity to use soil fungi to increase grain micronutrient concentrations and bioavailability. This should provide significant environmental and societal benefits, such as promotion of the sustainable use of agricultural soils and more nutritious grain products for human consumption.Read moreRead less