Physiological and molecular controls of plant transpiration efficiency: investigating the role of the ERECTA gene. Water is the single most limiting factor in agriculture and the world's supply of fresh water is diminishing, the greatest fraction of total water use being by agriculture. Progress in water-use efficiency will have social value, and this program should help us to achieve it. Our progress in this area is already one of the most successful of 'bottom-up' approaches - in the sense of ....Physiological and molecular controls of plant transpiration efficiency: investigating the role of the ERECTA gene. Water is the single most limiting factor in agriculture and the world's supply of fresh water is diminishing, the greatest fraction of total water use being by agriculture. Progress in water-use efficiency will have social value, and this program should help us to achieve it. Our progress in this area is already one of the most successful of 'bottom-up' approaches - in the sense of transferring knowledge from biochemistry and biophysics to breeding and agronomy, as CSIRO now has a successful wheat breeding program based on this earlier work of ours. Now that we have discovered a gene that controls water-use efficiency at the leaf level, we wish to see how the gene works, and how it affects mineral nutrition of leaves.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0230245
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Joint controlled environment facility for research and development in plant biotechnolgy in Western Australia. The aim of this proposal is to establish a high quality, controlled-environment growth facility for plant research in Perth, jointly managed by Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia. This facility is needed urgently to support current research and new initiatives in plant molecular biology and biotechnology. It will focus on the molecular bases of plant growth and ....Joint controlled environment facility for research and development in plant biotechnolgy in Western Australia. The aim of this proposal is to establish a high quality, controlled-environment growth facility for plant research in Perth, jointly managed by Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia. This facility is needed urgently to support current research and new initiatives in plant molecular biology and biotechnology. It will focus on the molecular bases of plant growth and defence against pathogens. Outcomes include enhancement of WA plant research and its application to improved agricultural production that will benefit rural industries and promote exports. It will also facilitate postgraduate training in plant biotechnology and enhance career prospects of graduates.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/ ....ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/degrading ecosystems. The research will provide new approaches for enhancing quality metabolite traits important for human health. It will further strengthen our international leadership in plant energy science, and will strengthen Australia's research training in systems biology to influence plant function.Read moreRead less
Molecular analysis of photosynthetically-linked, active CO2 uptake and CO2 signal transduction by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) have evolved a very efficient means of capturing and concentrating CO2 for photosynthetic fixation into sugars, the basic building blocks for cell growth. This process is dependent on the operation of several unique, active uptake systems for CO2 and HCO3-, with their genetic expression regulated by CO2 supply. This proposal will cap ....Molecular analysis of photosynthetically-linked, active CO2 uptake and CO2 signal transduction by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) have evolved a very efficient means of capturing and concentrating CO2 for photosynthetic fixation into sugars, the basic building blocks for cell growth. This process is dependent on the operation of several unique, active uptake systems for CO2 and HCO3-, with their genetic expression regulated by CO2 supply. This proposal will capitalize on our progress in describing the functional genetics of this process and aims to elucidate the mechanism of active CO2 uptake and the way that cells sense the ambient CO2 concentration. The information gained is likely to be useful for designing improved crops.Read moreRead less
Combinatorial controlled gene expression delivering crops resistant to nematodes. Root-knot nematodes cause US$130 billion crop losses worldwide pa, and at least AUS$ 450 pa in Australia. Current control methods involve fumigation, chemicals (mainly carbamates and organophosphates), natural plant resistance and biological control. The fumigants (eg methyl bromide) are being phased out because they damage the ozone layer, most of the non-fumigants are being banned because of environmental damag ....Combinatorial controlled gene expression delivering crops resistant to nematodes. Root-knot nematodes cause US$130 billion crop losses worldwide pa, and at least AUS$ 450 pa in Australia. Current control methods involve fumigation, chemicals (mainly carbamates and organophosphates), natural plant resistance and biological control. The fumigants (eg methyl bromide) are being phased out because they damage the ozone layer, most of the non-fumigants are being banned because of environmental damage and persistence in groundwater, and biological control has had limited success. These problems are addressed in this project with development of synthetic plant resistance to nematodes, which will benefit horticultural and broadacre farming by reducing pathogen losses and improving quality.Read moreRead less
Genetic and Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth. Leguminous plants make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. To ensure future growth, we need to know more about how legume development is regulated. Genetic mutants, typically affecting the growth-promoting gibberellin plant hormones, played a key role in the green revolution, which transformed agriculture world-wide. Recent results show that gibberellin acts in concert with another hormone, auxin. We will generate new auxin-relat ....Genetic and Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth. Leguminous plants make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. To ensure future growth, we need to know more about how legume development is regulated. Genetic mutants, typically affecting the growth-promoting gibberellin plant hormones, played a key role in the green revolution, which transformed agriculture world-wide. Recent results show that gibberellin acts in concert with another hormone, auxin. We will generate new auxin-related mutants that will help us to understand how auxin and auxin-mediated interactions affect crop architecture and performance. Further benefit will accrue from training of students in state-of-the-art techniques, and the generation of new germplasm for use by other researchers and plant breeders. Read moreRead less
Genetic and Hormonal Interactions Controlling Shoot Growth. This project will determine how plant growth is regulated at the genetic, biochemical, and physiological levels, and how plant hormones provide key links between the genotype and overall phenotype (phenome). The work uses peas as a model because of the wealth of mutants available and the suitability of the species for physiological and biochemical studies. Our results will allow comparison of development in the caulescent pea plant wi ....Genetic and Hormonal Interactions Controlling Shoot Growth. This project will determine how plant growth is regulated at the genetic, biochemical, and physiological levels, and how plant hormones provide key links between the genotype and overall phenotype (phenome). The work uses peas as a model because of the wealth of mutants available and the suitability of the species for physiological and biochemical studies. Our results will allow comparison of development in the caulescent pea plant with other model species with different growth habits, such as Arabidopsis. The project is significant because it will enable shoot growth to be modified either genetically or chemically to meet particular agronomic objectives.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
Brassinosteroids and Plant Development. Brassinosteroids are steroid hormones, which are essential for normal plant growth and development. This project will address fundamental questions regarding the biology of these substances. The work uses pea as a model species because of its suitability for physiological, biochemical and genetic studies. The results obtained will substantially increase our knowledge of the way in which these substances regulate plant growth. This is significant as it will ....Brassinosteroids and Plant Development. Brassinosteroids are steroid hormones, which are essential for normal plant growth and development. This project will address fundamental questions regarding the biology of these substances. The work uses pea as a model species because of its suitability for physiological, biochemical and genetic studies. The results obtained will substantially increase our knowledge of the way in which these substances regulate plant growth. This is significant as it will ultimately allow plant growth to be modified either genetically or chemically, to meet particular agronomic objectives.Read moreRead less
Practical application of gene silencing: is delivery of long double stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) by plant cells efficient in conferring host resistance to parasitic nematodes? Nematode that attack plants cause $120 billion of crop losses worldwide. Chemicals used for their control are being phased out because of environmental concerns, and natural resistance is limited. The aim of this project is to use Australian IP to develop a new form of resistance to nematodes based on knowledge of th ....Practical application of gene silencing: is delivery of long double stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) by plant cells efficient in conferring host resistance to parasitic nematodes? Nematode that attack plants cause $120 billion of crop losses worldwide. Chemicals used for their control are being phased out because of environmental concerns, and natural resistance is limited. The aim of this project is to use Australian IP to develop a new form of resistance to nematodes based on knowledge of the host-pathogen interactions. A successful outcome could contribute an additional 5-20% increase in crop yields (depending on the crop) through inherent resistance of crops to nematode pests. This would benefit rural communities and the national economy, and could also generate international royalties.Read moreRead less