Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Targeting root architecture to improve plant production in sub-optimal soil. This project aims to identify important missing links in the signalling pathways that connect major plant hormones in their control of root architecture, with a focus on the signalling system that helps plants cope with sub-optimal growing conditions. New discoveries in plant hormones will be applied to crops to provide a deeper understanding of root growth responses under sub-optimal conditions, and to maximise plant e ....Targeting root architecture to improve plant production in sub-optimal soil. This project aims to identify important missing links in the signalling pathways that connect major plant hormones in their control of root architecture, with a focus on the signalling system that helps plants cope with sub-optimal growing conditions. New discoveries in plant hormones will be applied to crops to provide a deeper understanding of root growth responses under sub-optimal conditions, and to maximise plant efficiency. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of signal pathways in roots, improved knowledge about how crops respond to adverse conditions, new knowledge and potential genetic resources for plant industry, and novel ideas about how to improve crop productivity.Read moreRead less
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
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
Dissecting chloride transport in plants to secure an untapped source for improving plant productivity. Chloride and nitrate are central to physiological processes that determine crop yield and food production, but their uptake and transport within the plant body are antagonistic. This project will gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms underlying this antagonism. This will provide new tools for improving salinity tolerance and the efficiency of fertiliser use, which can be used for t ....Dissecting chloride transport in plants to secure an untapped source for improving plant productivity. Chloride and nitrate are central to physiological processes that determine crop yield and food production, but their uptake and transport within the plant body are antagonistic. This project will gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms underlying this antagonism. This will provide new tools for improving salinity tolerance and the efficiency of fertiliser use, which can be used for the development of new crop varieties. Improving these traits will be essential if we are to successfully address the threats to Australian and global food security posed by salinity, and the rising economic and environmental costs of inefficient fertiliser use.Read moreRead less
Improving crops from the ground up: genetic solutions to optimise roots. This project aims to develop future crops with optimised root systems by overcoming genetic constraints that currently restrict their potential. Exploiting advances in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and genome editing, this project expects to advance understanding of the biology and genetic controls of root development and responses to concurrent stressors, including drought, nutrient deficiency and soil-borne disea ....Improving crops from the ground up: genetic solutions to optimise roots. This project aims to develop future crops with optimised root systems by overcoming genetic constraints that currently restrict their potential. Exploiting advances in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and genome editing, this project expects to advance understanding of the biology and genetic controls of root development and responses to concurrent stressors, including drought, nutrient deficiency and soil-borne disease. It is anticipated that project outcomes will support the development of crops equipped with novel root traits, enhancing resource-use efficiency and yield stability amid climate variability. This globally relevant research is designed to benefit the sustainability and profitability of the Australian grains industry.Read moreRead less