Finding the missing links in salt and water transport in plants. Grain crops and horticultural plants use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, but a group of these proteins can also transport some important nutrient ions as well as toxic sodium ions. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and ion transport via aquaporins using advanced techniques in biophysics and molecular biology. These results will provide novel insights into how plan ....Finding the missing links in salt and water transport in plants. Grain crops and horticultural plants use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, but a group of these proteins can also transport some important nutrient ions as well as toxic sodium ions. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and ion transport via aquaporins using advanced techniques in biophysics and molecular biology. These results will provide novel insights into how plants coordinate and adapt to changing water and salt conditions, addressing a missing link in how ions and water move in and out of plant vacuoles. Benefits include an expanded, innovative range of targets for plant breeding programs to improve plant productivity in our changing climate.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