Improving plant reproductive success under heat stress: A sweet approach. This project aims to determine how genetic manipulation of cell wall invertase (CWIN) activity could regulate pollen germination, elongation and fruit set under heat stress using tomato as a model. Plant reproductive processes are highly susceptible to heat stress, which often leads to pollination failure and fruit and seed abortion, hence irreversible yield loss. Research has established that CWIN-mediated sugar metabolis ....Improving plant reproductive success under heat stress: A sweet approach. This project aims to determine how genetic manipulation of cell wall invertase (CWIN) activity could regulate pollen germination, elongation and fruit set under heat stress using tomato as a model. Plant reproductive processes are highly susceptible to heat stress, which often leads to pollination failure and fruit and seed abortion, hence irreversible yield loss. Research has established that CWIN-mediated sugar metabolism and signaling may play crucial roles in pollen growth and fruit set under heat stress. The intended outcome is the generation of critical knowledge that will advance understanding on reproductive development under heat stress, thereby providing significant benefits, such as novel ideas and solutions for improving crop yield.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
Unique plant hormone responses: the key to nitrogen-fixing nodules. This project aims to build a model of the signals that regulate root nodule formation, unique root organs formed by some plants that host nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nitrogen is often limited in the soil and agriculture relies on nitrogen fertiliser. Sustainable sources of plant nutrients are required to ensure food security and minimise the environmental impact of intensive farming. This project will provide fundamental informati ....Unique plant hormone responses: the key to nitrogen-fixing nodules. This project aims to build a model of the signals that regulate root nodule formation, unique root organs formed by some plants that host nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nitrogen is often limited in the soil and agriculture relies on nitrogen fertiliser. Sustainable sources of plant nutrients are required to ensure food security and minimise the environmental impact of intensive farming. This project will provide fundamental information on why some species can form nitrogen-fixing nodules by examining the role of plant hormones. This will build the knowledge base required to potentially expand this symbiosis into non-legumes, harnessing the huge advantage nodule forming species have in staple crops.Read moreRead less
Newly discovered regulatory peptides underpin root organogenesis, environmental sensing, symbiosis and nematode parasitism. We have discovered the elusive missing link that enables plants to simultaneously sense environmental stimuli and orchestrate root growth patterns. Findings of this project can be used to breed new plant crops varieties with improved performance that will be crucial for long-term agricultural and environmental sustainability worldwide.
CEP peptides provide a new paradigm for improving N-fixation and root shape. Two pivotal goals of agronomic research are to extend the benefits of symbiotic nitrogen fixation resulting from legume interactions with rhizobia, and to improve root architecture so that plants more effectively acquire nutrients and water. This project aims to discover new regulators that are central players in both processes. Applying these regulators to roots should enable legumes to nodulate more, to fix more nitr ....CEP peptides provide a new paradigm for improving N-fixation and root shape. Two pivotal goals of agronomic research are to extend the benefits of symbiotic nitrogen fixation resulting from legume interactions with rhizobia, and to improve root architecture so that plants more effectively acquire nutrients and water. This project aims to discover new regulators that are central players in both processes. Applying these regulators to roots should enable legumes to nodulate more, to fix more nitrogen, and to fundamentally alter important aspects of root architecture. Thus, these regulators will be used to enhance nitrogen fixation more widely in legumes and to alter their root architecture to enhance growth. These regulators may find wide utility in improving agriculture in developed and developing countries.Read moreRead less
Gamete-specific knockout of Fizzy-Related to examine its meiotic role in oocytes and sperm. Fizzy-Related is a gene that appears to be essential in making an ovulated egg, and it may also have an important role to play in making sperm. A mouse knockout will be generated to examine exactly how it functions; because it affects the egg number remaining in the ovary and egg quality Fizzy-Related may be eventually an important therapeutic target.
The role of auxin in root organ specification - from symbiont to parasite. Sustainable agriculture in a changing climate depends on strategies to maximise crop performance and to minimise crop losses due to parasites. This project aims to identify genes and molecular mechanisms that symbiotic and parasitic microbes, which affect major crop plants, use to alter plant growth in a beneficial or detrimental way.
Ascorbate and glutathione integrate the control of grapevine development. This project aims to make a step-change in understanding how the growth of woody perennial crops is regulated. The study of herbaceous annual plants has established that the antioxidants, ascorbate and glutathione, are important in regulating every step of plant development. However, this cannot readily translate to perennial life cycles. This project will develop novel genetic tools in grapevine that enable functional stu ....Ascorbate and glutathione integrate the control of grapevine development. This project aims to make a step-change in understanding how the growth of woody perennial crops is regulated. The study of herbaceous annual plants has established that the antioxidants, ascorbate and glutathione, are important in regulating every step of plant development. However, this cannot readily translate to perennial life cycles. This project will develop novel genetic tools in grapevine that enable functional studies of these antioxidants in a perennial plant for the first time. It will investigate how ascorbate and glutathione regulate the development of grapevine, and how these functions integrate with hormone and energy metabolism. The outcomes will advance our ability to manage perennial crops in current and future climates.Read moreRead less
Environmental regulation of root architecture by a gene controlling auxin transport. This project will study the function of a gene that we found to control root branching in response to the availability of nutrients in the environment. This could lead to new strategies for breeding of crop plants with improved ability to withstand environmental change.
Crop improvement using peptide regulators of growth and N demand signalling. This project aims to reduce reliance on nitrogen fertilisers without reducing crop yield. Global food security relies on using high-yielding grain varieties and nitrogen-based fertilisers. Since 1950, fertiliser use has increased 20-fold but the yield benefits of this use are declining. Crops only absorb 30–50 per cent of the applied fertiliser and the unused nitrogen causes environmental damage which is costly to mitig ....Crop improvement using peptide regulators of growth and N demand signalling. This project aims to reduce reliance on nitrogen fertilisers without reducing crop yield. Global food security relies on using high-yielding grain varieties and nitrogen-based fertilisers. Since 1950, fertiliser use has increased 20-fold but the yield benefits of this use are declining. Crops only absorb 30–50 per cent of the applied fertiliser and the unused nitrogen causes environmental damage which is costly to mitigate. The novel technology platform of the project aims to develop new crops with more expansive root systems that use applied nitrogen fertiliser more efficiently and new legume varieties that symbiotically fix more nitrogen in an ecologically-sustainable way.Read moreRead less