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
Identifying the diversity and evolution of loci associated with adaptation to aridity/heat and salinity in ancient cereal crops. This project will use ancient grains of wheat, barley and rye to find 'lost' genetic diversity at key genes associated with resistance to aridity, salt and disease. This project will make the proteins of key genes, and study their interaction with the environment over time by measuring ions in the grains to reveal the ancient environmental conditions.
Using cutting edge genomic tools to dissect the molecular control of hybrid vigour in cereals. Hybrid cereals grow in a wide range of environments, require less water and produce more grain from less land. This project will generate an enhanced capacity to rapidly develop new hybrid cereal varieties. The Australian community will benefit by having enhanced food security using less water and less land. The Australian community will also benefit because land and water will be released to the envir ....Using cutting edge genomic tools to dissect the molecular control of hybrid vigour in cereals. Hybrid cereals grow in a wide range of environments, require less water and produce more grain from less land. This project will generate an enhanced capacity to rapidly develop new hybrid cereal varieties. The Australian community will benefit by having enhanced food security using less water and less land. The Australian community will also benefit because land and water will be released to the environment, or to support other industries and their communities, or to grow other crops. The wide environmental adaptation of these hybrid cereals will allow the Australian community to respond flexibly to adverse climatic changes. Read moreRead less
Activating the female germline during plant development. This project aims to investigate the mechanistic basis for female germline formation in two plant species including barley, which is of agricultural relevance to Australia. This project’s approach will integrate novel regulatory genes and data from Arabidopsis and barley. This knowledge will provide significant benefits, such as novel reproductive strategies for crop improvement.
How SEP-like genes determine cereal inflorescence architecture. This project aims to understand the morphological diversity of inflorescence architecture between cereal crop species. To do so, this project will identify functions and analyse the regulatory networks of conserved SEPALLATA genes (SEPs). This will enable them to determine cereal inflorescence morphogenesis of rice (branching) and barley (non-branching), representing the most important cereals. Identifying and understanding rice and ....How SEP-like genes determine cereal inflorescence architecture. This project aims to understand the morphological diversity of inflorescence architecture between cereal crop species. To do so, this project will identify functions and analyse the regulatory networks of conserved SEPALLATA genes (SEPs). This will enable them to determine cereal inflorescence morphogenesis of rice (branching) and barley (non-branching), representing the most important cereals. Identifying and understanding rice and barley SEPs, their direct targets and interactors, and how they regulate inflorescence branches and spikelets in both species is expected to provide evolutionary and developmental insights and targets to improve for crop yield. A molecular understanding of the regulatory network that underpins inflorescence shape and grain number will advance fundamental biology, and could form the basis for significant yield improvements by manipulating key points in the developmental pathway.Read moreRead less
How common and what is the significance of cis-acting regulatory variation and genomic imprinting in plants? Plant based processes provide truly sustainable solutions to many of the challenges facing Australia. The proposed research will help elucidate how plants regulate variation in gene expression rather than changes in the structure of encoded proteins. This is an area of gene expression, that has not been approached before, that explains the plant's ability to respond to external stimuli. ....How common and what is the significance of cis-acting regulatory variation and genomic imprinting in plants? Plant based processes provide truly sustainable solutions to many of the challenges facing Australia. The proposed research will help elucidate how plants regulate variation in gene expression rather than changes in the structure of encoded proteins. This is an area of gene expression, that has not been approached before, that explains the plant's ability to respond to external stimuli. Variation between plant species in the number of genes does not fully explain the differences between them. This information will come not from seqenceing genomes but from investigation of regulatory elements. Read moreRead less
Microgenomics - a tool to dissect effects of salinity on gene expression in specific cell types of Arabidopsis and rice. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in salinity tolerance in higher plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of a range of processes relevant to salinity tolerance, an area of great importance to Australian agriculture and environmental sustainability. The increased understanding arising from this ....Microgenomics - a tool to dissect effects of salinity on gene expression in specific cell types of Arabidopsis and rice. This project will provide novel, fundamental understanding of the cell type-specific processes involved in salinity tolerance in higher plants. As such, it will impact on our understanding of a range of processes relevant to salinity tolerance, an area of great importance to Australian agriculture and environmental sustainability. The increased understanding arising from this project will underpin future work to increase agricultural productivity and the quality of life for all in the Australian and international communities.Read moreRead less
LATERAL GENE TRANSFER, GENOME EVOLUTION AND THE EMERGENCE OF NEW DISEASES CAUSED BY FUNGAL PATHOGENS IN THE PLEOSPORALES. Normal evolution involves the transfer of genes within species. The modest variation between progeny powers natural selection. Lateral gene transfer is the movement of genetic material between species. It allows for large evolutionary steps. Although common in bacteria, it has rarely been described convincingly in higher organisms such as fungi, plants or animals. We have evi ....LATERAL GENE TRANSFER, GENOME EVOLUTION AND THE EMERGENCE OF NEW DISEASES CAUSED BY FUNGAL PATHOGENS IN THE PLEOSPORALES. Normal evolution involves the transfer of genes within species. The modest variation between progeny powers natural selection. Lateral gene transfer is the movement of genetic material between species. It allows for large evolutionary steps. Although common in bacteria, it has rarely been described convincingly in higher organisms such as fungi, plants or animals. We have evidence that one group of fungal pathogens is particularly adept at acquiring new genes that enable them to cause new diseases. We will determine the mechanism and frequency of gene transfer in this group. The work had fundamental significance in evolutionary biology, in the emergence of new diseases and in the use of genetically-modified organisms.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
Reconstructing wheat evolution using ancient DNA. The domestication of wild grasses by farmers was a step change in human history; it led to the emergence of modern cereals and with them, western civilisation. This project will apply modern DNA sequencing methods to 5000-year-old cereal seeds to reconstruct the history of wheat, barley and other crops, and identify lost ancient forms and diversity.