The response of mitochondria to oxidative stress in plants. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen atta ....The response of mitochondria to oxidative stress in plants. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen attack, and in production of reactive oxygen molecules. This proposal seeks to investigate how mitochondria are involved in these processes, focusing on the role of terminal oxidases. Potential outcomes include crops better able to cope with environmental stress.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775702
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
Climate controlled physical containment 2 (PC2) and pathogen/ insect contained glasshouse facility. The Australian economy relies heavily on agricultural production. The outcomes of the projects supported by these growth facilities will be of economic benefit to the nation by producing new knowledge of plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions, how plants acquire essential nutrients, and how they respond to environmental stress. The research outcomes will benefit the environment by increasin ....Climate controlled physical containment 2 (PC2) and pathogen/ insect contained glasshouse facility. The Australian economy relies heavily on agricultural production. The outcomes of the projects supported by these growth facilities will be of economic benefit to the nation by producing new knowledge of plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions, how plants acquire essential nutrients, and how they respond to environmental stress. The research outcomes will benefit the environment by increasing legume production and so reducing land degradation and risk of nitrate contamination of waterways and lowering the environmental risk from agrochemicals by developing safer strategies for control of pests and diseases. In addition, a number of projects that will benefit from the glasshouse facilities aim to produce healthier and safer foods.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the links between plant transpiration, soil water and nitrate movement: impact of high atmospheric CO2 and irrigation strategy. Australia's serious environmental problems, soil salinity and acidity, may be greatly affected by rising atmospheric CO2 and irrigation strategies. This will occur if the movement of soil water and nitrate changes with transpiration. We will generate different transpiration rates by varying atmospheric CO2 above pastures and irrigation strategies in vineya ....Unravelling the links between plant transpiration, soil water and nitrate movement: impact of high atmospheric CO2 and irrigation strategy. Australia's serious environmental problems, soil salinity and acidity, may be greatly affected by rising atmospheric CO2 and irrigation strategies. This will occur if the movement of soil water and nitrate changes with transpiration. We will generate different transpiration rates by varying atmospheric CO2 above pastures and irrigation strategies in vineyards. The commercial partner's newly developed soil sensors allow, for the first time, simultaneous 3-D measurement of soil water and nitrate in real-time. The results will answer long-standing questions about impacts of transpiration rates on plant nitrogen uptake and generate valuable new knowledge for sustainable management of pastures and horticultural crops. Read moreRead less
Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiati ....Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiation to biomass in arid, high-light and saline environments, which are expanding due to global climate change. The outcomes of this project could define what is required to engineer plant varieties with increased yield and the ability to withstand effects of climate shift, and contribute to our understanding of convergent evolutionary processes.Read moreRead less
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
The use of molecular sponges to inhibit small Ribonucleic acid activity in plants. The deletion of gene activity is the most powerful way to understand gene function; however for genes encoding small Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) no current methodology can efficiently achieve this. Here, we aim to develop a gene silencing technology for small RNA encoding genes, which can be utilised to determine their function and used for biotechnological applications.