Molecular dissection of resistance to subterranean clover mottle virus using Medicago truncatula. Plant virus diseases cause economic losses in most crop plants. Grain and pasture legumes are an important component of Australian agricultural cropping sytems, and provide human food and animal feed: they also contribute to higher yields of crops like cereals when grown in rotation, by providing nitrogen and a disease break. In this project, the 'model' legume, Medicago truncatula ('Barrel Medic') ....Molecular dissection of resistance to subterranean clover mottle virus using Medicago truncatula. Plant virus diseases cause economic losses in most crop plants. Grain and pasture legumes are an important component of Australian agricultural cropping sytems, and provide human food and animal feed: they also contribute to higher yields of crops like cereals when grown in rotation, by providing nitrogen and a disease break. In this project, the 'model' legume, Medicago truncatula ('Barrel Medic') will be used to identify a new virus resistance gene. The knowledge gained will be used to improve resistance to viruses in crop legumes, so reducing losses and aiding sustainability of production. This will support rural communities and the national economy.Read moreRead less
Molecular approaches for the exploitation of genetic diversity in subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) for profitable Australian farming systems. Subterranean clover is the most widely sown annual pasture legume species in southern Australia. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and has been sown over an estimated area of 22 million ha. This project will provide breeders with a focused core germplasm collection representing the range of genetic diversity of the around 8000 accessio ....Molecular approaches for the exploitation of genetic diversity in subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) for profitable Australian farming systems. Subterranean clover is the most widely sown annual pasture legume species in southern Australia. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and has been sown over an estimated area of 22 million ha. This project will provide breeders with a focused core germplasm collection representing the range of genetic diversity of the around 8000 accessions in the original collection. The focused core collection will lead to more efficient and effective breeding of elite cultivars for sustainable and profitable farming systems to benefit wool, meat and grains industries.Read moreRead less
Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any ....Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any pest with wide or narrow spectrum of action and does not require the production of toxins by the plant. The novelty of our approach will generate a large amount of intellectual property.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347922
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,000.00
Summary
Joint Facility for Plant Genetic Analysis and Gene Discovery in WA. This project will extend collaboration between Murdoch and UWA by provision of advanced facilities for plant genetic analysis and gene discovery. This will be achieved by purchase of novel equipment for discovery and analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs - single base changes between individual plants) that mark differences in their properties, and by purchase of equipment to underpin gene discovery and analysis of ....Joint Facility for Plant Genetic Analysis and Gene Discovery in WA. This project will extend collaboration between Murdoch and UWA by provision of advanced facilities for plant genetic analysis and gene discovery. This will be achieved by purchase of novel equipment for discovery and analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs - single base changes between individual plants) that mark differences in their properties, and by purchase of equipment to underpin gene discovery and analysis of expression. Provision of this equipment will enable full use of plant growth facilities now under construction, lead to advanced technologies of plant genetic analysis, and discovery of new basic information on fundamental plant processes.Read moreRead less
The Development of Microbial Inoculants as Biofertilisers for Rice, Wheat and Turf-Grass. Plant-microbial interactions can increase vegetative growth and crop yield. These PGPR effects result from improved N and P nutrition, stimulation of root growth, disease control, altered environmental conditions and, most importantly, positive interactions between all these. This project aims to develop plant growth promoting bacteria and fungi as commercial products. By matching microbes to plants and soi ....The Development of Microbial Inoculants as Biofertilisers for Rice, Wheat and Turf-Grass. Plant-microbial interactions can increase vegetative growth and crop yield. These PGPR effects result from improved N and P nutrition, stimulation of root growth, disease control, altered environmental conditions and, most importantly, positive interactions between all these. This project aims to develop plant growth promoting bacteria and fungi as commercial products. By matching microbes to plants and soil environments, a set of peat-based inoculants will be optimised for application as biofertilisers to field crops and turfgrass.
Potential applications are both rural and urban.
The outcomes will be proven commercial products able to promote plant growth and rapid recovery from adverse conditions.Read moreRead less
A new approach to control of plant parasitic nematodes. Plant parasitic nematodes are the fourth most important plant pathogens worldwide. The aim of this project is to develop ?proof-of-concept? of a new strategy for nematode control, based on a synthetic ?cell death? resistance gene, in which tight specificity of expression of the resistance gene is provided using two gene promoters. The work focusses on finding the best combination of promoters which are switched on by infection of plants w ....A new approach to control of plant parasitic nematodes. Plant parasitic nematodes are the fourth most important plant pathogens worldwide. The aim of this project is to develop ?proof-of-concept? of a new strategy for nematode control, based on a synthetic ?cell death? resistance gene, in which tight specificity of expression of the resistance gene is provided using two gene promoters. The work focusses on finding the best combination of promoters which are switched on by infection of plants with nematodes. It is based on an Australian patent which has wide applicability in plant biotechnology. Nematode control will benefit horticultural and broadacre farming by reducing pathogen losses and improving quality.Read moreRead less
Hidden Enemies of Crop Plants: Developing Novel Methods to Identify Plant Parasitic Nematodes. Plant parasitic nematodes are microscopic worms that invade roots of plants. Globally they cause annual crop losses of $2billion ($400million in Australia), making them the fourth most important plant pathogens worldwide. However, study of these pathogens has been neglected: there are few trained nematologists in Australia. There is thus a need to apply new technologies to identify nematode problems. ....Hidden Enemies of Crop Plants: Developing Novel Methods to Identify Plant Parasitic Nematodes. Plant parasitic nematodes are microscopic worms that invade roots of plants. Globally they cause annual crop losses of $2billion ($400million in Australia), making them the fourth most important plant pathogens worldwide. However, study of these pathogens has been neglected: there are few trained nematologists in Australia. There is thus a need to apply new technologies to identify nematode problems. In this project a novel approach, that of protein profiling using mass spectroscopy, will be used to develop rapid, cost effective methods to identify nematodes. This will allow advisers and growers to identify nematode problems and so to control them appropriately.Read moreRead less
Role of organic matter and soil biota in optimising crop nutrition in sustainable farming systems. Australian grain producers face increasing competition on the world market from countries with cheap production costs (China, Argentina, Brazil). This project will develop biological farming systems based on improving soil health and enhancing soil microflora and nutrient cycling. Western Australia and other states are currently defining certification guidelines for sustainable farming systems (inc ....Role of organic matter and soil biota in optimising crop nutrition in sustainable farming systems. Australian grain producers face increasing competition on the world market from countries with cheap production costs (China, Argentina, Brazil). This project will develop biological farming systems based on improving soil health and enhancing soil microflora and nutrient cycling. Western Australia and other states are currently defining certification guidelines for sustainable farming systems (including biological ones). Selling grain produced in certified biological farming system will attract market premium, therefore enhancing the position of Australian farmers. This project will produce fertiliser recommendation systems incorporating organic fertilisers, thus decreasing costs of production and maintaining clean and healthy environment.Read moreRead less
Aquaporins in roots: resolving observations linking them to diverse processes in water relations and plant productivity. The knowledge we gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use and productivity. This is critical for adaptation to a drier climate where water is a critical resource. Large quantities of water move through aquaporin proteins in plants, therefore our understanding of these and the way they influence other processes in plant growth could enable us ....Aquaporins in roots: resolving observations linking them to diverse processes in water relations and plant productivity. The knowledge we gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use and productivity. This is critical for adaptation to a drier climate where water is a critical resource. Large quantities of water move through aquaporin proteins in plants, therefore our understanding of these and the way they influence other processes in plant growth could enable us to manipulate plants to conserve water or to extract it more efficiently from the soil. Molecular aspects of the project could reveal new unexploited links between water and plant productivity. High calibre PhD and Honours students will also be educated to maintain the momentum of international excellence within Australia in the field of plant water relations.Read moreRead less
Role of intracellular calcium homeostasis and aluminium transport across the plasma membrane in aluminium toxicity to plants. Aluminium is the most important yield-limiting factor in acid soils throughout the world. The problem of aluminium toxicity is aggravated by continuous acidification of arable land. Mechanisms of aluminium toxicity in plant cells are poorly understood. The present project seeks to elucidate the molecular basis of the interaction between intracellular calcium homeostasis, ....Role of intracellular calcium homeostasis and aluminium transport across the plasma membrane in aluminium toxicity to plants. Aluminium is the most important yield-limiting factor in acid soils throughout the world. The problem of aluminium toxicity is aggravated by continuous acidification of arable land. Mechanisms of aluminium toxicity in plant cells are poorly understood. The present project seeks to elucidate the molecular basis of the interaction between intracellular calcium homeostasis, cytosolic pH and aluminium uptake across the plasma membrane in aluminium toxicity to plants. Knowledge of primary triggers of aluminium toxicity will pay off in a breeding programme aimed at selecting crop genotypes with increased resistance to aluminium toxicity.Read moreRead less