Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Unravelling transthyretin amyloid, bounding ahead using wallabies. Each protein in our body has a unique shape that enables it to function correctly. For unknown reasons, some proteins can change their shape, aggregate with other proteins and stick to the outside of cells of major organs or nerves. This prevents those cells from working properly and results in disease. Transthyretin is a protein that changes shape and aggregates in the heart of most people over the age of 70. The disease is call ....Unravelling transthyretin amyloid, bounding ahead using wallabies. Each protein in our body has a unique shape that enables it to function correctly. For unknown reasons, some proteins can change their shape, aggregate with other proteins and stick to the outside of cells of major organs or nerves. This prevents those cells from working properly and results in disease. Transthyretin is a protein that changes shape and aggregates in the heart of most people over the age of 70. The disease is called Senile Systemic Amyloidosis (SSA). It is not known how or why this happens. There is no cure or therapy. This project will use transthyretins from human and wallaby to explore a possible cause of SSA. If our hypothesis is correct, we will propose preventative actions to reduce the incidence of SSA in the future.Read moreRead less
The cell wall substrate delivery mechanisms in plants. This project aims to study the delivery of substrates plants need to biosynthesise sugar polymers. Sugar polymers play key structural and functional roles in plant development and determine quality for all plant-based products including food, textile fibres, building materials and renewable biomass. However, unknown mechanisms regulate and control the transport mechanisms that deliver the building blocks for polysaccharide biosynthesis. This ....The cell wall substrate delivery mechanisms in plants. This project aims to study the delivery of substrates plants need to biosynthesise sugar polymers. Sugar polymers play key structural and functional roles in plant development and determine quality for all plant-based products including food, textile fibres, building materials and renewable biomass. However, unknown mechanisms regulate and control the transport mechanisms that deliver the building blocks for polysaccharide biosynthesis. This project is expected to increase understanding of nucleotide sugar transport and develop and enhance the biological toolbox for applications involving modelling and engineering of plants, synthesis of industrial biopolymers and production of functional foods.Read moreRead less
Transport of nucleotide sugars and their roles in cell wall biosynthesis. This project aims to define and manipulate transporters involved in the delivery of activated sugars for cell wall polymer biosynthesis. Cell wall polymers play important structural and functional roles in plants. They also represent an important renewable resource in the form of biomass and contribute to the nutritional value of food. The project will complete the characterisation of cell wall-associated transporters, app ....Transport of nucleotide sugars and their roles in cell wall biosynthesis. This project aims to define and manipulate transporters involved in the delivery of activated sugars for cell wall polymer biosynthesis. Cell wall polymers play important structural and functional roles in plants. They also represent an important renewable resource in the form of biomass and contribute to the nutritional value of food. The project will complete the characterisation of cell wall-associated transporters, apply new technologies to visualise cell wall biosynthesis in growing plants and leverage this knowledge to manipulate biomass in rice. This information will provide fundamental knowledge on a crucial process in plants that can be used the development of functional foods for agriculture and tailored biomass for industry.Read moreRead less
Pilot-scale production of therapeutically-active cannabinoids . The Isolation of minor therapeutically-active cannabinoids from cannabis at pilot scale would establish a commercially competitive Australian industry and lead to a superior position in the global marketplace. This project aims to select elite clones from genetically diverse cannabis strains for yield of minor, but therapeutically-active, cannabinoids, and develop a pilot-scale extraction and separation procedure that can be scaled- ....Pilot-scale production of therapeutically-active cannabinoids . The Isolation of minor therapeutically-active cannabinoids from cannabis at pilot scale would establish a commercially competitive Australian industry and lead to a superior position in the global marketplace. This project aims to select elite clones from genetically diverse cannabis strains for yield of minor, but therapeutically-active, cannabinoids, and develop a pilot-scale extraction and separation procedure that can be scaled-up for commercial production. This would contribute to the growth of the agri-biotechnology sector and a skilled multidisciplinary workforce in rural Australia, thus providing significant economic benefit. The novel scale-up procedure has potential for industry adoption to add value to Australian manufacturing.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100174
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$800,000.00
Summary
Innovative synchrotron science - program for access to the Australian National Beamline Facility and cutting-edge beamlines at international synchrotrons. Synchrotron science dramatically affects the community through the innovative scientific, engineering and medical research outcomes it produces. This program for access to synchrotron beamlines is aimed at enhancing Australia's high international standing in synchrotron science and will have many flow-on effects in areas such as health and ind ....Innovative synchrotron science - program for access to the Australian National Beamline Facility and cutting-edge beamlines at international synchrotrons. Synchrotron science dramatically affects the community through the innovative scientific, engineering and medical research outcomes it produces. This program for access to synchrotron beamlines is aimed at enhancing Australia's high international standing in synchrotron science and will have many flow-on effects in areas such as health and industry.Read moreRead less