ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unp ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unpredictable environmental challenges adversely affect plant growth and further perturb plant energy balance, limiting yield. The epigenetic controls, gene variants and signals discovered will provide a new basis for sustainable productivity of crops and will future-proof plants in changing climates.Read moreRead less
Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this proces ....Molecular switches and genetic consequences of grain retention in cereals. Grain retention at maturity was key for crop domestication and laid the basis for farming. Wheat and barley have evolved a novel mechanism for ensuring grain retention and, although the genes are known, the mechanisms for action are not. Grain dispersal in the wild relatives involves highly targeted changes in the walls of a small number of cells. This project will explore how the two identified genes control this process and clarify their mode of action. The genes ensuring grain retention have been so critical for domestication that the region surrounding them has become genetically fixed. The project will assess the implication of fixation on genetic diversity and develop options to bring novel variation into breeding programs.Read moreRead less