Genome evolution & adaptation of the multinuclear wheat stripe rust fungus. Animals and plants package their genomes into a single nucleus within each cell. In contrast, millions of fungal species accommodate multiple nuclei containing individual haploid genomes. It is currently unknown what the evolutionary implications are for this unusual genome division into multiple nuclei. Here we explore the evolutionary consequences of genome division into multiple nuclei for the first time by applying c ....Genome evolution & adaptation of the multinuclear wheat stripe rust fungus. Animals and plants package their genomes into a single nucleus within each cell. In contrast, millions of fungal species accommodate multiple nuclei containing individual haploid genomes. It is currently unknown what the evolutionary implications are for this unusual genome division into multiple nuclei. Here we explore the evolutionary consequences of genome division into multiple nuclei for the first time by applying cutting edge genome biology tools and algorithms. The economically significant study system is the devastating wheat stripe rust fungus. This pathogen costs Australian farmers over $100 million a year. New understanding is expected to lead to better disease management, reduced fungicide applications, and increased yields.Read moreRead less
Commensal benefits: genomic basis for suppressing plant pathogens with Pseudomonas biocontrol species. Food security is an issue of mounting significance due to unpredictable climate trends and increasing global population growth. A feature of paramount importance to reliable crop production is the capacity to control plant diseases. This project investigates natural plant colonising bacteria as a tool for protecting plants from disease.
Who’s who in the plant gene world? As many more plant genomes are sequenced, the bottleneck is being able to interrogate and translate this data into applications for crop improvement. This project will develop and apply a population graph database, hosting genome data for the world’s major crops and their wild relatives, allowing the characterisation of gene diversity on an unparalleled scale. Analysis of this data will reveal the presence/absence and sequence diversity for classes of genes for ....Who’s who in the plant gene world? As many more plant genomes are sequenced, the bottleneck is being able to interrogate and translate this data into applications for crop improvement. This project will develop and apply a population graph database, hosting genome data for the world’s major crops and their wild relatives, allowing the characterisation of gene diversity on an unparalleled scale. Analysis of this data will reveal the presence/absence and sequence diversity for classes of genes for important agronomic traits including disease resistance, flowering time and legume nitrogen fixation which will enable plant breeders to identify and apply novel genes and allelic variants for use in breeding programmes, accelerating the production of improved crop varieties.Read moreRead less
Control points in nitrogen uptake: enhancing the response of cereals to nitrogen supply and demand. Vast amounts of nitrogen fertiliser are applied to cereal crops to maintain yields. By uncovering what limits nitrogen uptake in cereals, this project will provide the scientific basis for improving nitrogen use efficiency and decreasing fertiliser use, with significant economic and environmental benefits.
Exploring genetic diversity to identify new heat tolerance genes in wheat. This project aims to improve the selection and development of heat-tolerant wheat varieties. Heatwaves seriously reduce wheat yields worldwide, and the situation will worsen with climate variation. This project aims to apply a broad genetic scan to identify the main chromosome regions controlling heat tolerance at the sensitive flowering stage in Australian and European wheat varieties. It is expected that this knowledge ....Exploring genetic diversity to identify new heat tolerance genes in wheat. This project aims to improve the selection and development of heat-tolerant wheat varieties. Heatwaves seriously reduce wheat yields worldwide, and the situation will worsen with climate variation. This project aims to apply a broad genetic scan to identify the main chromosome regions controlling heat tolerance at the sensitive flowering stage in Australian and European wheat varieties. It is expected that this knowledge will deliver crucial breeders’ tools to select heat-tolerant varieties. The project also aims to identify genes most likely to control tolerance at these chromosome locations using gene expression profiling data, trait associations and knowledge of heat-tolerance genes from other species. It is expected that these genes will reveal molecular mechanisms of heat tolerance and create new opportunities to engineer superior levels of tolerance in cereals.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101127
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
An integrated statistical genetics framework for breeding superior wheat varieties. Genetic studies in agriculture are rapidly increasing in size and complexity in pursuit of genes behind desirable traits such as yield and water use efficiency. This project will address the need for efficient statistical methods to analyse genetic data and thus enable production of wheat varieties that will contribute to Australian food security.
Protein trafficking pathways in fungal rust pathogens of plants. This project aims to investigate protein trafficking pathways in fungal rusts of plants. These are devastating diseases that cause major losses in agricultural crops including wheat. Little is known of how these fungi form long and intimate relationships with plants to extract their nutrients. Using both model and agriculturally important fungi, the project will try to identify proteins that are transferred within the fungus and to ....Protein trafficking pathways in fungal rust pathogens of plants. This project aims to investigate protein trafficking pathways in fungal rusts of plants. These are devastating diseases that cause major losses in agricultural crops including wheat. Little is known of how these fungi form long and intimate relationships with plants to extract their nutrients. Using both model and agriculturally important fungi, the project will try to identify proteins that are transferred within the fungus and to the plant host to modify the infection. It will also identify fungal proteins needed to deliver trafficked proteins to plants. These discoveries ultimately may be translated into control strategies for these costly diseases.Read moreRead less