ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. The ARC CoE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture will discover the adaptive strategies underpinning productivity and resilience in diverse plants and deepen knowledge of the genetic and physiological networks driving key traits. Using novel quantitative and computational approaches, the Centre will link gene networks with traits across biological levels, giving breeders an unparalleled predictive capacity. The Centre wi ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. The ARC CoE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture will discover the adaptive strategies underpinning productivity and resilience in diverse plants and deepen knowledge of the genetic and physiological networks driving key traits. Using novel quantitative and computational approaches, the Centre will link gene networks with traits across biological levels, giving breeders an unparalleled predictive capacity. The Centre will accelerate technologies to transfer successful networks into crops and build legal frameworks to secure this knowledge. With a uniquely multidisciplinary team, the Centre will deliver new strategies to address the problems of food security and climate change, establishing Australia as a global leader in these areas.Read moreRead less
The functional characterisation of a novel immune response in plants. This project aims to identify the role of pathogenicity-related-1 proteins in plants and characterise a new disease resistance pathway. By focusing on the interaction between key plant and pathogen proteins, this proposal seeks to advance the understanding of how the pathogen causes disease. The expected outcomes from these advances include the generation of new tools to manage plant diseases whilst building strong internation ....The functional characterisation of a novel immune response in plants. This project aims to identify the role of pathogenicity-related-1 proteins in plants and characterise a new disease resistance pathway. By focusing on the interaction between key plant and pathogen proteins, this proposal seeks to advance the understanding of how the pathogen causes disease. The expected outcomes from these advances include the generation of new tools to manage plant diseases whilst building strong international collaborations. This project should provide significant benefits for generating new leads for plant disease management leading to enhanced food security.Read moreRead less
The mechanism of photosynthetic water oxidation. Photosynthesis reactions capture sunlight and provide energy for the biosphere, while generating atmospheric oxygen. This project will unravel the chemical secret of oxygen production and provide a future blueprint for biocatalysts, which are required to generate renewable molecular fuels.
Clocks in crops: exploring the role of circadian rhythms in crop adaptation. The project aims to analyse how the circadian clock provides adaptive advantages in legumes and cereals, two major crop groups of global importance. The project expects to produce new fundamental knowledge about how the clock in these crops coordinates their development, physiology, and metabolism in response to environmental cues. The anticipated outcome is a better understanding of key similarities and differences in ....Clocks in crops: exploring the role of circadian rhythms in crop adaptation. The project aims to analyse how the circadian clock provides adaptive advantages in legumes and cereals, two major crop groups of global importance. The project expects to produce new fundamental knowledge about how the clock in these crops coordinates their development, physiology, and metabolism in response to environmental cues. The anticipated outcome is a better understanding of key similarities and differences in clock functions in different species. Another is knowledge of how the ancient clock gene variants still in use today may limit the current or future performance of those crops. This will provide significant benefits, such as to improve productivity of crop plants in diverse and changing environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100466
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,623.00
Summary
Decrypting chloroplast signalling in C4 photosynthesis under heat stress. This project aims to fill a critical knowledge gap in how photosynthesis, chloroplast signals, metabolism and cell specialisation are coordinated for stress acclimation in plants. It aims to dissect the complex interactions between a) cellular distress signals produced by chloroplasts with b) reactive radicals and c) plant metabolism during heat stress. It expects to provide the first insights into chloroplast signalling c ....Decrypting chloroplast signalling in C4 photosynthesis under heat stress. This project aims to fill a critical knowledge gap in how photosynthesis, chloroplast signals, metabolism and cell specialisation are coordinated for stress acclimation in plants. It aims to dissect the complex interactions between a) cellular distress signals produced by chloroplasts with b) reactive radicals and c) plant metabolism during heat stress. It expects to provide the first insights into chloroplast signalling critical for heat-tolerant C4 photosynthesis which is active in two specialised leaf cell types in cereals such as maize and sorghum. Expected outcomes include an unprecedented cell-level resolution map of chloroplast signalling, which will benefit the engineering of improved photosynthesis into crops. Read moreRead less
Systemic gene silencing in Arabidopsis, and relevance to plant biology. Gene silencing is a highly conserved process in plants and animals. It is of fundamental importance to gene regulation, virus defence, genome response to environment, and genome evolution. Remarkably, when gene silencing is triggered in plants it can spread throughout the organism. The aim of this project is to define the mechanism of intercellular movement of gene silencing in plants, and its relevance to plant growth and d ....Systemic gene silencing in Arabidopsis, and relevance to plant biology. Gene silencing is a highly conserved process in plants and animals. It is of fundamental importance to gene regulation, virus defence, genome response to environment, and genome evolution. Remarkably, when gene silencing is triggered in plants it can spread throughout the organism. The aim of this project is to define the mechanism of intercellular movement of gene silencing in plants, and its relevance to plant growth and defence against pathogens. Expected outcomes include increased understanding of intercellular genetic signalling in plants and its role in plant growth and disease resistance. The findings may also shed new light on mechanisms of gene silencing in animals.Read moreRead less
Identification of immune receptor and signalling proteins from plants. This project aims to clone a new extracellular pathogen receptor, and map immune signalling pathways downstream of both intra- and extra-cellular receptors using innovative biochemical methods. The plant immune system protects plants and crops from attack by pests and pathogens. It is an innate system based on extracellular and intracellular pathogen receptors. Despite the importance of plant immunity in both biological and a ....Identification of immune receptor and signalling proteins from plants. This project aims to clone a new extracellular pathogen receptor, and map immune signalling pathways downstream of both intra- and extra-cellular receptors using innovative biochemical methods. The plant immune system protects plants and crops from attack by pests and pathogens. It is an innate system based on extracellular and intracellular pathogen receptors. Despite the importance of plant immunity in both biological and agricultural terms, little is known about the identity of such receptors or the signalling events that link pathogen perception to response. The results are expected to enhance crop productivity and provide important insights into the architecture of the plant immune system.Read moreRead less
Can altered sugar sensing improve crop productivity? This project aims at genetically manipulating sugar sensing pathways in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis, and at replacing sugar sensors in the model C3 crop Oryza sativa (rice) with those from S. viridis. This project expects to elucidate the impact of altered sugar perception on crop photosynthesis and yield. Expected outcomes includes advancing a novel “pull” approach to improve yield in C3 crops by using C4-like sugar sensors to reduce f ....Can altered sugar sensing improve crop productivity? This project aims at genetically manipulating sugar sensing pathways in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis, and at replacing sugar sensors in the model C3 crop Oryza sativa (rice) with those from S. viridis. This project expects to elucidate the impact of altered sugar perception on crop photosynthesis and yield. Expected outcomes includes advancing a novel “pull” approach to improve yield in C3 crops by using C4-like sugar sensors to reduce feedback regulation of photosynthesis which in turn limits productivity. This is in contrast to previous ‘push’ approaches aimed at directly increasing photosynthesis. Hence, this project provides significant benefits by contributing to the next green revolution needed to lift agricultural yields.Read moreRead less
Enhancing and manipulating C4 photosynthesis. To meet the challenge of increasing crop yield for a burgeoning world population, it has become apparent that photosynthetic capacity must be increased per unit leaf area to improve yield potential. Plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway are major contributors to world food production and bioenergy supply. The aim of this study is to explore ways of enhancing C4 photosynthesis using directed molecular modifications of Setaria viridis, the model mo ....Enhancing and manipulating C4 photosynthesis. To meet the challenge of increasing crop yield for a burgeoning world population, it has become apparent that photosynthetic capacity must be increased per unit leaf area to improve yield potential. Plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway are major contributors to world food production and bioenergy supply. The aim of this study is to explore ways of enhancing C4 photosynthesis using directed molecular modifications of Setaria viridis, the model monocot C4 species, and through high throughput fluorescence imaging of photosynthesis in Setaria italica accessions. This will provide new insights into rate limiting steps of C4 photosynthesis needed for C4 crop improvement.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101760
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,000.00
Summary
Uncovering the roles of key ribonucleases critical for post-transcriptional control of chloroplast gene expression. Higher plant chloroplasts harbour key biological processes that are essential to life on earth. Deciphering the roles of important plastid-targeted ribonucleases, central to post-transcriptional ribonucleic acid (RNA) processing events, is crucial to elucidate the genetic elements required to engineer chloroplast metabolic pathways to enhance productive crop yields.