Strigolactone, a new plant hormone: its regulation, role and potential for plant improvement. This Project will investigate a new plant hormone, one of only 10 or so discovered to date in plants. This hormone regulates shoot number, water and nutrient uptake and the ability of shoots to generate roots and develop wood. The Project will produce genetic tools and describe new processes for applications in sustainable plant improvement.
Genomics of temperature response in plants. Climate change is predicted to have negative impacts on Australian agriculture. This project will use genomic tools to uncover biological mechanisms for plant response to temperature that will help design crop varieties that are more tolerant to higher temperatures.
Reading the isotopic archive: carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios as recorders of plant physiological processes. This project will investigate how plant physiological processes are reflected in stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in plant tissues. Results will contribute towards a mechanistic understanding of the processes that cause isotopic modifications, thereby enabling an improved interpretation of naturally occurring stable isotope signals.
Building better Brassicas: Understanding disease resistance mechanisms across the Brassicaceae. Brassica species are important crops producing cooking oil, vegetables and biofuel, grown in diverse environments with a high economic and export value. Blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans, is the most important disease of brassica crops world-wide. The newly available brassica genome sequence provides the resources to study the co-evolution of this plant and pathogen. This pr ....Building better Brassicas: Understanding disease resistance mechanisms across the Brassicaceae. Brassica species are important crops producing cooking oil, vegetables and biofuel, grown in diverse environments with a high economic and export value. Blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans, is the most important disease of brassica crops world-wide. The newly available brassica genome sequence provides the resources to study the co-evolution of this plant and pathogen. This project will characterise the evolution and conservation of resistance genes in wild and cultivated brassicas, using next-generation sequencing technology, to assess their potential for crop improvement. An understanding of the evolution of genes responsible for resistance will lead to improved plant protection strategies for brassica crops.Read moreRead less
Improving crops from the ground up: genetic solutions to optimise roots. This project aims to develop future crops with optimised root systems by overcoming genetic constraints that currently restrict their potential. Exploiting advances in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and genome editing, this project expects to advance understanding of the biology and genetic controls of root development and responses to concurrent stressors, including drought, nutrient deficiency and soil-borne disea ....Improving crops from the ground up: genetic solutions to optimise roots. This project aims to develop future crops with optimised root systems by overcoming genetic constraints that currently restrict their potential. Exploiting advances in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and genome editing, this project expects to advance understanding of the biology and genetic controls of root development and responses to concurrent stressors, including drought, nutrient deficiency and soil-borne disease. It is anticipated that project outcomes will support the development of crops equipped with novel root traits, enhancing resource-use efficiency and yield stability amid climate variability. This globally relevant research is designed to benefit the sustainability and profitability of the Australian grains industry.Read moreRead less
Understanding why aluminium and other trace metals are toxic to plants - the key to improving crop yield in degraded soils. Aluminium toxicity drastically reduces plant growth in acid soils, costing Australia approximately $1.5 billion per annum in lost productivity. This project will aim to identify the reasons behind the toxicities of aluminium and other metals and has the potential to increase yields in 50 per cent of Australia’s agricultural land which is acidic.
A biological model to understand caveolin-1 and lipid raft function in health and disease. This project will generate a biological model for pathological caveolin-1 action on cell membrane domains called lipid rafts to determine how they trigger chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The tools developed in this project will help Australia find new drug targets for the treatment and prevention of these prevalent diseases.
New Frontiers in Innate Immunity. This program aims to define how the immune system senses and responds to environmental cues. By combining interdisciplinary approaches with cutting-edge imaging and spatial biology technologies, this program expects to reveal how immune sensor proteins are regulated at the molecular, cellular and tissue level. Outcomes of this program include unparalleled insights into molecular mechanisms that underpin effective functioning of the immune system, training of fut ....New Frontiers in Innate Immunity. This program aims to define how the immune system senses and responds to environmental cues. By combining interdisciplinary approaches with cutting-edge imaging and spatial biology technologies, this program expects to reveal how immune sensor proteins are regulated at the molecular, cellular and tissue level. Outcomes of this program include unparalleled insights into molecular mechanisms that underpin effective functioning of the immune system, training of future scientists, and strengthening international collaborations across academia and industry. This will contribute to a high-quality workforce for research and innovation, and secure Australia’s position at the forefront of immunology research driven by cutting-edge technologies. Read moreRead less
Global change: Rainforest responses to experimental drought. How will rainforests respond if droughts increase in the future? In a globally unique experiment, this project will examine how Australian tropical rainforests are affected by a large-scale experimental drought, using a canopy crane to assess plant responses at all vertical forest levels. It will contrast demographic and physiological responses of an array of plant species and functional groups between experimental and control plots wh ....Global change: Rainforest responses to experimental drought. How will rainforests respond if droughts increase in the future? In a globally unique experiment, this project will examine how Australian tropical rainforests are affected by a large-scale experimental drought, using a canopy crane to assess plant responses at all vertical forest levels. It will contrast demographic and physiological responses of an array of plant species and functional groups between experimental and control plots where tree growth, composition, soil water and atmospheric exchange have been monitored since 1999. Drought responses of key species and functional groups will be compared with their distributions across regional rainfall gradients to yield crucial insights into the potential impacts of future climate change on rainforests.Read moreRead less
Bio-engineering Insect-Specific Flaviviruses for control of arboviruses. This project aims to study a family of commensal viruses of mosquitoes called insect-specific flaviviruses that are naturally found in mosquitoes and do not infect or cause disease in vertebrate hosts. Using an innovative approach, this project employs cutting-edge molecular virology approaches to modify these insect-specific flaviviruses to enhance their ability to block the replication of other pathogenic viruses in the m ....Bio-engineering Insect-Specific Flaviviruses for control of arboviruses. This project aims to study a family of commensal viruses of mosquitoes called insect-specific flaviviruses that are naturally found in mosquitoes and do not infect or cause disease in vertebrate hosts. Using an innovative approach, this project employs cutting-edge molecular virology approaches to modify these insect-specific flaviviruses to enhance their ability to block the replication of other pathogenic viruses in the mosquito vector. Expected outcome of this project is a bio-control strategy that is complementary to the Wolbachia approach. The anticipated benefits include the advancement of knowledge of insect-specific flaviviruses, and promotion of interdisciplinary research across the fields of Entomology and Virology.Read moreRead less