Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101562
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Quantifying the contribution of leaf vein networks to the leaf economics spectrum in native and agricultural species. Using a combination of eco-physiological and geometric measures this project will evaluate the influence of leaf vein networks on leaf economics. It is expected that this work will identify vein investment and network design as major sources of variability underlying species adaptive strategies, and the global leaf economics spectrum as a whole.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100346
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Improving salt tolerance by optimising ion transport in chloroplasts. This project aims to discover the ion transport mechanisms and their molecular origins in chloroplasts that differentiate halophytes from glycophytes, allowing halophytes to optimise photosynthesis during salt stress. Yield losses in crop plants are linked to the effects of salt stress on their chloroplasts, but some plants maintain growth and yield irrespective of high soil salinity. This project will use biophysics to charac ....Improving salt tolerance by optimising ion transport in chloroplasts. This project aims to discover the ion transport mechanisms and their molecular origins in chloroplasts that differentiate halophytes from glycophytes, allowing halophytes to optimise photosynthesis during salt stress. Yield losses in crop plants are linked to the effects of salt stress on their chloroplasts, but some plants maintain growth and yield irrespective of high soil salinity. This project will use biophysics to characterise mutants deficient in targeted chloroplast transporters, comparing a model glycophyte and closely related halophyte. The expected outcome of these fundamental molecular is salt-tolerant crop plants.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101117
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Understanding the molecular machines making proteins essential for life: investigating specialisation of plastid ribosome composition and function. Plastid ribosomes are complex molecular machines responsible for the production of proteins required for photosynthesis, a process which underlies global food and oxygen production. By determining if distinct plastid types have ribosomes that differ in both composition and function, the project could benefit biotechnological applications.
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100575
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,575.00
Summary
Getting to the root of salt-tolerance in the model cereal crop, barley. The root system is the first part of the plant to sense high concentrations of sodium and chloride ions in saline soils. The ability of roots to maintain growth in response to salinity is an important adaptation, increasing root soil exploration for nutrient and water uptake. The aim of this project is to identify the molecular mechanisms that control and regulate root growth in response to salinity using barley as a cereal ....Getting to the root of salt-tolerance in the model cereal crop, barley. The root system is the first part of the plant to sense high concentrations of sodium and chloride ions in saline soils. The ability of roots to maintain growth in response to salinity is an important adaptation, increasing root soil exploration for nutrient and water uptake. The aim of this project is to identify the molecular mechanisms that control and regulate root growth in response to salinity using barley as a cereal model. The knowledge gained in barley will provide important information for increasing salinity tolerance in other Australian cereal crops, most notably wheat.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100307
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Determining organellar gene expression in distinct cell types: a missing piece of the puzzle for the transfer of C4 photosynthesis into C3 plants. Enhancing photosynthesis in plants will boost yields in essential food crops, such as rice, and thus offers significant implications for satisfying an increasing global demand for food. This project will investigate the photosynthetic mechanisms that exist in known high performing crops, for application in plants used in adverse climates.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100946
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,561.00
Summary
410 million years of stomatal evolution: key innovations in the transition from passive valves to active pores. Central to the supremacy of seed plants was the evolution of active, metabolic control of the stomata; the pores that regulate both plant productivity and water loss. However, little is known about the transition from passive control of stomata in seedless plants to active stomatal control in seed plants. This project will identify the key physiological and genetic innovations that und ....410 million years of stomatal evolution: key innovations in the transition from passive valves to active pores. Central to the supremacy of seed plants was the evolution of active, metabolic control of the stomata; the pores that regulate both plant productivity and water loss. However, little is known about the transition from passive control of stomata in seedless plants to active stomatal control in seed plants. This project will identify the key physiological and genetic innovations that underpinned the evolution of stomatal control over the past 410 million years. Understanding these evolutionary innovations will offer important insights into stomatal function in seed plants, as well as informing models of global productivity and water use through time, with benefits for Australian agriculture and natural resource management.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101200
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,675.00
Summary
Deciphering how nutrient status impacts plant defence. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between nutrient availability and plant defence. Plant defences are activated by responses to cell wall damage, caused by pathogens. My preliminary data uncovered that the response to cell wall damage depends on the nitrogen status of the plant; providing a direct link between nutrients and defence. The research will use new mutants that disengage this link to uncover molec ....Deciphering how nutrient status impacts plant defence. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between nutrient availability and plant defence. Plant defences are activated by responses to cell wall damage, caused by pathogens. My preliminary data uncovered that the response to cell wall damage depends on the nitrogen status of the plant; providing a direct link between nutrients and defence. The research will use new mutants that disengage this link to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying this process. The outcomes will provide new approaches to breed crop plants with improved nitrogen use efficiency and disease resistance. It will benefit agriculture by reducing the use of costly fertilisers and pesticides and mitigate the huge environmental damage they cause.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101143
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
An electrophysiological insight into the role of chloroplasts in stomatal drought signalling. Drought implies a range of stresses with which plants have to cope. Drought is not only a domestic issue for Australian people who live in this dry continent but also significantly affects global food supply and drives climate change. Stomata guard cells exert major controls on global water and carbon cycles. Although the total stomatal pore area may be five per cent of a leaf surface, transpirational w ....An electrophysiological insight into the role of chloroplasts in stomatal drought signalling. Drought implies a range of stresses with which plants have to cope. Drought is not only a domestic issue for Australian people who live in this dry continent but also significantly affects global food supply and drives climate change. Stomata guard cells exert major controls on global water and carbon cycles. Although the total stomatal pore area may be five per cent of a leaf surface, transpirational water loss through the stomata contributes to 70 per cent of total agricultural water usage. As an environmental signal, drought regulates stomatal movements. This project seeks to understand the mechanisms of drought induced molecular retrograde signals and their regulation over stomata. The outcomes will aid the development of strategies for reducing water loss from crops.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100130
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,000.00
Summary
Control of plant mitochondrial metabolism by reversible enzyme acetylation. Plant metabolism is more complex and less well understood than metabolism in other groups such as animals or bacteria. Our lack of understanding of how plants control their metabolism is currently a major roadblock in the development and use of plants to produce increased quantities of nutritional, medicinal and chemical compounds. It was recently discovered that animal and bacterial cells coordinate the activity of cent ....Control of plant mitochondrial metabolism by reversible enzyme acetylation. Plant metabolism is more complex and less well understood than metabolism in other groups such as animals or bacteria. Our lack of understanding of how plants control their metabolism is currently a major roadblock in the development and use of plants to produce increased quantities of nutritional, medicinal and chemical compounds. It was recently discovered that animal and bacterial cells coordinate the activity of central metabolic pathways via a specific chemical modification (acetylation) of key enzymes. As enzyme acetylation may function in plant cells as well, this project aims to perform a fundamental yet practical assessment of how this mechanism works in plants and how it can be exploited to accurately manipulate plant metabolism.Read moreRead less