Improving grain legume seeds for future climates. Grain legumes are essential for sustainable agriculture and human dietary protein, but seed quality is predicted to decline under future scenarios of high CO2 and warmer temperatures. This project aims to improve legume seed quality under future climates by comparing metabolites and physiological traits of chickpea and other legumes to establish mechanisms by which legumes maximise seed nutrient allocation. The anticipated outcomes include new me ....Improving grain legume seeds for future climates. Grain legumes are essential for sustainable agriculture and human dietary protein, but seed quality is predicted to decline under future scenarios of high CO2 and warmer temperatures. This project aims to improve legume seed quality under future climates by comparing metabolites and physiological traits of chickpea and other legumes to establish mechanisms by which legumes maximise seed nutrient allocation. The anticipated outcomes include new metabolite-based breeding markers for the improvement of crops with higher seed proteins, micronutrients and bioactive compounds that are adapted to future climates. Seed nutrient improvement will also include increased biological nitrogen fixation to reduce the need for chemical nitrogen fertilisers.Read moreRead less
Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Proteome mapping of the model fungal plant pathogen Stagonospora nodorum using LC-LC-MS/MS. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum in Australia. This project aims to identify the proteins produced by Stagonospora nodorum through the development of a new proteomics technique. Two clear benefits to the community resulting from this project will emerge. The first will be the expert ....Proteome mapping of the model fungal plant pathogen Stagonospora nodorum using LC-LC-MS/MS. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum in Australia. This project aims to identify the proteins produced by Stagonospora nodorum through the development of a new proteomics technique. Two clear benefits to the community resulting from this project will emerge. The first will be the expert training of a student in proteomics, a skill that is keenly sought. Secondly, the identification of these pathogen proteins will lead to new strategies to better control the disease and secure the supply of wheat.Read moreRead less
Membrane transporters in oxidative stress signalling and tolerance in plants. Oxidative stress imposed by salinity and drought severely limits agricultural crop production, resulting in multibillion dollar losses to farmers. Australia is one of the driest continents, with a significant proportion of arable land affected by salinity. Thus, developing salt- and drought tolerant species is critical to minimise the impact of these stresses on crop production. This project will reveal specific ionic ....Membrane transporters in oxidative stress signalling and tolerance in plants. Oxidative stress imposed by salinity and drought severely limits agricultural crop production, resulting in multibillion dollar losses to farmers. Australia is one of the driest continents, with a significant proportion of arable land affected by salinity. Thus, developing salt- and drought tolerant species is critical to minimise the impact of these stresses on crop production. This project will reveal specific ionic mechanisms mediating reactive oxygen species signalling and tolerance in plants. This will help achieve the above goal by providing plant breeders with vital information on key genes controlling oxidative stress tolerance in plants. Read moreRead less
Role of nitrogen and sulphur nutrition in determining quantity and quality of oil in canola seed. Canola is the second most important crop in Australia, with exports worth $1 billion a year. However, competitiveness of Australian canola on the world markets is hampered by low and inconsistent oil content. Nitrogen fertilisation increases seed yield and seed protein content, but decreases oil content. This project will elucidate regulation by nitrogen and sulphur (the other important nutrient in ....Role of nitrogen and sulphur nutrition in determining quantity and quality of oil in canola seed. Canola is the second most important crop in Australia, with exports worth $1 billion a year. However, competitiveness of Australian canola on the world markets is hampered by low and inconsistent oil content. Nitrogen fertilisation increases seed yield and seed protein content, but decreases oil content. This project will elucidate regulation by nitrogen and sulphur (the other important nutrient in canola growth) of protein and oil biosynthesis in developing canola grain. The knowledge generated in this project will allow optimisation of canola agronomy and more effective breeding for increased nitrogen- and sulphur-use efficiency, seed yields and oil content in canola, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Australian canola on the world markets.Read moreRead less
Coping with flooding: nutrient transport in oxygen-deprived roots. Flooding damages plants by reducing oxygen supply to roots. The project will study effects of low oxygen on nutrient transport by roots. Understanding root functioning during low oxygen will enhance knowledge of plant acclimation to soil water logging. The project will contribute to the National Goal of 'Responding to Climate Change and Variability'.
Novel laser isotopic techniques to assess the potential for water-use efficiency improvement of Australian crops. This project aims to develop new methods to reduce the water used by grain crops while maintaining productivity by advancing knowledge of the regulation plant carbon gain and water loss. Novel laser-lased measurement systems developed and applied in this project will provide new mechanistic understanding of plant carbon-water dynamics for individual leaves and at the whole crop scal ....Novel laser isotopic techniques to assess the potential for water-use efficiency improvement of Australian crops. This project aims to develop new methods to reduce the water used by grain crops while maintaining productivity by advancing knowledge of the regulation plant carbon gain and water loss. Novel laser-lased measurement systems developed and applied in this project will provide new mechanistic understanding of plant carbon-water dynamics for individual leaves and at the whole crop scale. Water availability is the most pressing environmental issue facing the Australian grain industry, so improvements in the efficiency with which water is used will have profound economic and environmental effects.Read moreRead less
Functional characterisation of novel transport protein in plants. The products of plants provide the food we eat, the air we breath and it is recognised that they play an integral role in defining and protecting the environment. Thus it is essential to understand how plant work to allow their use in novel applications and to adapt to changing environments. Many aspects of plant metabolism are unique to plants and thus we cannot guess or estimate importance from studies in animals or fungi. Appro ....Functional characterisation of novel transport protein in plants. The products of plants provide the food we eat, the air we breath and it is recognised that they play an integral role in defining and protecting the environment. Thus it is essential to understand how plant work to allow their use in novel applications and to adapt to changing environments. Many aspects of plant metabolism are unique to plants and thus we cannot guess or estimate importance from studies in animals or fungi. Approximately 4,000 proteins are specific to plants, or contain domains that are unique to plants. This investigation proposes to elucidate the function of some of these novel proteins, transporters, that play a critical role in transport processes in cells.Read moreRead less
Using the fractionation of hydrogen and carbon isotopes to analyse the mechanisms of the primary processes of photosynthesis. The primary processes of CO2 fixation and reduction in photosynthesis leave their signatures in the isotopic composition of organic matter. Although these signatures are used widely in geochemistry, biology and climatology to infer the dynamics and history of the biosphere, the information they provide about the mechanisms of the processes that produce them has not been e ....Using the fractionation of hydrogen and carbon isotopes to analyse the mechanisms of the primary processes of photosynthesis. The primary processes of CO2 fixation and reduction in photosynthesis leave their signatures in the isotopic composition of organic matter. Although these signatures are used widely in geochemistry, biology and climatology to infer the dynamics and history of the biosphere, the information they provide about the mechanisms of the processes that produce them has not been exploited fully. We propose to map the underlying biochemistry responsible for fractionation of hydrogen isotopes, to assess its ability to indicate the water relations of plants, and to use carbon-isotope discrimination to probe the catalytic chemistry of the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco.Read moreRead less