Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will ....Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will resolve the roles of environmental drivers of soil respiration across forests; integrate mechanistic understanding of differing plant and microbial responses to temperature within a common modelling framework; and evaluate the implications of this knowledge in predictions of climatic impacts on terrestrial carbon cycling.Read moreRead less
Taking advantage of rising CO2 to maximise ecosystem productivity. The rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide provides an opportunity to increase ecosystem productivity, especially in agricultural systems. To what extent is highly uncertain, particularly when combined with changing temperature and precipitation. It has recently been demonstrated that seasonal water supply is the strongest controller of the productivity response to high carbon dioxide concentrations of grasslands. Th ....Taking advantage of rising CO2 to maximise ecosystem productivity. The rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide provides an opportunity to increase ecosystem productivity, especially in agricultural systems. To what extent is highly uncertain, particularly when combined with changing temperature and precipitation. It has recently been demonstrated that seasonal water supply is the strongest controller of the productivity response to high carbon dioxide concentrations of grasslands. This project aims to elucidate the processes governing this response and develop simple models that could allow the conditions required to maximise the productivity benefit from rising carbon dioxide concentration to be calculated.Read moreRead less
Manipulating plant root exudation for soil-borne disease control. This project expects to fundamentally advance analysis and manipulation of root exudation, determine influence of rhizosphere microbiota on exudation, molecular responses to resting spore stimulation and to develop novel disease controls. Expected outcomes of this project include the demonstrated potential of novel disease mitigation and student training in innovative approaches to plant pathology and analytical chemistry. This sh ....Manipulating plant root exudation for soil-borne disease control. This project expects to fundamentally advance analysis and manipulation of root exudation, determine influence of rhizosphere microbiota on exudation, molecular responses to resting spore stimulation and to develop novel disease controls. Expected outcomes of this project include the demonstrated potential of novel disease mitigation and student training in innovative approaches to plant pathology and analytical chemistry. This should provide significant benefits, such as effective disease management tools.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of manchette function. This project aims to define the function of the manchette, a poorly understood microtubule-based structure present in haploid male germ cells. This project aims to define key mechanisms underpinning manchette development and movement, and to generate a detailed picture of the dynamics of germ cell development using imaging technologies and unique animal models. Such knowledge should improve the understanding of how male fertility is achieved, the origin of infer ....Mechanisms of manchette function. This project aims to define the function of the manchette, a poorly understood microtubule-based structure present in haploid male germ cells. This project aims to define key mechanisms underpinning manchette development and movement, and to generate a detailed picture of the dynamics of germ cell development using imaging technologies and unique animal models. Such knowledge should improve the understanding of how male fertility is achieved, the origin of infertility and how species-specific differences in sperm form are achieved. Such insights may ultimately lead to improved agricultural efficiencies and job creation.Read moreRead less
Modelling spatial and temporal dynamics of rhizosphere exudation. Existing crop root systems are poorly suited to Australian soils with low nutrient availability. Using a simulation model to develop computer-aided design of 3-D root structure and function, tailored to particular environments, this project will enhance breeding for increased nutrient-use efficiency.
Aquaporins in roots: resolving observations linking them to diverse processes in water relations and plant productivity. The knowledge we gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use and productivity. This is critical for adaptation to a drier climate where water is a critical resource. Large quantities of water move through aquaporin proteins in plants, therefore our understanding of these and the way they influence other processes in plant growth could enable us ....Aquaporins in roots: resolving observations linking them to diverse processes in water relations and plant productivity. The knowledge we gain will benefit Australia by allowing better management of plant water use and productivity. This is critical for adaptation to a drier climate where water is a critical resource. Large quantities of water move through aquaporin proteins in plants, therefore our understanding of these and the way they influence other processes in plant growth could enable us to manipulate plants to conserve water or to extract it more efficiently from the soil. Molecular aspects of the project could reveal new unexploited links between water and plant productivity. High calibre PhD and Honours students will also be educated to maintain the momentum of international excellence within Australia in the field of plant water relations.Read moreRead less
Controlling Anisotropic Growth of Metal Oxide Crystals in Aqueous Solution by Selective Adsorption of Small Molecules. The proposed research will enhance our ability to make both light emitting diodes (LEDs) and piezoelectric actuators from ZnO. LEDs are a high efficiency light source that save energy compared to conventional illumination sources and can be fabricated in thin films. The proposal is to also bring the technology for device fabrication to Australia where it can ultimately be used ....Controlling Anisotropic Growth of Metal Oxide Crystals in Aqueous Solution by Selective Adsorption of Small Molecules. The proposed research will enhance our ability to make both light emitting diodes (LEDs) and piezoelectric actuators from ZnO. LEDs are a high efficiency light source that save energy compared to conventional illumination sources and can be fabricated in thin films. The proposal is to also bring the technology for device fabrication to Australia where it can ultimately be used to broaden the economic base of the country. The knowledge of crystal growth rate and crystal morphology control can be applied to improvements in the efficiency of alumina production which is already an important contributor to Australian exports.Read moreRead less
Trade-offs underlying the evolution of female mating strategies. Multiple mating by females (polyandry) is a fundamental problem in behavioural ecology. The project will utilise an Australian species of stingless bee to quantify both the costs and the most probable benefits of polyandry. This will provide insight into the trade-offs underlying the evolution of mating strategies in this species and in general. Stingless bees are important members of many Australian ecosystems and have consider ....Trade-offs underlying the evolution of female mating strategies. Multiple mating by females (polyandry) is a fundamental problem in behavioural ecology. The project will utilise an Australian species of stingless bee to quantify both the costs and the most probable benefits of polyandry. This will provide insight into the trade-offs underlying the evolution of mating strategies in this species and in general. Stingless bees are important members of many Australian ecosystems and have considerable economic potential as well. The knowledge gained during the project will also substantially aid the development and management of the commercial use of stingless bees, which will have both ecological and economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Breaking the nexus: more biomass in cereal grain. Grain yield is controlled by complex, regulated genetic networks or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) derived from natural variations in many crop plants. Yield is a product of the three major parameters: panicle number, grain number and grain size, trade-offs are commonly observed between grain number and size. There is evidence to suggest it is possible to improve grain size without altering overall biomass. With the genomic and genetic resource t ....Breaking the nexus: more biomass in cereal grain. Grain yield is controlled by complex, regulated genetic networks or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) derived from natural variations in many crop plants. Yield is a product of the three major parameters: panicle number, grain number and grain size, trade-offs are commonly observed between grain number and size. There is evidence to suggest it is possible to improve grain size without altering overall biomass. With the genomic and genetic resource tools at hand. This project will elucidate the genetic architecture of grain size, and manipulate the key loci to generate more biomass in the grain, minimising or eliminating the adverse impact on seed number. This will maximise harvestable yield without imposing increased demand for water and nutrients.Read moreRead less
Mineral content of leaves and the ratio of water loss to carbon gain: environmental and genetic controls and comparison with stable isotopic measures. The ash content of leaves has promise as a cheap screen of water-use efficiency or of 'vigour' in crop plants, but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. The underlying science is at the intersection of plant growth, water use and nutrition. This project will aid breeders in understanding the conditions under which the screen may work.