Plant cell wall - aluminium interactions: a role in aluminium stress. Soil acidity, resulting in Al toxicity, affects production on circa 50% of Australia's intensively used agricultural land, resulting in 8.5 times more foregone agricultural income than dryland salinity (National Land and Water Resources Audit, 2001). Often, remediation with lime is not possible or affordable. By understanding Al reactions with cell wall components, we aim to identify root parameters related to Al resistance by ....Plant cell wall - aluminium interactions: a role in aluminium stress. Soil acidity, resulting in Al toxicity, affects production on circa 50% of Australia's intensively used agricultural land, resulting in 8.5 times more foregone agricultural income than dryland salinity (National Land and Water Resources Audit, 2001). Often, remediation with lime is not possible or affordable. By understanding Al reactions with cell wall components, we aim to identify root parameters related to Al resistance by plants. These parameters will be useful as selection markers to identify and breed Al-tolerant crop genotypes. This, in turn, will improve yields and farm profitability, allowing farmers to use lime to prevent further acidification. This increases sustainability of cropping operations on the 50 Mha with acid soils.Read moreRead less
A novel role for phytochrome in dormancy release inhibition. Seed dormancy contributes to the persistence of weeds in agriculture by enabling seeds to remain viable in the soil for many years, and is a major reason why annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) has become the most economically damaging weed in Australian agriculture. Recently we discovered a new way to control dormancy release and germination in these seeds. This project to identify the changes occurring within the seeds during dormancy r ....A novel role for phytochrome in dormancy release inhibition. Seed dormancy contributes to the persistence of weeds in agriculture by enabling seeds to remain viable in the soil for many years, and is a major reason why annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) has become the most economically damaging weed in Australian agriculture. Recently we discovered a new way to control dormancy release and germination in these seeds. This project to identify the changes occurring within the seeds during dormancy release will underpin our efforts to manipulate emergence timing in order to improve the efficacy of current weed control practices and contribute to sustainable farming systems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101296
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Accelerated genomic selection to speed up genetic gain in wheat. This project aims to design drought-resistant crops. Since the Green Revolution, rates of genetic gain for wheat yield have begun to plateau, while climate change threatens productivity and global food security. Numerous breeding technologies have emerged, including genomic selection, speed breeding, high-throughput phenotyping and crop modelling. This project will develop and validate crop improvement protocols by fusing these fou ....Accelerated genomic selection to speed up genetic gain in wheat. This project aims to design drought-resistant crops. Since the Green Revolution, rates of genetic gain for wheat yield have begun to plateau, while climate change threatens productivity and global food security. Numerous breeding technologies have emerged, including genomic selection, speed breeding, high-throughput phenotyping and crop modelling. This project will develop and validate crop improvement protocols by fusing these four technologies. More efficient breeding techniques could accelerate genetic gain in wheat beyond what is expected in ongoing breeding programs, and enable breeders to develop robust cereal varieties in the face of climate change.Read moreRead less
Cellulose-based composites as models for primary plant cell walls of cereals and grasses. Cereals and grasses are the lynchpins of the Australian Agri-Food industry. Cell walls provide shape, form and barrier properties to the plant and are the basis for both post-harvest mechanical properties and direct nutritional benefits. There is as yet no validated model for the molecular assembly, architecture and mechanical behaviour of cereal/grass cell walls. This project aims to derive such a model, s ....Cellulose-based composites as models for primary plant cell walls of cereals and grasses. Cereals and grasses are the lynchpins of the Australian Agri-Food industry. Cell walls provide shape, form and barrier properties to the plant and are the basis for both post-harvest mechanical properties and direct nutritional benefits. There is as yet no validated model for the molecular assembly, architecture and mechanical behaviour of cereal/grass cell walls. This project aims to derive such a model, so that predictions can be made concerning the effects of tailoring either plant composition (e.g. at the gene level) or post-harvest treatment in order to achieve desired plant or food properties. The findings will also be relevant to understanding how individual features of cell walls affect digestibility and nutritional properties.Read moreRead less