Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non ....Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non-renewable P fertilisers.Read moreRead less
IDENTIFYING CONTROL ELEMENTS IN CHLOROPLAST GENE EXPRESSION. Energy from sunlight is captured by photosynthesis in plants, providing the basis for the terrestrial food chain. This process takes place in chloroplasts, subcellular structures that derived from photosynthetic bacteria a billion years ago. Chloroplasts have their own DNA, containing genes encoding the most important photosynthetic proteins. This project aims to provide the world’s best resources for the study of chloroplast genes. In ....IDENTIFYING CONTROL ELEMENTS IN CHLOROPLAST GENE EXPRESSION. Energy from sunlight is captured by photosynthesis in plants, providing the basis for the terrestrial food chain. This process takes place in chloroplasts, subcellular structures that derived from photosynthetic bacteria a billion years ago. Chloroplasts have their own DNA, containing genes encoding the most important photosynthetic proteins. This project aims to provide the world’s best resources for the study of chloroplast genes. In the process, we will discover how these important genes are regulated to provide photosynthetic proteins in the right amounts, in the right cells, at the right time. The knowledge and resources gained will facilitate improvement of photosynthetic function in future agricultural crops.Read moreRead less
Mastering pyrimidine editing in RNA. Many plants and animals can alter their genetic information via RNA (ribonucleic acid) editing, a process that is often essential for the growth and development of the organism. This ability provides accurate control over gene expression and has great potential as a biotechnological tool in agriculture and medicine. RNA editing could be used to switch genes on or off in biotechnological production systems with an unprecedented degree of precision, or to corre ....Mastering pyrimidine editing in RNA. Many plants and animals can alter their genetic information via RNA (ribonucleic acid) editing, a process that is often essential for the growth and development of the organism. This ability provides accurate control over gene expression and has great potential as a biotechnological tool in agriculture and medicine. RNA editing could be used to switch genes on or off in biotechnological production systems with an unprecedented degree of precision, or to correct genetic diseases. This project aims to understand two RNA editing pathways in plants, one of which is found nowhere else and likely to involve a novel enzymatic mechanism. We will use the understanding gained to develop novel RNA processing tools usable in any living organism.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101445
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Structure-based investigations into new modes of action for herbicides. This project aims to focus on identifying and providing protein structure information for new protein targets against which herbicides can be developed. Food security for a growing population relies on agriculture, which in turn relies on herbicides. Presently, herbicide efficacy is under serious threat from resistant weeds. In this project, innovative applications of chemical libraries and exploiting a little-known connect ....Structure-based investigations into new modes of action for herbicides. This project aims to focus on identifying and providing protein structure information for new protein targets against which herbicides can be developed. Food security for a growing population relies on agriculture, which in turn relies on herbicides. Presently, herbicide efficacy is under serious threat from resistant weeds. In this project, innovative applications of chemical libraries and exploiting a little-known connection between plants and human parasites will help to resolve the structure of herbicide targets for the development of new herbicides to ensure future food security.Read moreRead less
Physiology and genetics of barley grain germination in the malting and brewing industries. An international research team will provide new scientific information on barley grain germination. This detailed basic knowledge will be immediately applied in breeding programs that are aimed at improving malting and brewing quality in a commercial context. At the same time, the industry's carbon footprint will be significantly reduced.
Advancing programmable genetic computation to control plant gene activity. Plants can sense diverse internal and external conditions and integrate them to appropriately tune their response and maximize fitness. Plant biotechnology relies heavily on manipulating gene activity to change cell functions and confer advantageous agronomic traits. However, our ability to control plant gene activity remains rudimentary, limiting our biotechnology capabilities. This project aims to develop synthetic gene ....Advancing programmable genetic computation to control plant gene activity. Plants can sense diverse internal and external conditions and integrate them to appropriately tune their response and maximize fitness. Plant biotechnology relies heavily on manipulating gene activity to change cell functions and confer advantageous agronomic traits. However, our ability to control plant gene activity remains rudimentary, limiting our biotechnology capabilities. This project aims to develop synthetic gene logic gates in plants, to enable the construction of programmable genetically-encoded computational functions that can sense and process customizable inputs to drive desired changes in plant function. This advance will underpin useful applications in plant biotechnology such as improved crop stress tolerance and yield.Read moreRead less
Deciphering a protein code for recognising Ribonucleic acid (RNA) targets. This project will decipher the protein code employed by a large family of plant proteins for the specific recognition of RNA sequences. This knowledge will be immediately helpful for designing a new generation of biotechnological tools for the agricultural and biomedical sciences.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100179
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,800,000.00
Summary
Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. The growth and development of living organisms is largely determined by the genes they contain, but converting the genetic information into biological activity requires intermediary processes involving RNA and proteins that bind to and process RNA. This project aims to understand how the largest class of RNA-binding protein in plants recognise their target RNAs and ai ....Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. The growth and development of living organisms is largely determined by the genes they contain, but converting the genetic information into biological activity requires intermediary processes involving RNA and proteins that bind to and process RNA. This project aims to understand how the largest class of RNA-binding protein in plants recognise their target RNAs and aims to develop custom-designed proteins for switching genes on or off. This technology will be used to create new hybrid cereal varieties and will also be valuable for applications in human health, such as the correction of genetic mutations.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.
Regulation and role of metabolic networks for respiration in plants. This project aims to understand the regulation of respiration in plants which underpins the energy provision that cells need to operate. Understanding respiration and how it responds to the changing environment is a building block needed for rational engineering of our future food from plants.