Comparative toxicology of a fumigant and gasotransmitters: Testing a new model of fumigant toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Fumigants share physical, chemical and functional properties with a medically important class of signalling molecules called gasotransmitters. This project proposes that the toxicity of fumigants is directly caused by their ability to mimic and disrupt gasotransmitter signalling. This project will test this hypothesis using the fumigant phosphine, a chemical that protect ....Comparative toxicology of a fumigant and gasotransmitters: Testing a new model of fumigant toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Fumigants share physical, chemical and functional properties with a medically important class of signalling molecules called gasotransmitters. This project proposes that the toxicity of fumigants is directly caused by their ability to mimic and disrupt gasotransmitter signalling. This project will test this hypothesis using the fumigant phosphine, a chemical that protects the vast majority of the world grain supply from insect pests. This work will show us what makes a fumigant toxic. This knowledge will facilitate the discovery and effective deployment of new fumigants.Read moreRead less
New biotech methods for crop quality assurance. Quality assurance of crop products is a key for Australia to be competitive in the world marketplace. The power of molecular diagnostics has not been applied to this important but neglected part of the produce handling chain. In this project research will be undertaken that will lead to low cost on site assays to test for variety preservation, contamination, and presence of pests and diseases. It employs the tools of genomics and proteomics to p ....New biotech methods for crop quality assurance. Quality assurance of crop products is a key for Australia to be competitive in the world marketplace. The power of molecular diagnostics has not been applied to this important but neglected part of the produce handling chain. In this project research will be undertaken that will lead to low cost on site assays to test for variety preservation, contamination, and presence of pests and diseases. It employs the tools of genomics and proteomics to provide basic understanding of processes which can be developed into cost effective analyses for practical use by industry to ensure quality assurance.Read moreRead less
Buried treasure: bioactive plant seed proteins evolving inside hosts. This project aims to examine how evolution in plants shortcuts the creation of new proteins by burying one within another. Scientists now realise that new genes and proteins appear frequently. A recent discovery in plant seeds involves DNA sequence insertions in a gene that makes two proteins instead of one. This project will reveal a new family of buried seed proteins, determine the rules for burying them and search plants fo ....Buried treasure: bioactive plant seed proteins evolving inside hosts. This project aims to examine how evolution in plants shortcuts the creation of new proteins by burying one within another. Scientists now realise that new genes and proteins appear frequently. A recent discovery in plant seeds involves DNA sequence insertions in a gene that makes two proteins instead of one. This project will reveal a new family of buried seed proteins, determine the rules for burying them and search plants for new examples. The first examples from plants create strongly bioactive products so the ability to dig for similar plant events will reveal new and bioactive natural products with biomedical and biotechnology applications.Read moreRead less
A new signalling component in shoot architecture: trehalose 6-phosphate. This project aims to investigate the role of a new signalling pathway involved in shoot branching. New knowledge is expected on how plants regulate shoot branching via sugar or hormone levels and/or signalling. The aims to build on recent finding that trehalose 6-phosphate (Tre6P) promotes shoot branching and to investigate whether sucrose acts via Tre6P and what role sucrose and Tre6P have compared with plant hormones. S ....A new signalling component in shoot architecture: trehalose 6-phosphate. This project aims to investigate the role of a new signalling pathway involved in shoot branching. New knowledge is expected on how plants regulate shoot branching via sugar or hormone levels and/or signalling. The aims to build on recent finding that trehalose 6-phosphate (Tre6P) promotes shoot branching and to investigate whether sucrose acts via Tre6P and what role sucrose and Tre6P have compared with plant hormones. Significant benefits may include new genetic or management strategies to modify shoot architecture.Read moreRead less
Revealing Enigma of Salt Bladders to Help Crops Cope with Salinity. In this project, the key transport systems mediating salt sequestration in halophytes are planned to be characterised and linked with cell genetic and metabolic profiles. Salinity is a major environmental hurdle affecting crop production around the world. Halophytes (naturally salt-loving plants) use specialised structures, called salt bladders, to sequester excessive salt outside their metabolically active parts. This feature i ....Revealing Enigma of Salt Bladders to Help Crops Cope with Salinity. In this project, the key transport systems mediating salt sequestration in halophytes are planned to be characterised and linked with cell genetic and metabolic profiles. Salinity is a major environmental hurdle affecting crop production around the world. Halophytes (naturally salt-loving plants) use specialised structures, called salt bladders, to sequester excessive salt outside their metabolically active parts. This feature is not utilised by crops however, and no information is available about the molecular mechanisms by which salt is pumped into bladder cells. This knowledge will allow breeders to utilise this, previously unexplored, trait to improve crop performance under conditions of salinity.Read moreRead less
Crop genome complexity: sulphur metabolism and mustard pungency. This project aims to explain the molecular basis of crop plant plasticity in the context of a complex crop genome. It will determine how epigenetic mechanisms contribute to regulating the yield of a secondary metabolite harvested from mustard plants in response to variation in environmental factors. Specifically it will explore the relationship between sulphur metabolism and small RNA regulation of glucosinolates. The project shoul ....Crop genome complexity: sulphur metabolism and mustard pungency. This project aims to explain the molecular basis of crop plant plasticity in the context of a complex crop genome. It will determine how epigenetic mechanisms contribute to regulating the yield of a secondary metabolite harvested from mustard plants in response to variation in environmental factors. Specifically it will explore the relationship between sulphur metabolism and small RNA regulation of glucosinolates. The project should uncover the role that duplicated genetic loci and epigenetic marks play in regulating tissue-specific gene networks, particularly in field-grown environments. The project will explore how duplication of genes enables a crop such as mustard to respond to application of sulphur fertiliser and regulate the stockpiling of the 'hot' volatile oil in mustard seed, a valuable export commodity.Read moreRead less
Harnessing peptide hormone outputs to improve root nodulation’s efficacy. This project aims to transform our understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules. Root nodulation sustainably fixes sizeable amounts of nitrogen to boost crop production worldwide yet its utilisation is waning in favour of using nitrogen fertilisers. The project applies cutting-edge tools to define how two hormone systems boost and limit nitrogen fixation, respectively. The project expects to reveal w ....Harnessing peptide hormone outputs to improve root nodulation’s efficacy. This project aims to transform our understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules. Root nodulation sustainably fixes sizeable amounts of nitrogen to boost crop production worldwide yet its utilisation is waning in favour of using nitrogen fertilisers. The project applies cutting-edge tools to define how two hormone systems boost and limit nitrogen fixation, respectively. The project expects to reveal ways to reconfigure these hormone outputs to improve nodule number and the efficacy of nitrogen fixation. The findings will benefit agriculture by reducing the reliance on costly nitrogen fertilisers, thus mitigating the huge environmental damage they cause, and will provide more sustainable ways to ensure food security.Read moreRead less
A new route to controlling root system architecture and drought tolerance. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between root architecture and water and nitrogen acquisition, factors critical to determining yield. We have discovered that mutants affected in a peptide hormone receptor have unique root architectural features relevant to acquiring water and nitrogen. The mutants are drought tolerant and their roots are nitrate insensitive. The project aims to define t ....A new route to controlling root system architecture and drought tolerance. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between root architecture and water and nitrogen acquisition, factors critical to determining yield. We have discovered that mutants affected in a peptide hormone receptor have unique root architectural features relevant to acquiring water and nitrogen. The mutants are drought tolerant and their roots are nitrate insensitive. The project aims to define the receptor’s genetic outputs and expects to uncover new ways to improve water and nitrate acquisition and determine if our findings apply to crops. The application of these findings will reduce the severe environmental damage caused by poor nitrogen fertiliser uptake and provide sustainable ways to ensure food security.Read moreRead less
New crop on the block: The genetic control of hempseed nutritional quality. Hempseed, which is rich in polyunsaturated oils and high-quality protein, is emerging as a functional food crop across Australia. However, very little is known about the genetic control of oil and protein contents and composition, crucial characteristics for the optimization of hempseed productivity and quality for the Australian industry. A unique genetic resource of 120 diverse hemp accessions, many provided by our ind ....New crop on the block: The genetic control of hempseed nutritional quality. Hempseed, which is rich in polyunsaturated oils and high-quality protein, is emerging as a functional food crop across Australia. However, very little is known about the genetic control of oil and protein contents and composition, crucial characteristics for the optimization of hempseed productivity and quality for the Australian industry. A unique genetic resource of 120 diverse hemp accessions, many provided by our industry partner, will be used to define the genetics underpinning nutritional variation and associated genotype-by-environment interactions. This fundamental knowledge will lay the foundation for targeted breeding and best management practice, for the benefit of farmers, the hemp industry and health-conscious consumers.Read moreRead less
Understanding and implications of formation of lipid nanostructures in milk. This project aims to deliver new understanding of the processes of milk digestion. Milk is the most important food for human survival, providing all the essential nutrition to newborn infants and constituting a major part of the adult diet. The recent discovery that nanostructure is formed during the digestion of both cow and breast milk, but not of vegetable 'milk', has opened a large number of questions to answer in t ....Understanding and implications of formation of lipid nanostructures in milk. This project aims to deliver new understanding of the processes of milk digestion. Milk is the most important food for human survival, providing all the essential nutrition to newborn infants and constituting a major part of the adult diet. The recent discovery that nanostructure is formed during the digestion of both cow and breast milk, but not of vegetable 'milk', has opened a large number of questions to answer in this project. Specifically, the project plans to link nanostructure formation in milk with composition during digestion, and the subsequent delivery of nutrients. The project plans to use synchrotron and microscopy techniques to address these questions. Project outcomes may improve our understanding of digestion and drive innovation in products delivering nutrients to infants.Read moreRead less