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
Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. 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. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and char ....Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. 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. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and characterise proteins that the fungus secretes to cause disease on wheat. By identifying these proteins, it is anticipated that strategies, both traditional and modern, could be employed to enable better control of the disease. This in turn would help provide a long term and secure supply of wheat and wheat based products to the community.Read moreRead less