Resolving the Genetics of Grain Pigmentation Traits in Rice . New critical knowledge will enable future breeding of quality black rice cultivars that can exploit the high UV Australian growing environment to enable domestic production of high-value, healthy black rice. The demand for functional foods with health benefits, including black rice, is increasing both domestically and internationally. The concentration of key functional compounds in black rice may be increased by growing optimised cul ....Resolving the Genetics of Grain Pigmentation Traits in Rice . New critical knowledge will enable future breeding of quality black rice cultivars that can exploit the high UV Australian growing environment to enable domestic production of high-value, healthy black rice. The demand for functional foods with health benefits, including black rice, is increasing both domestically and internationally. The concentration of key functional compounds in black rice may be increased by growing optimised cultivars under high-UV radiation, making Australia well placed to produce the highest quality black rice. Utilising a unique genetic resource this project will resolve how the interaction between crop genetics and the growing environment drives the concentration of functional compounds in black rice. Read moreRead less
FastStack - evolutionary computing to stack desirable alleles in wheat. This project aims to investigate rapid development of new, high-yielding wheat varieties with appropriate disease resistance. An emerging challenge in wheat breeding is how to stack desirable alleles for disease resistance, drought, and end-use quality into new varieties with high yielding backgrounds in the shortest time. As the number of known desirable alleles for these traits increases, the number of possible crossing c ....FastStack - evolutionary computing to stack desirable alleles in wheat. This project aims to investigate rapid development of new, high-yielding wheat varieties with appropriate disease resistance. An emerging challenge in wheat breeding is how to stack desirable alleles for disease resistance, drought, and end-use quality into new varieties with high yielding backgrounds in the shortest time. As the number of known desirable alleles for these traits increases, the number of possible crossing combinations that need to be considered increases. This project aims to use evolutionary computing with speed breeding and genomic selection, in the partners breeding program, to address this challenge. Potential outcomes will lead to more profitable wheat varieties for Australian growers, and expanded exports to high value markets that require quality grain.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
Enhancing Genomic Prediction for Changing Environments in Wheat. Adverse weather is the primary risk faced by the Australian agriculture industry. This Project aims to develop the next generation of agriculture tools to unlock natural potential in wheat and improve yield stability across seasons and regions. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics and integrated modelling, this Project expects to generate new knowledge and technologies to untangle genetic and environmental interactions that affect ....Enhancing Genomic Prediction for Changing Environments in Wheat. Adverse weather is the primary risk faced by the Australian agriculture industry. This Project aims to develop the next generation of agriculture tools to unlock natural potential in wheat and improve yield stability across seasons and regions. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics and integrated modelling, this Project expects to generate new knowledge and technologies to untangle genetic and environmental interactions that affect productivity, enhance predictive capability, and initiate advanced breeding strategies to develop new crop varieties with superior resilience against changing climates. This should provide significant benefits, such as profit stability for wheat growers, elevated global market position and improved food security.Read moreRead less
Adapting sorghum crops for global climate futures. This project aims to identify key genes associated with heat stress tolerance by unlocking available genetic variation in sorghum. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics, molecular biology and integrated systems modelling, the project will develop important insights into the basis of thermostability. A predictive capability will be developed to identify new genomic combinations having superior heat stability. More heat tolerant sorghum cultivars s ....Adapting sorghum crops for global climate futures. This project aims to identify key genes associated with heat stress tolerance by unlocking available genetic variation in sorghum. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics, molecular biology and integrated systems modelling, the project will develop important insights into the basis of thermostability. A predictive capability will be developed to identify new genomic combinations having superior heat stability. More heat tolerant sorghum cultivars should deliver enhanced resilience in cropping and deliver more stable profitability for farmers and reduced food security risk.Read moreRead less
Digging deeper to improve yield stability. This project aims to provide innovative breeding solutions that harness the ‘hidden’ part of the plant, roots, to support the development of more productive crops in the face of climate variability. The project expects to generate new insights into the biology and genetics of root development in barley, a model cereal crop, by applying cutting-edge genome editing, phenotyping and genomics technologies. Anticipated outcomes include novel methodologies to ....Digging deeper to improve yield stability. This project aims to provide innovative breeding solutions that harness the ‘hidden’ part of the plant, roots, to support the development of more productive crops in the face of climate variability. The project expects to generate new insights into the biology and genetics of root development in barley, a model cereal crop, by applying cutting-edge genome editing, phenotyping and genomics technologies. Anticipated outcomes include novel methodologies to accelerate breeding for diverse production environments, with direct applications in barley, and other major cereals including wheat and oats. This should provide significant economic and social benefits to the Australian grains industry through yield stability amidst climate variability.Read moreRead less
Breeding super black soldier flies at scale for sustainable food production. This project aims to address the current challenges impeding the industrial scale-up of Australian Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming across diverse feed waste substrates by generating critical on-farm knowledge. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in commercial BSF breeding designs whilst also developing and testing new animal evaluation technologies (ie, genetic & spectroscopy) through interdisciplinar ....Breeding super black soldier flies at scale for sustainable food production. This project aims to address the current challenges impeding the industrial scale-up of Australian Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming across diverse feed waste substrates by generating critical on-farm knowledge. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in commercial BSF breeding designs whilst also developing and testing new animal evaluation technologies (ie, genetic & spectroscopy) through interdisciplinary approaches that will accelerate industry productivity. Expected outcomes of this project include the long-term growth and competitive advantage of the Australian insect farming industry, as well as promoting the benefits of a circular economy through bioconversion of organic waste into commercially viable products.Read moreRead less
The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occ ....The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occurrence and distribution of their microbial species across all NSW dairy regions. This will enable the Australian dairy industry to improve animal health and productivity, and diagnostic capacity, which will allow farmers to make informed management decisions about disease control strategies. Read moreRead less
Surveillance and sampling to maintain absence of pests and diseases. This project aims to develop empirically validated statistical and mathematical methods for industry and government to deliver more efficient biosecurity surveillance programs. The project endeavours to enhance biosecurity at the border and within Australia, while minimising the costs and burden of testing. Expected project outcomes include effective surveillance and sampling for high-priority threats, accessible software for d ....Surveillance and sampling to maintain absence of pests and diseases. This project aims to develop empirically validated statistical and mathematical methods for industry and government to deliver more efficient biosecurity surveillance programs. The project endeavours to enhance biosecurity at the border and within Australia, while minimising the costs and burden of testing. Expected project outcomes include effective surveillance and sampling for high-priority threats, accessible software for decision-makers, and generalisable approaches to address rapidly increasing biosecurity risks. Significant benefits include maintaining absence of key pathogens and pests in Australia.Read moreRead less