Spatio-temporal analysis of molecular changes during leaf senescence in arabidopsis and wheat and their response to the environment. Innovative agricultural solutions in Australia can be gained by changing the abundance of proteins and metabolites to influence plant performance and provide more robust plants and plant products. The aging and dying of leaves (leaf senescence) is a key factor in our understanding of plant development and the recovery of nutrients from dying tissues. Leaf senescenc ....Spatio-temporal analysis of molecular changes during leaf senescence in arabidopsis and wheat and their response to the environment. Innovative agricultural solutions in Australia can be gained by changing the abundance of proteins and metabolites to influence plant performance and provide more robust plants and plant products. The aging and dying of leaves (leaf senescence) is a key factor in our understanding of plant development and the recovery of nutrients from dying tissues. Leaf senescence is also important for pre-harvest impacts on seed and grain quality as leaves represent the major nitrogen store remobilised to feed these plant products. This work will support the generation of intellectual property to be applied within Australia's plant-based industries and at the same time provides a strong environment for the training of students and researchers.Read moreRead less
Engineering plants via modified microtubule dynamics. The plant microtubule cytoskeleton is involved in many economically important functions such as controlling growth and development, cellulose deposition, and responses to pathogens and salinity. This project will increase our understanding of how the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton affects these processes and move us nearer to achieving economically important goals, such as the development of crop plants with improved traits. Thi ....Engineering plants via modified microtubule dynamics. The plant microtubule cytoskeleton is involved in many economically important functions such as controlling growth and development, cellulose deposition, and responses to pathogens and salinity. This project will increase our understanding of how the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton affects these processes and move us nearer to achieving economically important goals, such as the development of crop plants with improved traits. This project will also help maintain Australia's position at the forefront of plant cell and molecular biology.Read moreRead less
Comparative Biophysical Studies on Photosystem II of Higher Plants and Cyanobacteria. Photosystem II (PS-II) is one of two light trapping protein assemblies involved in the conversion of light into metabolic energy in all plants and algae. The manganese containing active site of PS-II is responsible for oxygen formation from water. The organisation and functioning of this centre and the detailed mechanism of photochemical energy conversion are not understood. This project will employ a combinati ....Comparative Biophysical Studies on Photosystem II of Higher Plants and Cyanobacteria. Photosystem II (PS-II) is one of two light trapping protein assemblies involved in the conversion of light into metabolic energy in all plants and algae. The manganese containing active site of PS-II is responsible for oxygen formation from water. The organisation and functioning of this centre and the detailed mechanism of photochemical energy conversion are not understood. This project will employ a combination of powerful biophysical techniques to probe the structure and mechanism of PS-II as a knowledge base for eventual genetic manipulation of plants and stategies for artificial photosynthesis.Read moreRead less
Systemic control of nodule proliferation. We aim to clone and characterize the functions of the supernodulation (NTS-1) locus of soybean using positional cloning and functional genomics approaches. Supernodulation fascinatingly results from a mutant Nts-1 gene functioning in the shoot, although the phenotype is expressed as excessive nodule proliferation in the root. The cloned gene will be used to monitor expression changes after inoculation with Bradyrhizobium, treatment with nitrate, nod-fac ....Systemic control of nodule proliferation. We aim to clone and characterize the functions of the supernodulation (NTS-1) locus of soybean using positional cloning and functional genomics approaches. Supernodulation fascinatingly results from a mutant Nts-1 gene functioning in the shoot, although the phenotype is expressed as excessive nodule proliferation in the root. The cloned gene will be used to monitor expression changes after inoculation with Bradyrhizobium, treatment with nitrate, nod-factor, xylem exudates and phytohormones. We will use RT-PCR, in situ hybridisation and reporter gene expression in transgenic plants. Microarray analysis of soybean ESTs (4200 arrayed) will analyse concurrent gene expression changes in both root and shoot.Read moreRead less
Functional characterisation of novel transport protein in plants. The products of plants provide the food we eat, the air we breath and it is recognised that they play an integral role in defining and protecting the environment. Thus it is essential to understand how plant work to allow their use in novel applications and to adapt to changing environments. Many aspects of plant metabolism are unique to plants and thus we cannot guess or estimate importance from studies in animals or fungi. Appro ....Functional characterisation of novel transport protein in plants. The products of plants provide the food we eat, the air we breath and it is recognised that they play an integral role in defining and protecting the environment. Thus it is essential to understand how plant work to allow their use in novel applications and to adapt to changing environments. Many aspects of plant metabolism are unique to plants and thus we cannot guess or estimate importance from studies in animals or fungi. Approximately 4,000 proteins are specific to plants, or contain domains that are unique to plants. This investigation proposes to elucidate the function of some of these novel proteins, transporters, that play a critical role in transport processes in cells.Read moreRead less
Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major in ....Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major innovation will be distinguishing the effects of shortages of water on growth from those of other growth influences. Overall, this project will provide a highly significant theoretical, conceptual and practical advance in mid-rotation, diagnostics for plantations with considerable commercial promise.Read moreRead less
Functional genomics approaches to the mechanisms of starch mobilisation in Arabidopsis. Starch is a key carbon and energy reserve that underpins plant growth. This in turn underpins much of Australia's $60 billion agriculture industry. Starch also provides most of the calories in the human diet and is a renewable commodity supporting manufacturing industries. Dependence of society on starch will increase as it becomes used more for novel materials and for bio-ethanol production, which in turn w ....Functional genomics approaches to the mechanisms of starch mobilisation in Arabidopsis. Starch is a key carbon and energy reserve that underpins plant growth. This in turn underpins much of Australia's $60 billion agriculture industry. Starch also provides most of the calories in the human diet and is a renewable commodity supporting manufacturing industries. Dependence of society on starch will increase as it becomes used more for novel materials and for bio-ethanol production, which in turn will create new jobs in the rural economy. A major quality problem in cereal grain is pre-harvest starch breakdown caused by warm wet weather triggering events associated with germination. By understanding starch metabolism in plants we will be better able to manage and enhance growth of crop plants, starch production and seed quality.Read moreRead less
Metabolomic and genetic approaches to the discovery of genes that direct carbon partitioning in plants. Plants make starch, sucrose, cell walls (fibre), oil, organic acids, vitamins and other products of great economic and social importance. The partitioning of carbon resources into such products determines crop productivity and quality. This partitioning is strongly influenced by nutrients, water and salinity. The powerful genomics resources of Arabidopsis including the new discipline of metabo ....Metabolomic and genetic approaches to the discovery of genes that direct carbon partitioning in plants. Plants make starch, sucrose, cell walls (fibre), oil, organic acids, vitamins and other products of great economic and social importance. The partitioning of carbon resources into such products determines crop productivity and quality. This partitioning is strongly influenced by nutrients, water and salinity. The powerful genomics resources of Arabidopsis including the new discipline of metabolomics, will be deployed to understand the regulation of carbon partitioning in leaves and to discover genes that direct partitioning. National research capability will be enhanced and new resources will be generated to breed crops with improved yield potential and product quality under varied environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/ ....ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/degrading ecosystems. The research will provide new approaches for enhancing quality metabolite traits important for human health. It will further strengthen our international leadership in plant energy science, and will strengthen Australia's research training in systems biology to influence plant function.Read moreRead less
Functional genomics of light stress resistance in the model organism Chlamydomonas: combining molecular genetics, transcriptome and proteome analysis. This project aims at combining molecular genetics, transcriptome and proteome analysis to identify genes and pathways underlying high light stress tolerance in previously isolated mutants of the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Comprehensive profiles of transcriptome-proteome linkage will be constructed without the complications of multicel ....Functional genomics of light stress resistance in the model organism Chlamydomonas: combining molecular genetics, transcriptome and proteome analysis. This project aims at combining molecular genetics, transcriptome and proteome analysis to identify genes and pathways underlying high light stress tolerance in previously isolated mutants of the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Comprehensive profiles of transcriptome-proteome linkage will be constructed without the complications of multicellularity for this unicellular photosynthetic model organism. We will establish a public proteome reference database and provide new microarrays and molecular markers beneficial for research in Chlamydomonas. We expect to advance understanding of high light resistance mechanisms so that it will eventually be applicable to improve productivity in crop plants growing under various environmental stress conditions.Read moreRead less