Seafood safety: high throughput diagnostics for ciguatoxin risk assessment. This project aims to develop a novel, high throughput platform for rapidly assessing ciguatoxins. Species of the marine microalgae Gambierdiscus produce ciguatoxins, which accumulate in fish through marine food chains to cause the often debilitating human illness called ciguatera fish poisoning. Ciiguatera fish poisoning is a growing and substantial risk for the $2.2 billion Australian commercial fishing industry. This s ....Seafood safety: high throughput diagnostics for ciguatoxin risk assessment. This project aims to develop a novel, high throughput platform for rapidly assessing ciguatoxins. Species of the marine microalgae Gambierdiscus produce ciguatoxins, which accumulate in fish through marine food chains to cause the often debilitating human illness called ciguatera fish poisoning. Ciiguatera fish poisoning is a growing and substantial risk for the $2.2 billion Australian commercial fishing industry. This serious illness is increasingly impacting more southerly areas of Australia due to environmental changes. The outcomes of this project include new knowledge of the risk of ciguatoxins at Australian 'hot spot' sites, extensively field tested methods for detecting Gambierdiscus and ciguatoxins in situ and key data to inform policy to safeguard the seafood industry and consumers.
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My enemy’s enemy is my friend: The genetics of major plant pathogen killers. Fungi are devastating agents of crop diseases. These plant pathogens, in turn, are often parasitized by other fungi in the field. The project will focus on such interactions between powdery mildews, important pathogens of many crops and wild plants, and their common fungal parasites (Ampelomyces spp.) that have already been utilised as
biocontrol agents in crop protection. Genetic and genomic tools will be used to deter ....My enemy’s enemy is my friend: The genetics of major plant pathogen killers. Fungi are devastating agents of crop diseases. These plant pathogens, in turn, are often parasitized by other fungi in the field. The project will focus on such interactions between powdery mildews, important pathogens of many crops and wild plants, and their common fungal parasites (Ampelomyces spp.) that have already been utilised as
biocontrol agents in crop protection. Genetic and genomic tools will be used to determine if these parasites evolved by switching host from plants to plant pathogens. The project has the potential to make a ground-breaking discovery in this field, and also establish the starting point for new innovative methods to protect a wide diversity
of crops using these fungi or specific compounds derived from them.Read moreRead less
The roles of pathogen effectors in promoting rust diseases of plants. Rust diseases threaten global food security. This cross-institutional project aims to discover how proteins secreted by rust fungi promote disease following their translocation into plant cells. It will use the interaction between flax and the flax rust fungus as a powerful model system to test the hypothesis that manipulation of host RNA metabolism is a fundamental mechanism underpinning rust pathogenesis. This research is in ....The roles of pathogen effectors in promoting rust diseases of plants. Rust diseases threaten global food security. This cross-institutional project aims to discover how proteins secreted by rust fungi promote disease following their translocation into plant cells. It will use the interaction between flax and the flax rust fungus as a powerful model system to test the hypothesis that manipulation of host RNA metabolism is a fundamental mechanism underpinning rust pathogenesis. This research is intended to dramatically improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by rust fungi to establish infection. The knowledge gained is expected to facilitate the development of new strategies for rust disease management in food crops by identifying pathogenic processes that can be targeted for intervention.Read moreRead less
Molecular basis for susceptibility and immunity to Fusarium wilt disease. Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease of many important crop plants, including banana, cotton and tomato. There are significant gaps in our understanding of this disease that need to be addressed to enable better disease management. This project aims to identify and analyse tomato proteins targeted by Fusarium effector proteins (virulence factors), determine how corresponding tomato receptors (resistance proteins) recogni ....Molecular basis for susceptibility and immunity to Fusarium wilt disease. Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease of many important crop plants, including banana, cotton and tomato. There are significant gaps in our understanding of this disease that need to be addressed to enable better disease management. This project aims to identify and analyse tomato proteins targeted by Fusarium effector proteins (virulence factors), determine how corresponding tomato receptors (resistance proteins) recognise these effectors, and identify the signalling pathways and critical defence responses activated by these receptors. The intention is to close the gaps in our understanding and use the knowledge gained to develop new strategies for disease control by interfering with fungal pathogenicity and enhancing plant resistance.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100181
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,050,000.00
Summary
Crossing the biology meso-nanoscale divide by scanning electron microscopy. This project aims to establish complementary scanning electron microscope (SEM) facilities at The University of Melbourne and LaTrobe University to advance research into crops, disease, neurosciences and coral reefs. SEMs are rapidly evolving instruments that permit high resolution imaging of visible size samples such as parts of plants and animals. The potential innovations, applications and benefits to society are far ....Crossing the biology meso-nanoscale divide by scanning electron microscopy. This project aims to establish complementary scanning electron microscope (SEM) facilities at The University of Melbourne and LaTrobe University to advance research into crops, disease, neurosciences and coral reefs. SEMs are rapidly evolving instruments that permit high resolution imaging of visible size samples such as parts of plants and animals. The potential innovations, applications and benefits to society are far reaching, with the facility expected to impact the development of drought and salinity tolerance in crops, production of fibres by plants, resilience of Great Barrier Reef corals to warming, advances in medicinal agriculture, control of important diseases of livestock and humans, and sensory processing and ocular disease.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100806
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,854.00
Summary
Towards herbicide cocktails with a new mode of action to avert resistance. This project aims to target herbicide resistant weeds which represent one of the largest threats to Australian and global food security. Targeting of unexplored pathways in plants to develop a novel herbicide strategy is expected to be achieved, and will include the structural and functional characterisation of key enzymes in these pathways. This project is expected to provide significant benefits for effective weed manag ....Towards herbicide cocktails with a new mode of action to avert resistance. This project aims to target herbicide resistant weeds which represent one of the largest threats to Australian and global food security. Targeting of unexplored pathways in plants to develop a novel herbicide strategy is expected to be achieved, and will include the structural and functional characterisation of key enzymes in these pathways. This project is expected to provide significant benefits for effective weed management to sustain Australia’s agricultural industry through enhanced food production from increased crop yields, whilst ensuring food security. These outcomes, coupled with decades of over-reliance on current herbicides, means there has never been a greater need for new and effective herbicides.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101560
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,589.00
Summary
Towards understanding the molecular details of canola-infection by Fusarium. This project aims at improving our understanding of how canola plants are infected by the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Canola is the primary oilseed crop, and the overall third most important crop in Australia, accounting for a 3 billion AUS$ industry. Fusarium is a relatively new fungal disease to Australian canola, but projected to become a serious threat in the future. The project will provide insights into ....Towards understanding the molecular details of canola-infection by Fusarium. This project aims at improving our understanding of how canola plants are infected by the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Canola is the primary oilseed crop, and the overall third most important crop in Australia, accounting for a 3 billion AUS$ industry. Fusarium is a relatively new fungal disease to Australian canola, but projected to become a serious threat in the future. The project will provide insights into the earliest stages of plant-infection by the fungus on a cellular level, using molecular biology, genetics and microscopic tools. Expected outcomes of this research include the identification of key components to improve plant defense against Fusarium, and the development of strategies to improve the plant's resilience.Read moreRead less