Cell type-specific transgene expression to increase Fe content in cereal grains. The grains industry forms a vital part of the Australian economy and farm sector. Increased iron concentrations of wheat and other cereal grains would greatly increase their nutritional value for people worldwide, thereby increasing their market value and profitability for farmers. High iron wheat would also lower the production costs of many Australian wheat products by reducing or eliminating the need for iron for ....Cell type-specific transgene expression to increase Fe content in cereal grains. The grains industry forms a vital part of the Australian economy and farm sector. Increased iron concentrations of wheat and other cereal grains would greatly increase their nutritional value for people worldwide, thereby increasing their market value and profitability for farmers. High iron wheat would also lower the production costs of many Australian wheat products by reducing or eliminating the need for iron fortification of wheat flour. High iron cereals promote healthy development of young Australians and can improve preventative healthcare by reducing the incidence of iron deficiency anaemia and biochemical deficiency.Read moreRead less
Role of alanine aminotransferase in improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in cereals. The use of nitrogen-based fertilisers by crop plants is poor where efficiencies (nitrogen taken up to that applied) is often less than 40%. Nitrogen not used is often lost to the environment through leaching and or volatilisation. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture will decrease overall nitrogen fertiliser use and minimise its environmental footprint. This project will characterise a nov ....Role of alanine aminotransferase in improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in cereals. The use of nitrogen-based fertilisers by crop plants is poor where efficiencies (nitrogen taken up to that applied) is often less than 40%. Nitrogen not used is often lost to the environment through leaching and or volatilisation. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture will decrease overall nitrogen fertiliser use and minimise its environmental footprint. This project will characterise a novel NUE technology that when transferred to plants significantly improves NUE. We will define the phenotype at the molecular, biochemical and physiological levels to maximise its adoption to other agricultural crops such as wheat, barley and maize.Read moreRead less
Understanding, controlling and improving the flavour of almond kernels. Almond kernels may be sweet, semi-bitter or bitter, with the first two categories marketed as fresh nuts, while the latter are used in processed products such as marzipan. Semi-bitter kernels have a more interesting flavour than sweet kernels and we require tools to breed for this character. The bitter flavour is imparted by amygdalin via the cyanogenic pathway. This project will characterise the genetic control of sweet, ....Understanding, controlling and improving the flavour of almond kernels. Almond kernels may be sweet, semi-bitter or bitter, with the first two categories marketed as fresh nuts, while the latter are used in processed products such as marzipan. Semi-bitter kernels have a more interesting flavour than sweet kernels and we require tools to breed for this character. The bitter flavour is imparted by amygdalin via the cyanogenic pathway. This project will characterise the genetic control of sweet, semi-bitter and bitter flavour, amygdalin accumulation in developing kernels, and key enzymes in the cyanogenic pathway. Almond populations segregating for these traits will be used and the data will be integrated into the Australian almond meiotic map.Read moreRead less
Investigation of almond transformation for self-fertility and virus resistance. This project addresses the long-term goal of the Australian almond industry to produce cultivars that are self-fertile and resistant to Prunus necrotic ringspot and prune dwarf viruses. Both self-sterility and virus infection can result in unreliable and often low yields. Research will address the control of gene expression relating to self-sterility and the introduction of virus resistance, via sequencing of self- ....Investigation of almond transformation for self-fertility and virus resistance. This project addresses the long-term goal of the Australian almond industry to produce cultivars that are self-fertile and resistant to Prunus necrotic ringspot and prune dwarf viruses. Both self-sterility and virus infection can result in unreliable and often low yields. Research will address the control of gene expression relating to self-sterility and the introduction of virus resistance, via sequencing of self-fertility and self-sterility genes, construct development and improved regeneration of transformed almond in vitro without the use of antibiotics.Read moreRead less
Improved olive productivity and the use of molecular markers. Sales of olive oil on international markets are growing at 15% per year, and the Australian industry is expanding rapidly to win some of this trade. Varietal identity is a major problem, which has production implications and this project will verify trueness-to type via genetic fingerprinting. Many olive cultivars require cross pollination for optimal production, and the research will identify compatible cultivars for the major variet ....Improved olive productivity and the use of molecular markers. Sales of olive oil on international markets are growing at 15% per year, and the Australian industry is expanding rapidly to win some of this trade. Varietal identity is a major problem, which has production implications and this project will verify trueness-to type via genetic fingerprinting. Many olive cultivars require cross pollination for optimal production, and the research will identify compatible cultivars for the major varieties. Molecular markers will be developed to accelerate the selection of improved varieties with self-fertility, high oleic acid, low linolenic acid and tolerance to Peacock spot disease.Read moreRead less
Targeted approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency in maize. Nitrogen is an essential input required for growing high yielding quality cereal crops such as maize and wheat. Unfortunately, excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to serious environmental costs including nitrogen pollution through leaching and the significant cost in non-renewable fossil fuels used in their production. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crops such as maize will reduce fertilizer use while ensuring lo ....Targeted approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency in maize. Nitrogen is an essential input required for growing high yielding quality cereal crops such as maize and wheat. Unfortunately, excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to serious environmental costs including nitrogen pollution through leaching and the significant cost in non-renewable fossil fuels used in their production. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crops such as maize will reduce fertilizer use while ensuring long-term sustainable production and harvestable yields. This collaboration with DuPont-Pioneer will focus on identifying nitrogen-linked traits in Maize that will be incorporated into new lines targeted at reducing grower dependence on nitrogen fertilizers.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Resource Allocation Techniques for Next Generation Wireless Mobile Communication Networks. The project will develop radio and network resource allocation techniques to maximise network utilisation and to offer guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) for multimedia traffic in 3G/4G wireless mobile communication networks. In particular, this work will study the problem of radio channel allocation in wireless IP (Internet protocol) multimedia networks. The project will develop resource allo ....Intelligent Resource Allocation Techniques for Next Generation Wireless Mobile Communication Networks. The project will develop radio and network resource allocation techniques to maximise network utilisation and to offer guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) for multimedia traffic in 3G/4G wireless mobile communication networks. In particular, this work will study the problem of radio channel allocation in wireless IP (Internet protocol) multimedia networks. The project will develop resource allocation algorithms based on traffic conditions, link qualities and service requirements using statistical traffic models, mobile software agents and neural network techniques.
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Exploiting novel yeast attributes to produce industrial strains with better fermentative and processing qualities. Food and beverage fermentations are problematic processes, largely due to limitations of the yeast being used. This laboratory has indentified in individual yeast strains highly desirable fermentative characteristics or else the ability to over-produce compounds that benefit product processing. Pursuing the commercial potential of these findings is the specific objective of this pro ....Exploiting novel yeast attributes to produce industrial strains with better fermentative and processing qualities. Food and beverage fermentations are problematic processes, largely due to limitations of the yeast being used. This laboratory has indentified in individual yeast strains highly desirable fermentative characteristics or else the ability to over-produce compounds that benefit product processing. Pursuing the commercial potential of these findings is the specific objective of this proposal. Thus we will extend our collaboration with Coopers Brewery through this new project area with the aims of a) producing optimised, hybrid (non-GMO) strains with combinations of desirable fermentation properties, b) develop novel processing or quality-enhancing treatments while c) generating a high caliber PhD graduate with extensive industry experience.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the applicability of Directed Evolution to the optimisation of industrial yeast strains. The fermentation industries, particularly the wine industry, are of great economic importance to Australia. Wine exports exceed $2 billion per year. Moreover, the industry and those supporting it are major employers in regional Australia. To maintain and grow our share of the international market, Australian wine must remain competitive by increasing production efficiency, maximizing quality and k ....Evaluating the applicability of Directed Evolution to the optimisation of industrial yeast strains. The fermentation industries, particularly the wine industry, are of great economic importance to Australia. Wine exports exceed $2 billion per year. Moreover, the industry and those supporting it are major employers in regional Australia. To maintain and grow our share of the international market, Australian wine must remain competitive by increasing production efficiency, maximizing quality and keeping up with changing consumer preferences, and with minimal environmental impact. As a cornerstone to the winemaking process, the yeast is a vehicle for achieving these needs. This project will develop and evaluate a method for generation of unique yeast which are non-recombinant and which yield superior wine under modern winemaking conditions.Read moreRead less