Molecular and genetic analysis of epigenetic components in a model plant. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. Food crops unfortunately have large, complex genomes that are not sequenced and a generation time of months that makes research outcomes slow to achieve. This project proposes to utilise a model plant that has a small completely sequenced genome and a short generation tim ....Molecular and genetic analysis of epigenetic components in a model plant. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. Food crops unfortunately have large, complex genomes that are not sequenced and a generation time of months that makes research outcomes slow to achieve. This project proposes to utilise a model plant that has a small completely sequenced genome and a short generation time making it ideal to study the fundamental biological process of RNA silencing. Discoveries and outcomes from this project may have the potential to benefit Australian crops, ecosystems and human health.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
Discovery of novel microRNA biogenesis and functional components. Discovery of novel microRNA components will provide new strategies for confronting a diverse array of challenges Australia faces, such as the increasing rates of certain cancers in our population, to stresses on our crop plants faced with environmental changes. The biological mechanisms underlying these disparate problems are unified by microRNA involvement in many instances. By finding microRNA controlling factors common to all h ....Discovery of novel microRNA biogenesis and functional components. Discovery of novel microRNA components will provide new strategies for confronting a diverse array of challenges Australia faces, such as the increasing rates of certain cancers in our population, to stresses on our crop plants faced with environmental changes. The biological mechanisms underlying these disparate problems are unified by microRNA involvement in many instances. By finding microRNA controlling factors common to all higher organisms, we expect our community will benefit from the increased knowledge base that will help our researchers adopt new strategies in fighting diseases and improving our agricultural industry.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354908
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Insect-Plant Chemical Ecology Network (IPCEN). We bring together plant molecular biology, entomology and analytical chemistry to transform three leading fields of Australian research into an advanced science with far reaching capabilities in innovative research and applied outcomes. Expertise studying the biochemical pathways that produce specific plant compounds and expertise in insect recognition and response to these chemicals will be brought together. This will lead to new research outco ....The Insect-Plant Chemical Ecology Network (IPCEN). We bring together plant molecular biology, entomology and analytical chemistry to transform three leading fields of Australian research into an advanced science with far reaching capabilities in innovative research and applied outcomes. Expertise studying the biochemical pathways that produce specific plant compounds and expertise in insect recognition and response to these chemicals will be brought together. This will lead to new research outcomes and solutions to problems in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and protection of Australia's native flora. Researchers are struggling to create these links, constrained by disciplinary boundaries and geographical isolation. Key industries and researchers already support this proposal.Read moreRead less
CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule developmen ....CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule development. New knowledge of the plant growth processes through mechanistic analysis of organ induction provides the tools to optimise the legume's productivity, quality, and environment adaptation.Read moreRead less
Identification of transcription factor genes involved in the regulation of aspects of photosynthetic capacity in plants. There is increasing evidence to suggest that we may be reaching a yield plateau with many agricultural plants and that future avenues for yield increases may depend on increases in photosynthetic capacity per unit leaf area. Molecular genetic technology offers the promise of the direct manipulation of photosynthetic gene expression to increase photosynthetic capacity. This pro ....Identification of transcription factor genes involved in the regulation of aspects of photosynthetic capacity in plants. There is increasing evidence to suggest that we may be reaching a yield plateau with many agricultural plants and that future avenues for yield increases may depend on increases in photosynthetic capacity per unit leaf area. Molecular genetic technology offers the promise of the direct manipulation of photosynthetic gene expression to increase photosynthetic capacity. This project aims to understand one important part of genetic regulation, the transcription factors, that may determine aspects of photosynthetic capacity. Altered expression of these transcription factors in transgenic plants will be used to test the their ability to control photosynthesis and generate agricultural intellectual property.Read moreRead less
Chloroplast pigments as developmental signals. This project will define roles of chloroplast pigments in cellular signaling, plant growth and development. Effective communication between the chloroplast and the nucleus is essential for maintaining viability and productivity of the cell. Similarly, long-distance signaling is required for coordinated growth and development and we hypothesise that pigments also have importance in this role. Our proposal brings together the multidisciplinary skills ....Chloroplast pigments as developmental signals. This project will define roles of chloroplast pigments in cellular signaling, plant growth and development. Effective communication between the chloroplast and the nucleus is essential for maintaining viability and productivity of the cell. Similarly, long-distance signaling is required for coordinated growth and development and we hypothesise that pigments also have importance in this role. Our proposal brings together the multidisciplinary skills and resources of six investigators to define how certain carotenoids and chlorophyll precursors regulate gene expression and to determine the identity of what is most likely a carotenoid derivative with hormonal properties that controls lateral branch growth.Read moreRead less