Karen Massel

CRISPR-knockout of β-kafirin in sorghum does not recapitulate the grain quality of natural mutants

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 08-12-2022

DOI: 10.1007/S00425-022-04038-3

Group II introns in wheat mitochondria have degenerate structural features and varied splicing pathways

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 10-2017

DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOCEL.2017.05.014

Abstract: Mitochondrial introns in flowering plant genes are virtually all classified as members of the group II ribozyme family although certain structural features have degenerated to varying degrees over evolutionary time. We are interested in the impact that unconventional intron architecture might have on splicing biochemistry in vivo and we have focused in particular on intronic domains V and VI, which for self-splicing introns provide a key component of the catalytic core and the bulged branchpoint adenosine, respectively. Notably, the two transesterification steps in classical group II splicing are the same as for nuclear spliceosomal introns and release the intron as a lariat. Using RT-PCR and circularized RT-PCR, we had previously demonstrated that several wheat mitochondrial introns which lack a branchpoint adenosine have atypical splicing pathways, and we have now extended this analysis to the full set of wheat introns, namely six trans-splicing and sixteen cis-splicing ones. A number of introns are excised using non-lariat pathways and interestingly, we find that several introns which do have a conventional domain VI also use pathways that appear to exploit other internal or external nucleophiles, with the lariat form being relatively minor. Somewhat surprisingly, several introns with weakly-structured domain V/VI helices still exhibit classical lariat splicing, suggesting that accessory factors aid in restoring a splicing-competent conformation. Our observations illustrate that the loss of conventional group II features during evolution is correlated with altered splicing biochemistry in an intron-distinctive manner.

Correction: Applications and potential of genome editing in crop improvement (Genome Biology (2018) 19 (210) DOI: 10.1186/s13059-018-1586-y)

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 16-01-2019

DOI: 10.1186/S13059-019-1622-6

Applications and potential of genome editing in crop improvement

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 30-11-2018

DOI: 10.1186/S13059-018-1586-Y

Biotechnological Road Map for Innovative Weed Management

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Date: 25-04-2022

DOI: 10.3389/FPLS.2022.887723

Abstract: In most agriculture farmlands, weed management is predominantly reliant on integrated weed management (IWM) strategies, such as herbicide application. However, the overuse and misuse of herbicides, coupled with the lack of novel active ingredients, has resulted in the uptrend of herbicide-resistant weeds globally. Moreover, weedy traits that contribute to weed seed bank persistence further exacerbate the challenges in weed management. Despite ongoing efforts in identifying and improving current weed management processes, the pressing need for novel control techniques in agricultural weed management should not be overlooked. The advent of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing systems, coupled with the recent advances in “omics” and cheaper sequencing technologies, has brought into focus the potential of managing weeds in farmlands through direct genetic control approaches, but could be achieved stably or transiently. These approaches encompass a range of technologies that could potentially manipulate expression of key genes in weeds to reduce its fitness and competitiveness, or, by altering the crop to improve its competitiveness or herbicide tolerance. The push for reducing or circumventing the use of chemicals in farmlands has provided an added incentive to develop practical and feasible molecular approaches for weed management, although there are significant technical, practical, and regulatory challenges for utilizing these prospective molecular technologies in weed management.

Tracking seasonal changes in diversity of pollen allergen exposure: Targeted metabarcoding of a subtropical aerobiome

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 12-2020

DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.141189

Metabarcoding airborne pollen from subtropical and temperate eastern Australia over multiple years reveals pollen aerobiome diversity and complexity

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 03-2023

DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.160585

Multiple splicing pathways of group II trans-splicing introns in wheat mitochondria

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 05-2016

DOI: 10.1016/J.MITO.2016.03.002

Abstract: Trans-splicing of discontinuous introns in plant mitochondria requires the assembly of independently-transcribed precursor RNAs into splicing-competent structures, and they are expected to be excised as Y-branched molecules ("broken lariats") because these introns belong to the group II ribozyme family. We now demonstrate that this is just one of several trans-splicing pathways for wheat mitochondrial nad1 intron 4 and nad5 intron 2 they also use a hydrolytic pathway and the liberated 5'-half-intron linear molecules are unexpectedly abundant in the RNA population. We also observe a third productive splicing pathway for nad5 intron 2 that yields full-length excised introns in which the termini are joined in vivo and possess non-encoded nucleotides. In the case of trans-splicing nad1 intron 1, which has a weakly-structured and poorly-conserved core sequence, excision appears to be solely through a hydrolytic pathway. When wheat embryos are germinated in the cold rather than at room temperature, an increased complexity in trans-splicing products is seen for nad1 intron 4, suggesting that there can be environmental effects on the RNA folding of bipartite introns. Our observations provide insights into intron evolution and the complexity of RNA processing events in plant mitochondria.

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Potential New Targets for Improving Nitrogen Uptake and Utilization in Sorghum bicolor

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Date: 25-10-2016

DOI: 10.3389/FPLS.2016.01544

Hotter, drier, CRISPR: the latest edit on climate change

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 08-01-2021

DOI: 10.1007/S00122-020-03764-0

Endogenous U6 promoters improve CRISPR/Cas9 editing efficiencies in Sorghum bicolor and show potential for applications in other cereals

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 02-12-2022

DOI: 10.1007/S00299-021-02816-Z

Tunable crops are just a spray away

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 15-02-2021

DOI: 10.1038/S41477-021-00849-6

Optimising molecular tools to study nitrogen utilisation for grain protein storage in Sorghum bicolor

Publisher: University of Queensland Library

Date: 2019

DOI: 10.14264/UQL.2019.929

Biolistic DNA Delivery and Its Applications in Sorghum bicolor

Publisher: Springer US

Date: 2020

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0356-7_10

University Of Queensland

Location: Australia

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University Of Ottawa

Location: Canada

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Government Of Canada

Location: Canada

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Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH230100006

Start Date: 2023

End Date: 12-2027

Amount: $4,933,330.00

Funder: Australian Research Council