Enhancing plant photosynthesis by engineering the carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Improving the ability of crops to use water, sunlight and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits for Australia and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. Photosynthesis research has confirmed that such improvements are theoretically possible by enhancing the efficiency of the protein, Rubisco, which initiates the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon ....Enhancing plant photosynthesis by engineering the carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Improving the ability of crops to use water, sunlight and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits for Australia and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. Photosynthesis research has confirmed that such improvements are theoretically possible by enhancing the efficiency of the protein, Rubisco, which initiates the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon compounds required for growth. The biotechnological research proposed here uses unique capabilities to improve our understanding of structural features in Rubisco that influence its assembly and functional efficiency in plants. This knowledge will pave the way for transplanting more efficient Rubisco into crops to improve their growth.Read moreRead less
Identifying potential barriers to transplanting modified forms of the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, into plants. Improving the ability of crops to use water, light and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. It is thought that such improvements can be made by enhancing the efficiency of the photosynthetic protein, Rubisco, which fixes most of the CO2 in the biosphere. The research proposed here uses unique ....Identifying potential barriers to transplanting modified forms of the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, into plants. Improving the ability of crops to use water, light and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. It is thought that such improvements can be made by enhancing the efficiency of the photosynthetic protein, Rubisco, which fixes most of the CO2 in the biosphere. The research proposed here uses unique Rubisco transplantation capabilities that I have developed to improve our fundamental understanding of how Rubisco is processed and its activity regulated in plants. This will pave the way for our ongoing efforts to engineer and transplant more efficient Rubisco into crops.Read moreRead less
Modification of lignin biosynthesis in sugarcane for the improved efficiency of pre-treatment in ethanol production. Sugarcane is one of Australia's most important rural industries. However, as a single product industry, declining sugar prices threaten the industry's long term economic sustainability unless alternative markets for sugarcane are created. Utilising the sugarcane waste for cellulosic ethanol would provide a new revenue stream, injecting life into the Australian sugarcane industry. ....Modification of lignin biosynthesis in sugarcane for the improved efficiency of pre-treatment in ethanol production. Sugarcane is one of Australia's most important rural industries. However, as a single product industry, declining sugar prices threaten the industry's long term economic sustainability unless alternative markets for sugarcane are created. Utilising the sugarcane waste for cellulosic ethanol would provide a new revenue stream, injecting life into the Australian sugarcane industry. In addition, cellulosic ethanol from sugarcane has the potential to substantially decrease the cost of biofuel production and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The research proposed here will advance our ability to improve sugarcane through biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Accelerating the genetic improvement of grain legumes for Australia by developing doubled haploid technology for field pea and chickpea. Doubled haploid technology is used in many broad acre crop species to accelerate cultivar development and create homozygous populations for genetic mapping. Field pea and chickpea have been unresponsive to this technique but a recent breakthrough by UWA researchers has resulted in haploid pro-embryos from in vitro cultured immature pollen. A barrier to further ....Accelerating the genetic improvement of grain legumes for Australia by developing doubled haploid technology for field pea and chickpea. Doubled haploid technology is used in many broad acre crop species to accelerate cultivar development and create homozygous populations for genetic mapping. Field pea and chickpea have been unresponsive to this technique but a recent breakthrough by UWA researchers has resulted in haploid pro-embryos from in vitro cultured immature pollen. A barrier to further embryo maturation has been identified, which we propose to overcome using powerful microscopy tools to elucidate haploid embryology processes. This information will be applied to develop world-first in vitro doubled haploid protocols for these species, which will facilitate the development and accelerated delivery to industry of better adapted, high yielding cultivars.Read moreRead less
Fungal Glucanase Genes for Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants. Plants can be engineered for resistance to fungal diseases by transformation with recombinant genes encoding chitinase or glucanase. Although fungi are prolific producers of glucanases, with some species producing novel forms, they have been unexplored as a source of useful glucanases. This project will isolate glucanase-producing fungi from soil, screen them for antifungal activity, and clone the glucanase genes from one or m ....Fungal Glucanase Genes for Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants. Plants can be engineered for resistance to fungal diseases by transformation with recombinant genes encoding chitinase or glucanase. Although fungi are prolific producers of glucanases, with some species producing novel forms, they have been unexplored as a source of useful glucanases. This project will isolate glucanase-producing fungi from soil, screen them for antifungal activity, and clone the glucanase genes from one or more isolates. In view of the high degree of biodiversity in WA soils, we have a high expectation of finding novel glucanases which will be useful for engineering disease resistance in plants, or for other industrial processes.Read moreRead less
Optimization of Transgene Expression in Sugarcane. Sugarcane is one of Australia's most important crops. However, worldwide competition and declining sugar prices threaten the long term economic sustainability of this industry unless alternative markets for sugarcane are created. Biotechnology holds the greatest promise for the development of an economically sustainable sugarcane industry through the production of varieties that can be used for cellulosic ethanol or as biofactories for high-valu ....Optimization of Transgene Expression in Sugarcane. Sugarcane is one of Australia's most important crops. However, worldwide competition and declining sugar prices threaten the long term economic sustainability of this industry unless alternative markets for sugarcane are created. Biotechnology holds the greatest promise for the development of an economically sustainable sugarcane industry through the production of varieties that can be used for cellulosic ethanol or as biofactories for high-value alternative products. In addition, cellulosic ethanol from sugarcane has the potential to substantially decrease the cost of biofuel production and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The research proposed here will advance our ability to improve sugarcane through biotechnology.Read moreRead less