Australia, the centre of diversity and the centre of origin of rice? Wild relatives of rice are found across northern Australia. The project aims to apply emerging technologies for efficient whole genome sequencing to determination of the genetic diversity of these populations in relation to cultivated rice and wild rice from other parts of the world. The role of the Australian populations in the evolution of rice and the potential of these populations to contribute valuable diversity to rice cr ....Australia, the centre of diversity and the centre of origin of rice? Wild relatives of rice are found across northern Australia. The project aims to apply emerging technologies for efficient whole genome sequencing to determination of the genetic diversity of these populations in relation to cultivated rice and wild rice from other parts of the world. The role of the Australian populations in the evolution of rice and the potential of these populations to contribute valuable diversity to rice crops worldwide are intended to be analysed. The impact of domestication on rice in Asia is expected to be established by the characterisation of the related Australian populations that were isolated from the impacts of agriculture for around 7000 years. Whole genome associations with environment may provide clues to adapting agriculture to climate.Read moreRead less
Australia's Distinctive Succulent Flora. The project plans to investigate why Australia, the driest vegetated continent, has no landscape dominated by large succulents but nevertheless supports a distinctive, diverse and widespread succulent flora. Focusing on terrestrial succulents and epiphytic orchids, the project plans to explore the evolution, assembly and biodiversity of Australia’s succulent flora, evaluating the roles of genetic composition, photosynthetic physiology, aridity, fire, soil ....Australia's Distinctive Succulent Flora. The project plans to investigate why Australia, the driest vegetated continent, has no landscape dominated by large succulents but nevertheless supports a distinctive, diverse and widespread succulent flora. Focusing on terrestrial succulents and epiphytic orchids, the project plans to explore the evolution, assembly and biodiversity of Australia’s succulent flora, evaluating the roles of genetic composition, photosynthetic physiology, aridity, fire, soil nutrients and salinity in its historical expansion, and assessing the resilience of the assemblages to changing climate. Of particular interest will be how the most water-use efficient type of photosynthesis, crassulacean acid metabolism, is expressed across the succulent landscape.Read moreRead less
Phylogenomic assessment of conservation priorities in two biodiversity hotspots: the Pilbara and the Kimberley. This project applies new sequencing and analytical methods to measure how much unique genetic diversity is represented in current and planned reserves across two biodiversity hotspots – the Pilbara and Kimberley of north-west Australia. It combines university, museum and conservation agency researchers to improve ongoing conservation planning.
Origins of a biodiversity hotspot flora: diversification of the Australian Proteaceae. Why does Australia's only biodiversity hotspot, with nearly 3000 endemic plant species, occur in an area with poor soils and low rainfall? This project will analyse DNA sequences from over 1000 plant species of the Australian Proteaceae, many found only in this hotspot, to help us understand the evolutionary and ecological origins of this iconic flora.