ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unp ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unpredictable environmental challenges adversely affect plant growth and further perturb plant energy balance, limiting yield. The epigenetic controls, gene variants and signals discovered will provide a new basis for sustainable productivity of crops and will future-proof plants in changing climates.Read moreRead less
Control points in nitrogen uptake: enhancing the response of cereals to nitrogen supply and demand. Vast amounts of nitrogen fertiliser are applied to cereal crops to maintain yields. By uncovering what limits nitrogen uptake in cereals, this project will provide the scientific basis for improving nitrogen use efficiency and decreasing fertiliser use, with significant economic and environmental benefits.
Physiology and genetics of barley grain germination in the malting and brewing industries. An international research team will provide new scientific information on barley grain germination. This detailed basic knowledge will be immediately applied in breeding programs that are aimed at improving malting and brewing quality in a commercial context. At the same time, the industry's carbon footprint will be significantly reduced.
Identifying the diversity and evolution of loci associated with adaptation to aridity/heat and salinity in ancient cereal crops. This project will use ancient grains of wheat, barley and rye to find 'lost' genetic diversity at key genes associated with resistance to aridity, salt and disease. This project will make the proteins of key genes, and study their interaction with the environment over time by measuring ions in the grains to reveal the ancient environmental conditions.
Dissecting chloride transport in plants to secure an untapped source for improving plant productivity. Chloride and nitrate are central to physiological processes that determine crop yield and food production, but their uptake and transport within the plant body are antagonistic. This project will gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms underlying this antagonism. This will provide new tools for improving salinity tolerance and the efficiency of fertiliser use, which can be used for t ....Dissecting chloride transport in plants to secure an untapped source for improving plant productivity. Chloride and nitrate are central to physiological processes that determine crop yield and food production, but their uptake and transport within the plant body are antagonistic. This project will gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms underlying this antagonism. This will provide new tools for improving salinity tolerance and the efficiency of fertiliser use, which can be used for the development of new crop varieties. Improving these traits will be essential if we are to successfully address the threats to Australian and global food security posed by salinity, and the rising economic and environmental costs of inefficient fertiliser use.Read moreRead less
A signalling pathway for future crop improvement. This project aims to decipher a mechanism that controls plant gas exchange – the process that emits oxygen, loses water, absorbs carbon dioxide and is essential for plant growth for food, fibre and fuel production. When plants encounter stressful conditions such as drought, high temperatures or flooding, they adapt their physiology to maintain viability and re-establish growth. This project will manipulate stress-induced gamma-aminobutyric acid’s ....A signalling pathway for future crop improvement. This project aims to decipher a mechanism that controls plant gas exchange – the process that emits oxygen, loses water, absorbs carbon dioxide and is essential for plant growth for food, fibre and fuel production. When plants encounter stressful conditions such as drought, high temperatures or flooding, they adapt their physiology to maintain viability and re-establish growth. This project will manipulate stress-induced gamma-aminobutyric acid’s capacity to control plant gas exchange to help secure future food production, through improving crop tolerance to stresses such as low water availability and high temperatures – conditions associated with a changing Australian climate.Read moreRead less