When to Flower - analysis of a novel genetic locus (FLH) that accelerates flowering. The development of plants is largely determined by the environment. The flowering time of some plants, including many crop species, is accelerated by vernalization, a long period of low temperature. Using a combination of genetic and molecular techniques in the model plant Arabidopsis, this project will characterise a novel locus, FLH that enhances the response to vernalization. The identification of FLH will si ....When to Flower - analysis of a novel genetic locus (FLH) that accelerates flowering. The development of plants is largely determined by the environment. The flowering time of some plants, including many crop species, is accelerated by vernalization, a long period of low temperature. Using a combination of genetic and molecular techniques in the model plant Arabidopsis, this project will characterise a novel locus, FLH that enhances the response to vernalization. The identification of FLH will significantly enhance our understanding of flowering time pathways, and may lead to the generation of plant varieties designed to flower faster or slower than usual.Read moreRead less
The molecular basis of self-incompatibility in solanaceous plants. This study will examine plant reproduction, the processes that ultimately lead to seeds being formed. Seeds are a major source of food for human societies. Benefits likely to arise from this study include an improved knowledge of plant reproduction which could lead to the production of better crops and more sustainable agricultural systems. By examining reproduction in a native plant, this study will also improve our understan ....The molecular basis of self-incompatibility in solanaceous plants. This study will examine plant reproduction, the processes that ultimately lead to seeds being formed. Seeds are a major source of food for human societies. Benefits likely to arise from this study include an improved knowledge of plant reproduction which could lead to the production of better crops and more sustainable agricultural systems. By examining reproduction in a native plant, this study will also improve our understanding of Australia's flora and could help improve management strategies for rare and endagered species. Through the training of students and researchers, this study will contribute highly skilled individuals to the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Targeted analysis of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenome in a model host, tomato. We will capitalise on our previous discovery of novel phenotypic variation in arbuscular mycorrhizas in mutant and wild-type tomato, to explore development and function of the symbiosis at the molecular-genetic level. We will clone and sequence the gene responsible for mycorrhiza-defective phenotypes to provide inferences on function and relations with other genes. We will determine if plant defence blocks ....Targeted analysis of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenome in a model host, tomato. We will capitalise on our previous discovery of novel phenotypic variation in arbuscular mycorrhizas in mutant and wild-type tomato, to explore development and function of the symbiosis at the molecular-genetic level. We will clone and sequence the gene responsible for mycorrhiza-defective phenotypes to provide inferences on function and relations with other genes. We will determine if plant defence blocks fungal colonisation in the mutant and/or varies with different wild-type phenotypes and explore molecular mechanisms of nutrient transfer from fungus to plant in relation to phenotypic diversity. The project will provide new insights into genome/phenome interactions controlling this widespread beneficial symbiosis.Read moreRead less
Manipulation of transcription factors that control plant architecture. This project will provide fundamental knowledge about how plant body plans are constructed and elaborated. In particular this proposal could influence agriculture in two manners. First, we will examine the ability to control infestations of parasitic plants in the field using the expression of small RNA molecules and second, we will determine whether manipulation of expression of specific transcription factors can alter the ....Manipulation of transcription factors that control plant architecture. This project will provide fundamental knowledge about how plant body plans are constructed and elaborated. In particular this proposal could influence agriculture in two manners. First, we will examine the ability to control infestations of parasitic plants in the field using the expression of small RNA molecules and second, we will determine whether manipulation of expression of specific transcription factors can alter the characteristics of secondary growth plants.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453608
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$579,230.00
Summary
Multifunctional confocal laser scanning microscope with time resolved and two photon imaging and fluorescence correlation capabilities. We seek to establish an Australian first confocal laser scanning microscope with time resolved imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy capabilities. Its advantages include ultrasensitive detection of weak fluorescent emissions against high autofluorescent background by using fluorescence lifetime signatures, with over three orders of magnitude discrimi ....Multifunctional confocal laser scanning microscope with time resolved and two photon imaging and fluorescence correlation capabilities. We seek to establish an Australian first confocal laser scanning microscope with time resolved imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy capabilities. Its advantages include ultrasensitive detection of weak fluorescent emissions against high autofluorescent background by using fluorescence lifetime signatures, with over three orders of magnitude discrimination improvement. The system will also be able to monitor binding of single molecules. These techniques will open new and exciting avenues for interdisciplinary research at the frontier between biological and physical sciences. The microscope will operate within an existing multi-user Optical Characterisation Facility supporting research of an established network of scientists in the Sydney area.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882893
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,000.00
Summary
A cryopreparation facility for Western Australia. Western Australia is home to a number of world-leading biological and biomedical research groups and some of the best microscopy facilities in the country. Establishing a world-class cryopreparation facility in WA will enable local researchers to remain at the forefront of their research fields and will serve to attract additional high profile international scientists and students to WA. Significant research advancements in areas such as genetic ....A cryopreparation facility for Western Australia. Western Australia is home to a number of world-leading biological and biomedical research groups and some of the best microscopy facilities in the country. Establishing a world-class cryopreparation facility in WA will enable local researchers to remain at the forefront of their research fields and will serve to attract additional high profile international scientists and students to WA. Significant research advancements in areas such as genetic muscular diseases, nerve regeneration, parasitic infection in humans, crop optimisation and tolerance to environmental conditions, and animal growth and reproduction, will result from the establishment of such a facility. Read moreRead less
Fossil evidence for the evolution of Australia's modern vegetation. This project will provide Australian scientists and public with a better appreciation of the origins of our modern flora by providing evidence of landscape and community change over the past 40 million years, the nature of major extinction and diversification events and the response of the vegetation to climate change. The project will raise our understanding of the changing role of fire in the Australian landscape. It will also ....Fossil evidence for the evolution of Australia's modern vegetation. This project will provide Australian scientists and public with a better appreciation of the origins of our modern flora by providing evidence of landscape and community change over the past 40 million years, the nature of major extinction and diversification events and the response of the vegetation to climate change. The project will raise our understanding of the changing role of fire in the Australian landscape. It will also revise our understanding of the geological evolution of southeastern Australian basins and provide better genetic modelling of Victoria's brown coal deposits. Importantly, the project will provide postgraduate research training opportunities for a new generation of palaeobotanists and coal petrologists.Read moreRead less
Genetic control of floral architecture. Different flowers have different designs, and so the design must ultimately be controlled by genes. We have identified a gene that keeps sepals separate, and promotes the initiation of petals. We think it does this by a novel growth suppression mechanism, and will now deduce its molecular and cellular basis. This will help maintain Australia's strength in fundamental plant biology. Also, by understanding how sepals and petals arise in a model laboratory sp ....Genetic control of floral architecture. Different flowers have different designs, and so the design must ultimately be controlled by genes. We have identified a gene that keeps sepals separate, and promotes the initiation of petals. We think it does this by a novel growth suppression mechanism, and will now deduce its molecular and cellular basis. This will help maintain Australia's strength in fundamental plant biology. Also, by understanding how sepals and petals arise in a model laboratory species, we can generalise for many species, including economic plants. Thus it may be possible to make designer crops through targeted genetic changes to their floral structure.Read moreRead less
Control of plant organ development by the PETAL LOSS gene of Arabidopsis. We have discovered a new gene in the model laboratory plant Arabidopsis thaliana that is involved in sepal and petal development. It encodes a transcription factor that apparently acts by repressing growth in the inter-sepal zone of flowers where petals arise. We now aim to determine how this growth suppression occurs, and whether it extends to leaves where the gene is also expressed. Control of the initiation and sculptur ....Control of plant organ development by the PETAL LOSS gene of Arabidopsis. We have discovered a new gene in the model laboratory plant Arabidopsis thaliana that is involved in sepal and petal development. It encodes a transcription factor that apparently acts by repressing growth in the inter-sepal zone of flowers where petals arise. We now aim to determine how this growth suppression occurs, and whether it extends to leaves where the gene is also expressed. Control of the initiation and sculpturing of plant organs by site-specific inhibition of growth is a newly discovered mechanism that may be useful in manipulating plant architecture.Read moreRead less
Understanding how auxin and dorsoventral patterning are coordinated in plants. This study will help reveal for the first time how the outgrowth of leaves, flowers and floral organs is coordinated by tissue patterning genes and the plant growth hormone auxin. All plants grow in this way, and our findings, made using a model laboratory plant, will be applicable to crop species as well. Thus we will both expand our core knowledge of how multicellular organisms are constructed, and also generate pos ....Understanding how auxin and dorsoventral patterning are coordinated in plants. This study will help reveal for the first time how the outgrowth of leaves, flowers and floral organs is coordinated by tissue patterning genes and the plant growth hormone auxin. All plants grow in this way, and our findings, made using a model laboratory plant, will be applicable to crop species as well. Thus we will both expand our core knowledge of how multicellular organisms are constructed, and also generate possibilities for modifying the patterns of leaf and flower development in agricultural and horticultural species. Crops with larger leaves, or flowers of different structure, may result.Read moreRead less