Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354715
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,000.00
Summary
The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network. The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network will link Australian scientists investigating aspects of the plant nutriome - the summation of processes that deliver nutrients and water from soil to plants. The network will establish a coordinated approach to understanding genes, proteins and metabolites involved in element acquisition and how their functions are linked to soil conditions to maximise food quality and overcome soil environmental challenges. Inter ....The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network. The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network will link Australian scientists investigating aspects of the plant nutriome - the summation of processes that deliver nutrients and water from soil to plants. The network will establish a coordinated approach to understanding genes, proteins and metabolites involved in element acquisition and how their functions are linked to soil conditions to maximise food quality and overcome soil environmental challenges. International articulation will ensure information exchange and enhance postgraduate and postdoctoral training by reciprocal visits and focused workshops. A major goal will be a strategy to integrate research using a complex systems approach to problems.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989861
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
Electron Microscopes for Nanometer-Scale Imaging/Microanalysis in the Materials, Biological, Physical, Engineering and Chemical Sciences. Electron microscopes have contributed to many of the most significant discoveries and technological advances of the last 6 decades. High resolution transmission and scanning electron microscopes have become essential research infrastructure in internationally competitive materials science, biology, bio-medical science, physics, chemistry and a broad range of e ....Electron Microscopes for Nanometer-Scale Imaging/Microanalysis in the Materials, Biological, Physical, Engineering and Chemical Sciences. Electron microscopes have contributed to many of the most significant discoveries and technological advances of the last 6 decades. High resolution transmission and scanning electron microscopes have become essential research infrastructure in internationally competitive materials science, biology, bio-medical science, physics, chemistry and a broad range of engineering disciplines. This capability is not currently available in the Newcastle, Hunter, Central and Lower North Coast and New England regions. This proposal is aimed at satisfying the considerable demand for high resolution microscopy in these areas leading to high quality research outcomes across 3 National Research Priorities and a strong contribution to research training.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989147
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$950,000.00
Summary
Advanced high throughput genomics facility for biological, medical, agricultural, environmental and evolutionary research. Infrastructure requested will expand the capacity of researchers in NSW/NT to undertake environmental, medical and evolutionary studies using state-of-the-art technologies based on the recent advances in DNA sequencing analyses. It will ensure the retention of leading researchers in the exciting areas of genomics and Systems Biology and make a significant contribution to bi ....Advanced high throughput genomics facility for biological, medical, agricultural, environmental and evolutionary research. Infrastructure requested will expand the capacity of researchers in NSW/NT to undertake environmental, medical and evolutionary studies using state-of-the-art technologies based on the recent advances in DNA sequencing analyses. It will ensure the retention of leading researchers in the exciting areas of genomics and Systems Biology and make a significant contribution to biomolecular research in medicine, agriculture and environmental biology, thereby providing major benefits to the wider community. The application will enhance existing genomic technologies by substantially increasing the scope of experiments that can be performed leading to important advances in gene discovery.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
Functional and structural characterisation of Defective embryo and meristems (Dem) proteins involved in plant development. The proposed research will lead to advances in understanding the regulation of plant development, a process impacting on agriculture, environmental management and human health, areas designated as national research priorities. This understanding is required for modifying plant growth and architecture to fit particular environments, for example generating plants with more ext ....Functional and structural characterisation of Defective embryo and meristems (Dem) proteins involved in plant development. The proposed research will lead to advances in understanding the regulation of plant development, a process impacting on agriculture, environmental management and human health, areas designated as national research priorities. This understanding is required for modifying plant growth and architecture to fit particular environments, for example generating plants with more extensive and deeper roots to mine the soil moisture and nutrients to enhance crop productivity in Australia, and maintaining the competitive advantage of Australian agriculture in view of the range of environmental conditions encountered in this country. The project will also contribute to the health of the Australian population through consumable plants in the diet.Read moreRead less
Physiological and molecular controls of plant transpiration efficiency: investigating the role of the ERECTA gene. Water is the single most limiting factor in agriculture and the world's supply of fresh water is diminishing, the greatest fraction of total water use being by agriculture. Progress in water-use efficiency will have social value, and this program should help us to achieve it. Our progress in this area is already one of the most successful of 'bottom-up' approaches - in the sense of ....Physiological and molecular controls of plant transpiration efficiency: investigating the role of the ERECTA gene. Water is the single most limiting factor in agriculture and the world's supply of fresh water is diminishing, the greatest fraction of total water use being by agriculture. Progress in water-use efficiency will have social value, and this program should help us to achieve it. Our progress in this area is already one of the most successful of 'bottom-up' approaches - in the sense of transferring knowledge from biochemistry and biophysics to breeding and agronomy, as CSIRO now has a successful wheat breeding program based on this earlier work of ours. Now that we have discovered a gene that controls water-use efficiency at the leaf level, we wish to see how the gene works, and how it affects mineral nutrition of leaves.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,504.00
Summary
Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence ....Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence of core areas of plant biology research at Newcastle in nutrient transport, cell development as well as environment management and rehabilitation . In addition, they will underpin new collaborative initiatives at the interfaces between plant biology with transgenic delivery of reproductive vaccines and phytoremediation.Read moreRead less
Carboxylate exudation and phosphate nutrition in Hakea prostrata (Proteaecea). Nonmycorrhizal Proteaceae are very successful in acquiring phosphate from nutrient-impoverished soils; their cluster roots account for this. They are also extremely sensitive to phosphate toxicity. We will elucidate aspects of production and release of carboxylates that are associated with functioning of cluster roots, using Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae) as a model. Types and rates of exudation by cluster roots, as in ....Carboxylate exudation and phosphate nutrition in Hakea prostrata (Proteaecea). Nonmycorrhizal Proteaceae are very successful in acquiring phosphate from nutrient-impoverished soils; their cluster roots account for this. They are also extremely sensitive to phosphate toxicity. We will elucidate aspects of production and release of carboxylates that are associated with functioning of cluster roots, using Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae) as a model. Types and rates of exudation by cluster roots, as influenced by development and environmental signals, will be assessed. Our findings will provide key information on adaptive mechanisms associated with both phosphate acquisition from phosphate-fixing soils and phosphate toxicity.Read moreRead less
Isolation and characterization of genes regulating female reproductive organ development in plants. Genes that regulate female reproductive organ development are of immense value for Australia as tools for seed improvement. Those from our preliminary screen have convinced our industry partners that they can be agents for engineering of apomixis or creation of fertile seed without fertilisation. This will allow the capture of hybrid vigour in wheat and rice, for which commercial hybrid seed prod ....Isolation and characterization of genes regulating female reproductive organ development in plants. Genes that regulate female reproductive organ development are of immense value for Australia as tools for seed improvement. Those from our preliminary screen have convinced our industry partners that they can be agents for engineering of apomixis or creation of fertile seed without fertilisation. This will allow the capture of hybrid vigour in wheat and rice, for which commercial hybrid seed production is not currently available. In wheat alone, apomixis presents for Australia an economic value of more than Aus$ ½ billion per annum. Furthermore, controlled apomixis will accelerate breeding programs that will bring drought resistance and minimal fertiliser requiring varieties to the farmer.Read moreRead less