FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT MITOCHONDRIA: THEIR ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PLANT DEFENSE. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in th ....FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT MITOCHONDRIA: THEIR ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PLANT DEFENSE. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen attack, and in production of reactive oxygen molecules. This proposal seeks to investigate how mitochondria are involved in these processes, using the latest plant genome information. Potential outcomes include crops better able to cope with environmental stress.Read moreRead less
Race status, sources of resistance and mechanisms of resistance to Peronospora parasitica, a major threat to oilseed Brassica production in Australia. Through successful identification of mechanisms and molecular characterisation of resistance to Peronospora parasitica races and the identification of sources of host resistance against these races, breeders, for the first time, will be able to develop cultivars with resistance against the full spectrum of P. parasitica races occurring across sout ....Race status, sources of resistance and mechanisms of resistance to Peronospora parasitica, a major threat to oilseed Brassica production in Australia. Through successful identification of mechanisms and molecular characterisation of resistance to Peronospora parasitica races and the identification of sources of host resistance against these races, breeders, for the first time, will be able to develop cultivars with resistance against the full spectrum of P. parasitica races occurring across southern Australia. Benefits include prevention of severe losses in canola from downy mildew, and more viable and sustainable production with less reliance upon fungicides. This research addresses the National Research Priority 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' and the Priority Goal of 'Transforming existing industries', and will particularly benefit southern Australian rural communities.Read moreRead less
Field based molecular diagnostics for identification of plant parasitic nematodes. Nematodes are economically important pests of many agricultural and commercially grown plants. We have shown 'proof-of-concept' that plant parasitic nematodes can be identified by protein profiling using MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. In this project advanced techniques of proteomics and associated bioinformatics will be used to identify, isolate and characterise proteins that are specific to economically important ....Field based molecular diagnostics for identification of plant parasitic nematodes. Nematodes are economically important pests of many agricultural and commercially grown plants. We have shown 'proof-of-concept' that plant parasitic nematodes can be identified by protein profiling using MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. In this project advanced techniques of proteomics and associated bioinformatics will be used to identify, isolate and characterise proteins that are specific to economically important nematode species and races, and to identify diagnostic proteins or epitopes. The diagnostic proteins will be used to generate specific monoclonal antibodies that will be incorporated into immunochemical 'Lateral Flow' devices. These will provide on-site tests to identify nematodes for growers and quarantine services. Read moreRead less
Combinatorial controlled gene expression delivering crops resistant to nematodes. Root-knot nematodes cause US$130 billion crop losses worldwide pa, and at least AUS$ 450 pa in Australia. Current control methods involve fumigation, chemicals (mainly carbamates and organophosphates), natural plant resistance and biological control. The fumigants (eg methyl bromide) are being phased out because they damage the ozone layer, most of the non-fumigants are being banned because of environmental damag ....Combinatorial controlled gene expression delivering crops resistant to nematodes. Root-knot nematodes cause US$130 billion crop losses worldwide pa, and at least AUS$ 450 pa in Australia. Current control methods involve fumigation, chemicals (mainly carbamates and organophosphates), natural plant resistance and biological control. The fumigants (eg methyl bromide) are being phased out because they damage the ozone layer, most of the non-fumigants are being banned because of environmental damage and persistence in groundwater, and biological control has had limited success. These problems are addressed in this project with development of synthetic plant resistance to nematodes, which will benefit horticultural and broadacre farming by reducing pathogen losses and improving quality.Read moreRead less
A novel method of broad-acre weed seedbank management using a naturally occuring germination stimulant. The discovery of a novel butenolide that promotes seed germination has potential to provide significant economic benefits for Australia's agricultural sector, providing a vehicle to move towards minimum-weed agricultural systems achieved through broad-acre stimulation of the weed seedbank. Our aim is for butenolide to promote uniform release of weed seed dormancy, increased germination, and gr ....A novel method of broad-acre weed seedbank management using a naturally occuring germination stimulant. The discovery of a novel butenolide that promotes seed germination has potential to provide significant economic benefits for Australia's agricultural sector, providing a vehicle to move towards minimum-weed agricultural systems achieved through broad-acre stimulation of the weed seedbank. Our aim is for butenolide to promote uniform release of weed seed dormancy, increased germination, and greater synchrony in early stage seedling growth and thus more effective knock-down following herbicide applications.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms and manipulation of seed dormancy maintenance in annual ryegrass and other weed species. A better understanding of seed dormancy in annual ryegrass will lead to a greater variety of management options for removal of this weed from cropping zones, focusing on diminishing the weed seed bank. Additionally, the knowledge gained from the study of ryegrass could be applied to native species in terms of optimising germination of difficult species and conservation of seeds of rare species.
Functional genomics approaches to the mechanisms of starch mobilisation in Arabidopsis. Starch is a key carbon and energy reserve that underpins plant growth. This in turn underpins much of Australia's $60 billion agriculture industry. Starch also provides most of the calories in the human diet and is a renewable commodity supporting manufacturing industries. Dependence of society on starch will increase as it becomes used more for novel materials and for bio-ethanol production, which in turn w ....Functional genomics approaches to the mechanisms of starch mobilisation in Arabidopsis. Starch is a key carbon and energy reserve that underpins plant growth. This in turn underpins much of Australia's $60 billion agriculture industry. Starch also provides most of the calories in the human diet and is a renewable commodity supporting manufacturing industries. Dependence of society on starch will increase as it becomes used more for novel materials and for bio-ethanol production, which in turn will create new jobs in the rural economy. A major quality problem in cereal grain is pre-harvest starch breakdown caused by warm wet weather triggering events associated with germination. By understanding starch metabolism in plants we will be better able to manage and enhance growth of crop plants, starch production and seed quality.Read moreRead less
The response of mitochondria to oxidative stress in plants. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen atta ....The response of mitochondria to oxidative stress in plants. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen attack, and in production of reactive oxygen molecules. This proposal seeks to investigate how mitochondria are involved in these processes, focusing on the role of terminal oxidases. Potential outcomes include crops better able to cope with environmental stress.Read moreRead less
Protein modifications in plant mitochondria: towards functional proteomics. Energy production within plants in cellular structures called mitochondria is vital for their growth and development and is central to the early success of germinating and growing seedlings. This project intends to analyse mitochondria within plants using state of the art instrumentation and technologies. The findings from this research have the potential to directly flow into the plant biotechnology industry and could a ....Protein modifications in plant mitochondria: towards functional proteomics. Energy production within plants in cellular structures called mitochondria is vital for their growth and development and is central to the early success of germinating and growing seedlings. This project intends to analyse mitochondria within plants using state of the art instrumentation and technologies. The findings from this research have the potential to directly flow into the plant biotechnology industry and could assist the future development of Australian agriculture through genetic improvements. The expertise developed by this work will ensure that Australia is well placed to exploit future advances in this field and to further generate the development of novel biotechnological applications in agriculture.Read moreRead less
Dual-targeting of proteins and its role in coordinating organelle functions in plants. Innovative agricultural solutions in Australia's future will be built on understanding and manipulating the expression of groups of genes to influence whole plant phenotypes providing more robust plants and high value plant products. Plant energy organelles are central components in plant metabolism, their coordination by processes such as dual-targeting has potential to modify germination characteristics, ear ....Dual-targeting of proteins and its role in coordinating organelle functions in plants. Innovative agricultural solutions in Australia's future will be built on understanding and manipulating the expression of groups of genes to influence whole plant phenotypes providing more robust plants and high value plant products. Plant energy organelles are central components in plant metabolism, their coordination by processes such as dual-targeting has potential to modify germination characteristics, early seedling vigour, and stress tolerance. Studying energy organelles could generate valuable intellectual property to be applied within Australia's large plant-based industries and at the same time provide a rich intellectual environment for the training of research students and postdoctoral researchers.Read moreRead less