ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresour ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresources to capitalise upon emergent and rapidly expanding domestic and global markets. Anticipated outcomes include industry uptake of innovative plant forms, foods, technologies, and commodities; and an ambitious education and international co-ordination agenda to position Australia as a global leader in research supporting Space habitation.Read moreRead less
Protection of Botanical Innovation: A legal analysis of the scope and operation of national and international plant breeder's rights. Plants play a crucial role in Australian society: they are a major source of nutrition, shelter, clothing, fuel, medicines and aesthetic pleasure. They also make an important contribution to the Australian economy. The legislative regime established under the 1994 Plant Breeder's Rights Act was designed to promote research, investment and innovation in Australian ....Protection of Botanical Innovation: A legal analysis of the scope and operation of national and international plant breeder's rights. Plants play a crucial role in Australian society: they are a major source of nutrition, shelter, clothing, fuel, medicines and aesthetic pleasure. They also make an important contribution to the Australian economy. The legislative regime established under the 1994 Plant Breeder's Rights Act was designed to promote research, investment and innovation in Australian plant breeding. A lack of familiarity and widespread misunderstanding mean that the system is under-utilised with adverse consequences for plant innovation and Australia's economy. This groundbreaking research will provide a comprehensive analysis of plant breeder's rights in Australia to maximise understanding and awareness amongst key stakeholders.Read moreRead less
Applications-oriented elucidation of germination triggers for Emu Bush seed. The project aims to determine the environmental and genetic mechanisms that currently limit seed germination in Emu Bush (Eremophila) species. The anticipated project outcomes aim to develop new technologies for efficient and mass production of Emu Bush seedlings. The outcomes will improve land restoration by increasing plant diversity and reducing establishment costs, and will also provide the nursery industry with nov ....Applications-oriented elucidation of germination triggers for Emu Bush seed. The project aims to determine the environmental and genetic mechanisms that currently limit seed germination in Emu Bush (Eremophila) species. The anticipated project outcomes aim to develop new technologies for efficient and mass production of Emu Bush seedlings. The outcomes will improve land restoration by increasing plant diversity and reducing establishment costs, and will also provide the nursery industry with novel products for home gardens. The intended project benefits are to increase the diversity of Australian native plants used for restoration and ornamental purposes and to promote the conservation of species in this plant family and its genetic diversity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100203
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,000.00
Summary
Autonomous benthic observing system. This project seeks to improve our ability to monitor marine habitats and characterise their variability by enhancing the Integrated Marine Observing system (IMOS) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility. The new AUV infrastructure will reduce operating costs, increase robustness of the sampling effort and insure continued operation for the next decade.
Folding and dynamics of bioengineered cyclic cystine knot proteins. This project will increase knowledge of the structure and function of an important family of proteins, namely the conotoxins. Conotoxins are of particular interest in Australia as nearly 300 species of cone snails occur in Australian waters and they represent a rich source of novel peptides for drug discovery. This project will enhance their stability by altering their structures and will have a direct impact on peptide-drug ba ....Folding and dynamics of bioengineered cyclic cystine knot proteins. This project will increase knowledge of the structure and function of an important family of proteins, namely the conotoxins. Conotoxins are of particular interest in Australia as nearly 300 species of cone snails occur in Australian waters and they represent a rich source of novel peptides for drug discovery. This project will enhance their stability by altering their structures and will have a direct impact on peptide-drug based therapies, resulting in economic and social benefits for Australian society. Additionally, some peptides under study have agricultural significance for crop protection and this too, has the potential to provide significant economic benefits. Read moreRead less
Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia: maximising the benefits of intellectual property for Australian agriculture. The development of new plant varieties is crucial to the ongoing competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agriculture. It also has wider social, cultural and economic consequences. Intellectual property laws have the potential to promote and hinder the developments of new plant varieties. In recent years there has been a shift towards the use of patents to protect plant i ....Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia: maximising the benefits of intellectual property for Australian agriculture. The development of new plant varieties is crucial to the ongoing competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agriculture. It also has wider social, cultural and economic consequences. Intellectual property laws have the potential to promote and hinder the developments of new plant varieties. In recent years there has been a shift towards the use of patents to protect plant innovations: a trend which has the potential to transform existing research and development arrangements and industry practices in Australia. By providing policy-makers and stakeholders with recommendations on how to respond to and manage these changes, the project will promote plant breeding in Australia and also enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of Australian agriculture.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775763
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,000.00
Summary
High throughput orthogonal mass spectrometer for biotechnology research in WA. The new 'orthogonal' mass spectrometer will be housed at the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre at Murdoch University (SABC). The SABC is a multi-user university centre that provides equal access for researchers from all universities, state government and industry to major facilities. The equipment will provide a competitive advantage to researchers undertaking fundamental and applied projects that underpin ....High throughput orthogonal mass spectrometer for biotechnology research in WA. The new 'orthogonal' mass spectrometer will be housed at the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre at Murdoch University (SABC). The SABC is a multi-user university centre that provides equal access for researchers from all universities, state government and industry to major facilities. The equipment will provide a competitive advantage to researchers undertaking fundamental and applied projects that underpin new developments in plant and animal agriculture. Outcomes include: development of new molecular markers to speed crop improvement and quality, animal genetic improvement and health, and support for new biotechnology companies. This will benefit the community through more productive, competitive and sustainable agriculture.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453637
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$256,804.00
Summary
Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable dat ....Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable data for a set of projects exploring questions ranging from how new synthetic materials with tailor-made properties can be created, through to how our understanding of natural polymers can be advanced to improve crop utilization.Read moreRead less
Control of Wolbachia replication: maintaining a stable symbiosis. This project will use a comparative genomics approach to better understand how Wolbachia infections of insects are able to maintain themselves in insects without causing pathology. The results will allow us to better understand a distinguishing characteristic of an intracellular symbiont, namely replication control. The results also have the potential to lead to new approaches to insect pest control through a better understanding ....Control of Wolbachia replication: maintaining a stable symbiosis. This project will use a comparative genomics approach to better understand how Wolbachia infections of insects are able to maintain themselves in insects without causing pathology. The results will allow us to better understand a distinguishing characteristic of an intracellular symbiont, namely replication control. The results also have the potential to lead to new approaches to insect pest control through a better understanding of how Wolbachia might be used to skew insect population age structure.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354908
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Insect-Plant Chemical Ecology Network (IPCEN). We bring together plant molecular biology, entomology and analytical chemistry to transform three leading fields of Australian research into an advanced science with far reaching capabilities in innovative research and applied outcomes. Expertise studying the biochemical pathways that produce specific plant compounds and expertise in insect recognition and response to these chemicals will be brought together. This will lead to new research outco ....The Insect-Plant Chemical Ecology Network (IPCEN). We bring together plant molecular biology, entomology and analytical chemistry to transform three leading fields of Australian research into an advanced science with far reaching capabilities in innovative research and applied outcomes. Expertise studying the biochemical pathways that produce specific plant compounds and expertise in insect recognition and response to these chemicals will be brought together. This will lead to new research outcomes and solutions to problems in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and protection of Australia's native flora. Researchers are struggling to create these links, constrained by disciplinary boundaries and geographical isolation. Key industries and researchers already support this proposal.Read moreRead less