Feasting on protein? Strategies of organic nitrogen acquisition by plant roots. Crops require large amounts of nitrogen for growth. Application of nitrogen fertiliser enhances yield, but causes off-site nitrogen pollution, a main threat to ecosystem integrity. Most nitrogen in soil occurs as organic complexes that are broken down by soil organism into small compounds, which are taken up roots or lost from the soil. This project will generate fundamental knowledge of how an Australian species and ....Feasting on protein? Strategies of organic nitrogen acquisition by plant roots. Crops require large amounts of nitrogen for growth. Application of nitrogen fertiliser enhances yield, but causes off-site nitrogen pollution, a main threat to ecosystem integrity. Most nitrogen in soil occurs as organic complexes that are broken down by soil organism into small compounds, which are taken up roots or lost from the soil. This project will generate fundamental knowledge of how an Australian species and a crop species with unusual root specialisations access soil organic nitrogen, thus increasing the efficiency of nitrogen use and reducing nitrogen loss. The research employs cutting-edge techniques for sustainable resource use, improved efficiency of crops and farming systems, and preservation of Australia's biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms of catalysis and the basis of substrate specificity in polysaccharide hydrolases. Reaction intermediates along hydrolytic pathways and molecular determinants of substrate specificity of barley B-glucan exo- and endohydrolases will be defined using crystallographic and kinetic analyses. These enzymes are of central importance in cell wall metabolism during development of higher plants, and in plant-pathogen interactions. Realization of the project objectives will not only pro ....Molecular mechanisms of catalysis and the basis of substrate specificity in polysaccharide hydrolases. Reaction intermediates along hydrolytic pathways and molecular determinants of substrate specificity of barley B-glucan exo- and endohydrolases will be defined using crystallographic and kinetic analyses. These enzymes are of central importance in cell wall metabolism during development of higher plants, and in plant-pathogen interactions. Realization of the project objectives will not only provide fundamental information on catalytic mechanisms, but will also provide opportunities to manipulate enzyme specificity. Further, site-directed mutagenesis of the enzymes will be used to generate glycosynthases, which will be evaluated for their ability to synthesise novel oligosaccharide and polysaccharide products, some of which might show immunomodulating activity.Read moreRead less
The metabolic and enzymatic regulation of C4 photosynthesis and its impact on photosynthetic productivity. Australia's tropical pastures are dominated by plants utilising the C4 photosynthetic pathway. World wide C4 grasslands contribute to approximately 20% of global primary productivity. C4 plants also include important crop species such as maize, sorghum and sugar cane and are considered ideal species for bio-fuel production. This project will use a novel functional genomic/metabolomics appro ....The metabolic and enzymatic regulation of C4 photosynthesis and its impact on photosynthetic productivity. Australia's tropical pastures are dominated by plants utilising the C4 photosynthetic pathway. World wide C4 grasslands contribute to approximately 20% of global primary productivity. C4 plants also include important crop species such as maize, sorghum and sugar cane and are considered ideal species for bio-fuel production. This project will use a novel functional genomic/metabolomics approach to provide fundamental insights into the biochemical regulation of C4 photosynthesis under different environmental conditions. This will aid in the development of mathematical models of C4 photosynthesis required in climate models of CO2 exchange and enhance our ability to improve photosynthetic performance of agricultural species.Read moreRead less
Development of new herbicides targeting enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids. Modern agriculture is heavily reliant on the use of herbicides. An inevitable consequence of herbicide usage is that resistant weeds will develop. Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop new herbicides to kill these resistant species. Herbicides interact with vulnerable molecular targets in plants, such as photosynthesis or the biosynthesis of certain amino acids. This project wil ....Development of new herbicides targeting enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids. Modern agriculture is heavily reliant on the use of herbicides. An inevitable consequence of herbicide usage is that resistant weeds will develop. Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop new herbicides to kill these resistant species. Herbicides interact with vulnerable molecular targets in plants, such as photosynthesis or the biosynthesis of certain amino acids. This project will attempt to develop new herbicides that act upon two molecular targets that are not exploited by herbicides that are used currently. We will design, synthesize and test a variety of new compounds as potential environmentally-benign herbicides.Read moreRead less
High-throughput single-molecule directed evolution. DNA polymerases are essential enzymes in many biotechnological tools, including DNA sequencing and PCR tests. However, existing DNA polymerases have limitations, resulting in inaccuracies and inefficiencies. Existing methods to improve polymerases lack sensitivity to screen for subtle, yet pivotal traits. This project aims to overcome this limitation by developing a new single-molecule directed-evolution system to evolve better polymerases. Wit ....High-throughput single-molecule directed evolution. DNA polymerases are essential enzymes in many biotechnological tools, including DNA sequencing and PCR tests. However, existing DNA polymerases have limitations, resulting in inaccuracies and inefficiencies. Existing methods to improve polymerases lack sensitivity to screen for subtle, yet pivotal traits. This project aims to overcome this limitation by developing a new single-molecule directed-evolution system to evolve better polymerases. With this new technology we aim to identify DNA polymerases with improved performance that benefit biotechnological applications. Additionally, these single-molecule directed-evolution methods will benefit the wider scientific community and lay the foundation for further advances in directed evolution.Read moreRead less