Genome editing to improve the dietary quality of potato. The project aims to develop non-genetically modified (non-GM) potato varieties with lower glycaemic index (GI) but good agronomic and culinary traits. Potato is the world's fourth-most important food. It is integral to the western diet and consumption is rising rapidly in Asia. However, the starch in cooked potato is readily digestible causing a rapid elevation of blood sugar levels on eating (i.e. it has a high GI). Long-term consumption ....Genome editing to improve the dietary quality of potato. The project aims to develop non-genetically modified (non-GM) potato varieties with lower glycaemic index (GI) but good agronomic and culinary traits. Potato is the world's fourth-most important food. It is integral to the western diet and consumption is rising rapidly in Asia. However, the starch in cooked potato is readily digestible causing a rapid elevation of blood sugar levels on eating (i.e. it has a high GI). Long-term consumption of meals with high GI is associated with increased risk of obesity, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This project aims to use new genome editing methods to silence key genes that influence starch composition and thus develop non-GM potato varieties with lower GI to reduce these risks.Read moreRead less
Sterol interference as a new approach to the control of insect pests of crops. This project aims to develop a new approach to control chewing insect pests of crops. This will be achieved by interfering with insect sterol metabolism so that they fail to grow and reproduce normally.
Function And Pathophysiological Role Of A Novel Glucose Transporter Expressed In Skeletal Muscle
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$216,412.00
Summary
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism resulting from a combination of deficiency of insulin and defective action of the insulin that is present. The most prominent metabolic abnormality is high blood glucose, which is often not satisfactorily corrected by insulin treatment. One of the main reasons for the high blood glucose is reduced uptake of glucose by muscle tissue. The mechanism by which insulin enhances glucose entry into muscle cells involves mobilisation of a specific protein from the glu ....Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism resulting from a combination of deficiency of insulin and defective action of the insulin that is present. The most prominent metabolic abnormality is high blood glucose, which is often not satisfactorily corrected by insulin treatment. One of the main reasons for the high blood glucose is reduced uptake of glucose by muscle tissue. The mechanism by which insulin enhances glucose entry into muscle cells involves mobilisation of a specific protein from the glucose transporter protein family, which has been designated GLUT4. Surprisingly, animals that have been genetically altered to eliminate orknockout GLUT4 production do not develop diabetes. This finding has led to the theory that there is a backup glucose transporter protein that can prevent diabetes when there is a problem with GLUT4 function. We have recently discovered a new member of the glucose transporter protein family that could potentially function as either a parallel or a backup system for GLUT4. This new glucose transporter, which we have called GLUT8, is present in human muscle tissue and studies in other cells have shown that it alters its distribution within the cell in reponse to insulin. We now want to study in more detail the role of this new glucose transporter in muscle tissue and how it functions compared with GLUT4. In particular, we think it is possible that Type 2 diabetes occurs when there is not only a problem with the mobilisation of GLUT4 but also a defect in the production or function of GLUT8. If this is the case, then increasing GLUT8 production might improve glucose transport into muscle tissue and so improve control of blood glucose levels in diabetes.Read moreRead less
The Australian endemic grass tribe Neurachninae: a new paradigm to investigate the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Two biochemical pathways, known as C3 and C4, account for the photosynthesis of most plants, and C4 plants evolved from C3 ancestors. This project will identify anatomical, biochemical and genetic changes that led to the evolution of C4 plants, aiding development of plant varieties with increased yield and ability to tolerate climate change effects.
Novel methods for the production of micronutrient-enriched rice. The increasingly productive Australian rice industry generated AUD$1 billion revenue in 2012. By targeting a rice gene that we recently identified as a key regulator of iron uptake and transport, this project will produce high value, micronutrient-enriched rice grain to improve the nutritional health of people in Australia and throughout the world.
Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiati ....Exploiting natural variation to discover tools to increase crop plant yield. This project aims to identify the specific biochemical and underlying molecular modifications that contributed to the evolution of the C4 pathway by studying C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. Most land plants use C3 or C4 photosynthesis to assimilate CO2. Plants using the C4 pathway evolved from C3 ancestors in multiple plant lineages, and show higher rates of photosynthesis and conversion of solar radiation to biomass in arid, high-light and saline environments, which are expanding due to global climate change. The outcomes of this project could define what is required to engineer plant varieties with increased yield and the ability to withstand effects of climate shift, and contribute to our understanding of convergent evolutionary processes.Read moreRead less
The use of in planta digestion for pretreatment of biofuel feedstock. This project will develop crop plants that overcome the current technical and economic impediments to the use of crop residues as biomass for large scale biofuel production. This innovation will position rural Australia at the forefront of global efforts to develop ligno-cellulose-based fuel ethanol industries and help meet mandatory renewable energy targets and the growing demand for alternative transport fuels. This project ....The use of in planta digestion for pretreatment of biofuel feedstock. This project will develop crop plants that overcome the current technical and economic impediments to the use of crop residues as biomass for large scale biofuel production. This innovation will position rural Australia at the forefront of global efforts to develop ligno-cellulose-based fuel ethanol industries and help meet mandatory renewable energy targets and the growing demand for alternative transport fuels. This project will also provide training and professional development for three early career researchers, exposing them to a suite of cutting edge technologies applied to a real world challenge - supplying renewable fuels in a sustainable and economically viable fashion.
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Developing biotechnology solutions for improving phosphate acquisition in plants using functional genomics in rice. Global supplies of the most currently used phosphate fertilisers are predicted to be exhausted in less than a century. These fertilisers are non-renewable resources based on phosphate rock deposits and their use are key drivers of both plant production costs and environmental damage in Australia and internationally. Using the power of genetic and functional genomics analyses in ric ....Developing biotechnology solutions for improving phosphate acquisition in plants using functional genomics in rice. Global supplies of the most currently used phosphate fertilisers are predicted to be exhausted in less than a century. These fertilisers are non-renewable resources based on phosphate rock deposits and their use are key drivers of both plant production costs and environmental damage in Australia and internationally. Using the power of genetic and functional genomics analyses in rice, this project will reveal key controllers of phosphate acquisition in plants. Hence, novel biotechnology based solutions can be implemented in a variety of cereal crops to aid reduced use of phosphate fertiliser in agriculture and unlock the large phosphate pool not used by plants in soil.Read moreRead less