Discovery of the molecular mode of action of karrikins in plants. Karrikins are a newly-discovered family of naturally-occurring plant growth regulators that stimulate seed germination and seedling vigour. They were discovered in smoke and while they are centrally important in fire ecology they have far wider significance since species from non-fire-prone regions also respond to karrikins. Our research will discover how karrikins work at the molecular level in plant cells. Our discoveries will b ....Discovery of the molecular mode of action of karrikins in plants. Karrikins are a newly-discovered family of naturally-occurring plant growth regulators that stimulate seed germination and seedling vigour. They were discovered in smoke and while they are centrally important in fire ecology they have far wider significance since species from non-fire-prone regions also respond to karrikins. Our research will discover how karrikins work at the molecular level in plant cells. Our discoveries will be applied to improve growth of crop plants, to stimulate germination of weeds so that they can be eradicated, and in restoration ecology to revegetate degraded land such as minesites. Australia's world-leading position in this new important research area will be enhanced.Read moreRead less
Novel Bioinformatics approaches for genetics and data linkage. The research project will involve creation of novel data and communications formats to fulfil the vital task of integrating the vast heterogeneous biological resources available. We will apply this new infrastructure to a large data linkage project. In parallel, we will undertake methodological research in informatics to design high throughput research methods and tools to analyse and visualise genetic data. These will be applied to ....Novel Bioinformatics approaches for genetics and data linkage. The research project will involve creation of novel data and communications formats to fulfil the vital task of integrating the vast heterogeneous biological resources available. We will apply this new infrastructure to a large data linkage project. In parallel, we will undertake methodological research in informatics to design high throughput research methods and tools to analyse and visualise genetic data. These will be applied to linkage disequilibrium mapping and haplotyping in human, animal and plant diseases. Improving informatics integration and designing novel methods and implementations of algorithms will be beneficial to local and international researchers in a range of fields.Read moreRead less