Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and char ....Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and characterise proteins that the fungus secretes to cause disease on wheat. By identifying these proteins, it is anticipated that strategies, both traditional and modern, could be employed to enable better control of the disease. This in turn would help provide a long term and secure supply of wheat and wheat based products to the community.Read moreRead less
Functional characterisation of the necrotrophic effector proteins Tox1 and Tox3 from the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Fungal pathogens cost the Australian agricultural industry over one billion dollars per year. This project will build upon recent key advances to provide a fundamental basis on how fungal pathogens cause disease. The results from this study will promote future advances in disease management with the aim of securing Australian wheat supplies.
Isolation and functional characterisation of a pathogen meta effector able to inhibit detection of multiple disease effectors by resistant plants. The rust fungi are a major economic threat to crop production in Australia. This project will investigate the molecular mechanism used by a rust fungus to prevent detection of multiple disease-inducing proteins by resistant plants and generate knowledge that will lead to the development of new and more effective disease control strategies.
The identification of Mycosphaerella graminicola effectors that promote pathogenicity on wheat. Fungal diseases are one of the greatest challenges to sustainable wheat production in the 21st century. Septoria tritici blotch is one such disease as it inflicts millions of tonnes in yield losses per annum. This project will identify the molecular basis of Septoria tritici blotch and assess its potential as an Australian biosecurity threat.
Control of sucrose source/sink status by the plant immune system. This project aims to investigate the roles of plant malectin receptor kinases in pathogen recognition and response. The project will utilise molecular and cell biological tools to detect complex formation and changes in sugar import into cells. Expected outcomes of this project include a better understanding of how pathogens manipulate plant cells to their benefit, and greater knowledge of which host molecules participate in this ....Control of sucrose source/sink status by the plant immune system. This project aims to investigate the roles of plant malectin receptor kinases in pathogen recognition and response. The project will utilise molecular and cell biological tools to detect complex formation and changes in sugar import into cells. Expected outcomes of this project include a better understanding of how pathogens manipulate plant cells to their benefit, and greater knowledge of which host molecules participate in this process. This should provide significant benefits such as a new theoretical basis to engineer crop plants for resistance against devastating diseases.Read moreRead less
Identification of immune receptor and signalling proteins from plants. This project aims to clone a new extracellular pathogen receptor, and map immune signalling pathways downstream of both intra- and extra-cellular receptors using innovative biochemical methods. The plant immune system protects plants and crops from attack by pests and pathogens. It is an innate system based on extracellular and intracellular pathogen receptors. Despite the importance of plant immunity in both biological and a ....Identification of immune receptor and signalling proteins from plants. This project aims to clone a new extracellular pathogen receptor, and map immune signalling pathways downstream of both intra- and extra-cellular receptors using innovative biochemical methods. The plant immune system protects plants and crops from attack by pests and pathogens. It is an innate system based on extracellular and intracellular pathogen receptors. Despite the importance of plant immunity in both biological and agricultural terms, little is known about the identity of such receptors or the signalling events that link pathogen perception to response. The results are expected to enhance crop productivity and provide important insights into the architecture of the plant immune system.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101292
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Plant immune receptors: what are the first steps that trigger defence signalling? Plant immune receptors that confer resistance to infectious disease will be investigated at a molecular level. The outcomes of this study will influence the development of new strategies to protect Australian crops from destructive disease and reduce the use of pesticides.
Molecular basis of rust infection and host plant resistance. Plant diseases threaten agricultural productivity in Australia, with rust fungi being a major problem for cereal grain production. This project will investigate molecular processes underlying the infection of plants by rust fungi and will provide basic knowledge for development of novel and durable disease resistance strategies.
The functional characterisation of a novel immune response in plants. This project aims to identify the role of pathogenicity-related-1 proteins in plants and characterise a new disease resistance pathway. By focusing on the interaction between key plant and pathogen proteins, this proposal seeks to advance the understanding of how the pathogen causes disease. The expected outcomes from these advances include the generation of new tools to manage plant diseases whilst building strong internation ....The functional characterisation of a novel immune response in plants. This project aims to identify the role of pathogenicity-related-1 proteins in plants and characterise a new disease resistance pathway. By focusing on the interaction between key plant and pathogen proteins, this proposal seeks to advance the understanding of how the pathogen causes disease. The expected outcomes from these advances include the generation of new tools to manage plant diseases whilst building strong international collaborations. This project should provide significant benefits for generating new leads for plant disease management leading to enhanced food security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101897
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$341,000.00
Summary
The Evolution of stripe rust virulence. Fungal crop pathogen epidemics lead to severe yield losses worldwide, impact national economies and individual human lives. Wheat stripe rust fungal epidemics caused by new virulent races can lead to 80 per cent reduction in yield. This project aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms leading to newly virulent races by whole genome, epigenome and transcriptome comparison of several wheat stripe rust races. This project aims to fundamentally advance our ....The Evolution of stripe rust virulence. Fungal crop pathogen epidemics lead to severe yield losses worldwide, impact national economies and individual human lives. Wheat stripe rust fungal epidemics caused by new virulent races can lead to 80 per cent reduction in yield. This project aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms leading to newly virulent races by whole genome, epigenome and transcriptome comparison of several wheat stripe rust races. This project aims to fundamentally advance our understanding of evolutionary forces driving virulence and specification at the whole (epi-)genome level in important fungal crop pathogens. This will promote new crop protection strategies important for local and global food security in an ever-changing environment.Read moreRead less