ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/ ....ARC Centre of Excellence - In Plant Energy Biology (CPEB). Plant cell metabolism underlies the synthesis of important products in crops, and subtle changes in metabolism can enhance germination rates, early seedling vigour, biomass/yield, and tolerance to harsh environments. Research in CPEB will focus on control of this metabolism. Its expertise will enhance Australia's participation in major international research efforts directly relevant to sustainable agriculture in a country with fragile/degrading ecosystems. The research will provide new approaches for enhancing quality metabolite traits important for human health. It will further strengthen our international leadership in plant energy science, and will strengthen Australia's research training in systems biology to influence plant function.Read moreRead less
Engineering plants via modified microtubule dynamics. The plant microtubule cytoskeleton is involved in many economically important functions such as controlling growth and development, cellulose deposition, and responses to pathogens and salinity. This project will increase our understanding of how the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton affects these processes and move us nearer to achieving economically important goals, such as the development of crop plants with improved traits. Thi ....Engineering plants via modified microtubule dynamics. The plant microtubule cytoskeleton is involved in many economically important functions such as controlling growth and development, cellulose deposition, and responses to pathogens and salinity. This project will increase our understanding of how the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton affects these processes and move us nearer to achieving economically important goals, such as the development of crop plants with improved traits. This project will also help maintain Australia's position at the forefront of plant cell and molecular biology.Read moreRead less
Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major in ....Mid-rotation diagnosis and management options for correction of water and nutrient deficiencies in plantation-grown eucalypts. This research will improve productivity of bluegum plantations by improving current diagnostic techniques (foliage and soil analysis) for nutrient disorders and the supply of water. Using a novel phloem sampling and analysis technique, we will develop a nutrient (e.g. N, P) and water diagnosis procedure that is quick, cheap, robust and reliable for field use. A major innovation will be distinguishing the effects of shortages of water on growth from those of other growth influences. Overall, this project will provide a highly significant theoretical, conceptual and practical advance in mid-rotation, diagnostics for plantations with considerable commercial promise.Read moreRead less
Characteristics of chlorophyll d-binding protein complexes: assembly of light-harvesting complexes. This project will investigate molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis in Chl d with the view to applying our findings in biotechnology and artificial photosynthesis. We will use a variety of molecular biology, proteomics and physical techniques to probe the bonding of Chl d to binding proteins. Synthetic peptide maquettes will provide a model to develop this understanding. Only two chlorophylls (a ....Characteristics of chlorophyll d-binding protein complexes: assembly of light-harvesting complexes. This project will investigate molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis in Chl d with the view to applying our findings in biotechnology and artificial photosynthesis. We will use a variety of molecular biology, proteomics and physical techniques to probe the bonding of Chl d to binding proteins. Synthetic peptide maquettes will provide a model to develop this understanding. Only two chlorophylls (a and d) have so far been found to take part in the primary reactions of photosynthesis. This research will grow our understanding of this pivotal process and underpin future developments in artificial photosynthesis and in the photonics industry.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775702
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
Climate controlled physical containment 2 (PC2) and pathogen/ insect contained glasshouse facility. The Australian economy relies heavily on agricultural production. The outcomes of the projects supported by these growth facilities will be of economic benefit to the nation by producing new knowledge of plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions, how plants acquire essential nutrients, and how they respond to environmental stress. The research outcomes will benefit the environment by increasin ....Climate controlled physical containment 2 (PC2) and pathogen/ insect contained glasshouse facility. The Australian economy relies heavily on agricultural production. The outcomes of the projects supported by these growth facilities will be of economic benefit to the nation by producing new knowledge of plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions, how plants acquire essential nutrients, and how they respond to environmental stress. The research outcomes will benefit the environment by increasing legume production and so reducing land degradation and risk of nitrate contamination of waterways and lowering the environmental risk from agrochemicals by developing safer strategies for control of pests and diseases. In addition, a number of projects that will benefit from the glasshouse facilities aim to produce healthier and safer foods.Read moreRead less
CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule developmen ....CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule development. New knowledge of the plant growth processes through mechanistic analysis of organ induction provides the tools to optimise the legume's productivity, quality, and environment adaptation.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms of spectral extension in photosynthesis: the substitution and formation of the novel pigment chlorophyll d. This project builds on new discoveries of novel chlorophylls and how their spectral properties are fine-tuned in photosynthetic bacteria. We will focus on how key photopigments, the chlorophylls, are biosynthesised, including their enzyme structures, mechanisms and regulatory elements. Understanding the power of natural selection on spectral extension in photosynthesis ....Molecular mechanisms of spectral extension in photosynthesis: the substitution and formation of the novel pigment chlorophyll d. This project builds on new discoveries of novel chlorophylls and how their spectral properties are fine-tuned in photosynthetic bacteria. We will focus on how key photopigments, the chlorophylls, are biosynthesised, including their enzyme structures, mechanisms and regulatory elements. Understanding the power of natural selection on spectral extension in photosynthesis will shed light on the evolutionary development of photopigments, and will allow us explore the possibilities for the production of new pigments in solar energy research.Read moreRead less
Re-engineering rice root architecture to maximise water use efficiency. This project aims to discover gene networks responsible for producing deeper and more branched roots in rice plants. The roots of plants are the primary mechanism for absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. Manipulating roots to penetrate deeper with greater branching allows plants to thrive with less water and less nutrients. The project will identify key genes and proteins responsible for this process, and alter their ....Re-engineering rice root architecture to maximise water use efficiency. This project aims to discover gene networks responsible for producing deeper and more branched roots in rice plants. The roots of plants are the primary mechanism for absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. Manipulating roots to penetrate deeper with greater branching allows plants to thrive with less water and less nutrients. The project will identify key genes and proteins responsible for this process, and alter their expression in order to assess the role of these regulatory elements in root development in rice plants. The project expects to provide new, more sustainable varieties of rice which will help provide enhanced food security.Read moreRead less
The use of molecular sponges to inhibit small Ribonucleic acid activity in plants. The deletion of gene activity is the most powerful way to understand gene function; however for genes encoding small Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) no current methodology can efficiently achieve this. Here, we aim to develop a gene silencing technology for small RNA encoding genes, which can be utilised to determine their function and used for biotechnological applications.
The role of chlorophyll f in photosynthesis. The knowledge of energetic limits of oxygenic photosynthesis will provide opportunities for improving the efficiency of photosynthesis by using a wider range of the solar spectrum. This project aims to understand the roles of newly discovered chlorophyll f in central photoreactions and its biosynthesis.