Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Evolution and specificity of alternative splicing in plants. This project aims to elucidate fundamental principles of alternative splicing, a basic mechanism that plays a vital role in several biological processes across all organisms. Plants are highly effective in adapting to varied environmental, seasonal and climatic conditions and this project aims to uncover how alternative splicing contributes to regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental cues. Uncovering ....Evolution and specificity of alternative splicing in plants. This project aims to elucidate fundamental principles of alternative splicing, a basic mechanism that plays a vital role in several biological processes across all organisms. Plants are highly effective in adapting to varied environmental, seasonal and climatic conditions and this project aims to uncover how alternative splicing contributes to regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental cues. Uncovering the underlying mechanisms of alternative splicing will not only advance fundamental knowledge, but also has the potential to provide tools and technologies through which sensitivities of plants to environmental stress can be potentially manipulated to benefit agriculture.Read moreRead less
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of novel plant guanylyl cyclase enzymes - a new class of overlapping dual-domain molecules. A group of highly unusual catalytic molecules in plants has been identified. The mechanisms of action of these molecules will be studied in this project to learn their role in regulating plant growth in changing climates. The results will reveal how these molecules function and also provide new insights for the development of multi-functional artificial molecule ....Molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of novel plant guanylyl cyclase enzymes - a new class of overlapping dual-domain molecules. A group of highly unusual catalytic molecules in plants has been identified. The mechanisms of action of these molecules will be studied in this project to learn their role in regulating plant growth in changing climates. The results will reveal how these molecules function and also provide new insights for the development of multi-functional artificial molecules.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Wall Biology. The ARC Centre for Plant Cell Wall Biology will define the regulatory mechanisms that control molecular, enzymic and cellular processes involved in the synthesis, deposition, re-modelling and depolymerisation of cell wall polysaccharides of cereals and grasses. Plant cell walls represent the world's largest renewable carbon resource, but the regulatory mechanisms responsible for their synthesis and assembly are not understood. Key distinguishi ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Wall Biology. The ARC Centre for Plant Cell Wall Biology will define the regulatory mechanisms that control molecular, enzymic and cellular processes involved in the synthesis, deposition, re-modelling and depolymerisation of cell wall polysaccharides of cereals and grasses. Plant cell walls represent the world's largest renewable carbon resource, but the regulatory mechanisms responsible for their synthesis and assembly are not understood. Key distinguishing features of the Centre will be the international, integrative, and multidisciplinary approach towards addressing major questions in plant biology, its strategy to leverage ARC funding, and its linkages with potential national and international end-users of the fundamental scientific discoveries.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unp ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. We propose a novel approach to improve sustainable yield by optimising the overall efficiency of energy capture, conversion and use by plants. Efficiency gains in metabolism, transport, and development will be more effective than optimising single nutrient inputs or product outputs. Improving multiple parameters simultaneously is a necessary solution to the increasing demand for more crop yield from finite land, water, and nutrient resources. Unpredictable environmental challenges adversely affect plant growth and further perturb plant energy balance, limiting yield. The epigenetic controls, gene variants and signals discovered will provide a new basis for sustainable productivity of crops and will future-proof plants in changing climates.Read moreRead less
How plants produce their biomass. This project aims to investigate mechanisms that underpin the formation of secondary walls, the bulk of biomass in plant cells. Plant cell walls are essential for plant growth and provide great raw materials for many industrial products. Understanding how cell walls are made would enable tailored plant biomass production, but understanding remains poor. The project will induce secondary walls at will and outline a framework for how secondary walls are made. The ....How plants produce their biomass. This project aims to investigate mechanisms that underpin the formation of secondary walls, the bulk of biomass in plant cells. Plant cell walls are essential for plant growth and provide great raw materials for many industrial products. Understanding how cell walls are made would enable tailored plant biomass production, but understanding remains poor. The project will induce secondary walls at will and outline a framework for how secondary walls are made. The outcomes are expected to be relevant for the fuel, feed, food and construction sectors, and thus to Australia's future.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100320
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,000.00
Summary
Proteomic analysis of thermal response in plants. This project will identify macromolecules that regulate temperature response in plants. Understanding how plants perceive changes in temperature will allow crop improvement in the face of likely increasing temperatures.
The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was i ....The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was identified through a transcriptional interaction with a membrane localised bHLHm1 transcription factor. Both bHLHm1 and AMF1 belong to a unique chromosomal regulatory locus common across sequenced dicot plant species.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101200
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,675.00
Summary
Deciphering how nutrient status impacts plant defence. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between nutrient availability and plant defence. Plant defences are activated by responses to cell wall damage, caused by pathogens. My preliminary data uncovered that the response to cell wall damage depends on the nitrogen status of the plant; providing a direct link between nutrients and defence. The research will use new mutants that disengage this link to uncover molec ....Deciphering how nutrient status impacts plant defence. This project aims to transform our understanding of the relationship between nutrient availability and plant defence. Plant defences are activated by responses to cell wall damage, caused by pathogens. My preliminary data uncovered that the response to cell wall damage depends on the nitrogen status of the plant; providing a direct link between nutrients and defence. The research will use new mutants that disengage this link to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying this process. The outcomes will provide new approaches to breed crop plants with improved nitrogen use efficiency and disease resistance. It will benefit agriculture by reducing the use of costly fertilisers and pesticides and mitigate the huge environmental damage they cause.Read moreRead less
Australia's native sorghums: a model for testing plant adaptation theories. This proposal tests an emerging theory that allocation of resources by plants to growth or defence are interrelated, not alternatives as currently assumed. Like many crops, sorghum produces toxic cyanide, especially during droughts but its wild relatives make much less. This project aims to discover why cyanide is so common in domesticated plants and why levels increase with stress. This has important implications for de ....Australia's native sorghums: a model for testing plant adaptation theories. This proposal tests an emerging theory that allocation of resources by plants to growth or defence are interrelated, not alternatives as currently assumed. Like many crops, sorghum produces toxic cyanide, especially during droughts but its wild relatives make much less. This project aims to discover why cyanide is so common in domesticated plants and why levels increase with stress. This has important implications for developing crops that are high yielding and also climate resilient. Expected outcomes include full genome sequences for all of Australia’s unique native sorghums, confirmation of new theories on the interrelationships between defence and growth and identification of new traits vital for developing the crops of the future. Read moreRead less