Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations t ....Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations that optimise plant yield and fitness will be defined and explored in other, more complex, cereals such as wheat. Expected outcomes will be fundamental breakthroughs in understanding how plants respond to, and buffer, the effects of heat to lead to translational breeding strategies that bolster grain yield.Read moreRead less
Discovering the activity of novel CLE peptide hormones that regulate legume nodulation. This project aims to functionally characterise novel peptide hormones that regulate the number of nitrogen-fixing root nodules that legumes form. Findings will enhance the current nodulation model and could help to alleviate our reliance on expensive, often polluting, nitrogen-fertilisers by helping to optimise the nodulation process in agriculture.
Discovery of the systemic regulator of legume nodulation. This project aims to discover the novel, shoot-derived factor that legumes produce to regulate the number of nitrogen-fixing root nodules they form. Outcomes will enhance the current nodulation model and could help optimise the process in agriculture, which would help alleviate current reliance on nitrogen-fertilisers that are expensive and pollute.
Towards sustainable bioproduction systems: harnessing organic nitrogen for plant growth. It is of great concern that over 50% of nitrogen fertiliser applied to crops is lost to the environment, resulting in a large environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emission. Future farming systems have to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use but this threatens crop and biofuel production. Alternatives to man-made nitrogen fertilisers are crop residues and organic materials which are more stable in soils but l ....Towards sustainable bioproduction systems: harnessing organic nitrogen for plant growth. It is of great concern that over 50% of nitrogen fertiliser applied to crops is lost to the environment, resulting in a large environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emission. Future farming systems have to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use but this threatens crop and biofuel production. Alternatives to man-made nitrogen fertilisers are crop residues and organic materials which are more stable in soils but less available to plants. How plants can best access organic nitrogen will be explored, based on our recent discovery that plants can use protein as a nitrogen source for growth. The project will produce essential knowledge for nitrogen-efficient bioproduction.Read moreRead less
How do sunflowers make protein drugs in their seeds? We recently discovered in sunflower the origin of a small protein ring that chemists have used for a decade to base designed drugs upon. This project aims to know how sunflowers make it so we may manipulate other plants to manufacture ring-based drugs.
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
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL180100139
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,973,547.00
Summary
Processes of plant growth that impact agriculture and horticulture. The project aims to discover the genes and processes that control plant shoot architecture, which is a major driver of yield in field, horticultural and forestry crops. Shoot branching is the result of the complex interplay of genes, environment and crop management. By investigating cellular processes governing growth and development, as well as physiology and molecular genetics, this project will enhance Australian capacity and ....Processes of plant growth that impact agriculture and horticulture. The project aims to discover the genes and processes that control plant shoot architecture, which is a major driver of yield in field, horticultural and forestry crops. Shoot branching is the result of the complex interplay of genes, environment and crop management. By investigating cellular processes governing growth and development, as well as physiology and molecular genetics, this project will enhance Australian capacity and multidisciplinary innovation. An improved understanding of shoot branching and how it may be manipulated will improve our knowledge of plant sciences that could contribute to agricultural expansion and food security in Australia and internationally.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.
Crosstalk between branching and flowering regulatory pathways in shoot development. This project will explore how a newly discovered plant hormone communicates with other plant and environmental signals to regulate shoot branching. Understanding this process is an important step towards enhancing the yield, productivity and sustainability of commercially important plant species.