Smoke-derived karrikins reveal a new pathway for plant development. This project aims to investigate a recently discovered signalling system in plants that requires an unknown hormone to regulate seed germination and seedling growth. Burning vegetation produces karrikins that promote seed germination by signalling through a recently identified plant protein. Plants do not make karrikins and impairments to this protein results in increased seed dormancy and abnormal leaf growth, suggesting karrik ....Smoke-derived karrikins reveal a new pathway for plant development. This project aims to investigate a recently discovered signalling system in plants that requires an unknown hormone to regulate seed germination and seedling growth. Burning vegetation produces karrikins that promote seed germination by signalling through a recently identified plant protein. Plants do not make karrikins and impairments to this protein results in increased seed dormancy and abnormal leaf growth, suggesting karrikins mimic an unknown plant hormone that regulates these aspects of plant development. The project aims to identify this phytohormone and elucidate its biosynthetic pathway. The identification of this new plant growth regulator would be a major advance for plant science and may create new opportunities in restoration ecology, weed control and food production.Read moreRead less
Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non ....Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non-renewable P fertilisers.Read moreRead less
Australian rushes: unearthing the function of root clusters and sand-binding roots. Unearthing the functioning of highly specialised root structures provides fundamental insights into the role of native rush plants in south-western Australian ecosystems and addresses a major issue with Australia's biodiversity, currently a Priority area for the ARC. Native rushes form a prominent but inconspicuous component of the Australian 'grass-like' flora, accounting for more than half the plant biomass on ....Australian rushes: unearthing the function of root clusters and sand-binding roots. Unearthing the functioning of highly specialised root structures provides fundamental insights into the role of native rush plants in south-western Australian ecosystems and addresses a major issue with Australia's biodiversity, currently a Priority area for the ARC. Native rushes form a prominent but inconspicuous component of the Australian 'grass-like' flora, accounting for more than half the plant biomass on some landscapes. Rushes are also highly sensitive to small increments in nutrients in disturbed environments and thus form a management priority relating to their use in rehabilitation of degraded landscapes, such as mine sites and wetland margins. Read moreRead less
Investigating a novel signalling pathway for crop improvement. This project will dissect a newly identified signalling pathway in plants that regulates plant water use and carbon gain. It will deploy multiple techniques, including novel biosensors, to understand the links between the metabolism of plants and their environmental responses. The project will build partnerships with scientists at leading international institutions for enhanced outcomes, including access to specialised equipment and ....Investigating a novel signalling pathway for crop improvement. This project will dissect a newly identified signalling pathway in plants that regulates plant water use and carbon gain. It will deploy multiple techniques, including novel biosensors, to understand the links between the metabolism of plants and their environmental responses. The project will build partnerships with scientists at leading international institutions for enhanced outcomes, including access to specialised equipment and upskilling of our scientists. The generation of barley with the latest gene editing techniques aims to produce a non-GM crop with the potential for enhanced root C sequestration, lower water use and improved yield, three key goals for agricultural sustainability in the face of a drying Australian climate.Read moreRead less
From energy stress to hormones: new signals in bacteria and plants. This project will use molecular tools to detect and identify new chemical signals, known as butenolides, that regulate the growth and development of bacteria and plants. This project will use innovative, interdisciplinary techniques to discover where these butenolide signals come from, and how both bacteria and plants detect them. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of how plants use butenolides to ....From energy stress to hormones: new signals in bacteria and plants. This project will use molecular tools to detect and identify new chemical signals, known as butenolides, that regulate the growth and development of bacteria and plants. This project will use innovative, interdisciplinary techniques to discover where these butenolide signals come from, and how both bacteria and plants detect them. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of how plants use butenolides to cope with stress such as drought or salinity, and the design of new technologies for manipulating the growth of both plants and bacteria. The long-term benefits of this work should include fresh approaches for enhancing plant performance under sub-optimal conditions.Read moreRead less
Deciphering a protein code for recognising Ribonucleic acid (RNA) targets. This project will decipher the protein code employed by a large family of plant proteins for the specific recognition of RNA sequences. This knowledge will be immediately helpful for designing a new generation of biotechnological tools for the agricultural and biomedical sciences.
Field and quasi-field phenotyping for the quantitative characterisation of wheat yield under stress. The project aims to develop state-of-the-art monitoring and profiling capabilities for the quantitative assessment of plant growth performance in field and quasi-field environments under the abiotic stress conditions of drought and nutrient deficiency. This project involves the design and use of high resolution but low budget imaging stations to capture the growth of cereal plants in competitive ....Field and quasi-field phenotyping for the quantitative characterisation of wheat yield under stress. The project aims to develop state-of-the-art monitoring and profiling capabilities for the quantitative assessment of plant growth performance in field and quasi-field environments under the abiotic stress conditions of drought and nutrient deficiency. This project involves the design and use of high resolution but low budget imaging stations to capture the growth of cereal plants in competitive environments. Novel computer vision and image processing techniques will be applied to the image data to quantitatively characterise the success of genetic varieties to tolerate abiotic stress environments under actual field conditions.Read moreRead less
Unlocking a new hormone signalling system to increase plant performance. This project seeks to discover new ways to improve crop productivity by investigating a recently identified chemical signalling pathway in plants that affects seed germination, seedling growth, leaf development and water use. The aims are to identify unknown signalling compounds that work through this pathway, to discover the molecular regulators of the pathway, and to examine how it operates in different plant species. The ....Unlocking a new hormone signalling system to increase plant performance. This project seeks to discover new ways to improve crop productivity by investigating a recently identified chemical signalling pathway in plants that affects seed germination, seedling growth, leaf development and water use. The aims are to identify unknown signalling compounds that work through this pathway, to discover the molecular regulators of the pathway, and to examine how it operates in different plant species. The project also plans to exploit this pathway to find inhibitors of premature seed germination that afflict crops such as wheat and barley. The intended outcomes are a better understanding of how plants grow and new strategies for boosting plant performance in the field. Specific potential applications include reducing plant water use, regulating seed germination, and encouraging early seedling establishment. Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100179
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,800,000.00
Summary
Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. The growth and development of living organisms is largely determined by the genes they contain, but converting the genetic information into biological activity requires intermediary processes involving RNA and proteins that bind to and process RNA. This project aims to understand how the largest class of RNA-binding protein in plants recognise their target RNAs and ai ....Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. Controlling gene expression with synthetic RNA-binding proteins. The growth and development of living organisms is largely determined by the genes they contain, but converting the genetic information into biological activity requires intermediary processes involving RNA and proteins that bind to and process RNA. This project aims to understand how the largest class of RNA-binding protein in plants recognise their target RNAs and aims to develop custom-designed proteins for switching genes on or off. This technology will be used to create new hybrid cereal varieties and will also be valuable for applications in human health, such as the correction of genetic mutations.Read moreRead less
Discovering the molecular mechanisms and origins of karrikin and strigolactone signalling in plants. Understanding how hormones control plant growth has transformed plant biology and driven major advances in crop production. This project will study genes responsible for the action of two new growth regulators, strigolactones and karrikins, and, by uncovering their action mechanisms, will obtain crucial knowledge to stimulate yet further advances in plant science.