Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100854
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,249.00
Summary
Model-directed bioengineering strategy for accelerating crop improvement. The aim is to use an advanced mechanistic crop model to investigate the interacting plant physiological processes that define yield consequences, using a sorghum model. This will involve unravelling the complex relationship between leaf gas exchange properties and crop field performance. Through a unique combination of model prediction and gene editing to target the photosynthetic pathway and stomata, the research is expec ....Model-directed bioengineering strategy for accelerating crop improvement. The aim is to use an advanced mechanistic crop model to investigate the interacting plant physiological processes that define yield consequences, using a sorghum model. This will involve unravelling the complex relationship between leaf gas exchange properties and crop field performance. Through a unique combination of model prediction and gene editing to target the photosynthetic pathway and stomata, the research is expected to gain a deep mechanistic understanding of the underpinning processes and drive the transfer of promising bioengineering targets into crops. The research is expected to discover new avenues for crop improvement, and significantly benefit crop breeding and food production capacity.Read moreRead less
Developing strong restorer-of-fertility genes for hybrid wheat breeding. Hybrid wheat varieties yield 10-15% more than conventional lines but a cost-effective system to produce hybrid seeds on a commercial scale is missing. This project aims to deliver such a system for use in hybrid wheat breeding programmes. The outcome will be ultimately higher wheat yield gains in Australia and worldwide. Higher and more stable yields will contribute to higher food security for the growing human population.