Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and char ....Investigating a new paradigm for plant-pathogen interactions; Identification of host-selective toxin proteins in the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Stagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat. This disease alone causes $55 million dollars in yield losses per annum. Traditional breeding methods have yielded crops that are only mildly resistant leaving control of the disease to be worryingly reliant on fungicides. This project aims to identify and characterise proteins that the fungus secretes to cause disease on wheat. By identifying these proteins, it is anticipated that strategies, both traditional and modern, could be employed to enable better control of the disease. This in turn would help provide a long term and secure supply of wheat and wheat based products to the community.Read moreRead less
Functional characterisation of the necrotrophic effector proteins Tox1 and Tox3 from the wheat pathogen Stagonospora nodorum. Fungal pathogens cost the Australian agricultural industry over one billion dollars per year. This project will build upon recent key advances to provide a fundamental basis on how fungal pathogens cause disease. The results from this study will promote future advances in disease management with the aim of securing Australian wheat supplies.
Isolation and functional characterisation of a pathogen meta effector able to inhibit detection of multiple disease effectors by resistant plants. The rust fungi are a major economic threat to crop production in Australia. This project will investigate the molecular mechanism used by a rust fungus to prevent detection of multiple disease-inducing proteins by resistant plants and generate knowledge that will lead to the development of new and more effective disease control strategies.
Impaired Bone Remodelling Leads To Failure Of Orthopaedic Prostheses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$515,917.00
Summary
The failure of bone prostheses is becoming a major health problem. More than 26,000 hip, and an equal number of knee, replacements were performed in Australia in 2002 with the number increasing between 5%-10% each year for the previous 10 years. Disturbingly, the incidence of revision hip surgery in Australia is now more than 15%, meaning that, despite the impressive success of joint replacement surgery, a significant number of arthroplasties fail. It is becoming more common for young, active in ....The failure of bone prostheses is becoming a major health problem. More than 26,000 hip, and an equal number of knee, replacements were performed in Australia in 2002 with the number increasing between 5%-10% each year for the previous 10 years. Disturbingly, the incidence of revision hip surgery in Australia is now more than 15%, meaning that, despite the impressive success of joint replacement surgery, a significant number of arthroplasties fail. It is becoming more common for young, active individuals to receive joint replacement surgery to improve their quality of life. This, combined with increasing life expectancy, and the known higher rate of failure of joint replacements in younger patients, means that the morbidity of a failed replacement, and the mobidity and associated mortality of revision surgery, will become an increasingly important health issue, with a major impact upon health budgets. The overwhelming majority of hip and knee prostheses have metal or ceramic on polyethylene bearing surfaces. It is now apparent that most implants fail due to bone loss around them leading to loosening, and evidence is accumulating that polyethylene wear particles are a major contributing factor to this process. It is therefore vital that we obtain better understanding of the causes of implant failure in order to extend the life of these implants and this project is designed to do so.Read moreRead less
Detection and elimination of resting spores of Olpidium vectoring lettuce big-vein disease in lettuce seedling nursery production. This project will devise nucleic acid and serology methods for detection of Olpidium brassicae, vector of lettuce big-vein disease (LBVD), during various phases of lettuce seedling production in nursery environments. It will be the first study to develop sustainable and environmentally responsible nursery best-practice protocols for integrated management of O. brass ....Detection and elimination of resting spores of Olpidium vectoring lettuce big-vein disease in lettuce seedling nursery production. This project will devise nucleic acid and serology methods for detection of Olpidium brassicae, vector of lettuce big-vein disease (LBVD), during various phases of lettuce seedling production in nursery environments. It will be the first study to develop sustainable and environmentally responsible nursery best-practice protocols for integrated management of O. brassicae in routine seedling production and for management within the lettuce industry. These protocols will ensure that the spread of LBVD from contaminated lettuce nurseries to farms is prevented. It will also be a unique study of the establishment of a disease in new land with different soils and agricultural practices.Read moreRead less
The identification of Mycosphaerella graminicola effectors that promote pathogenicity on wheat. Fungal diseases are one of the greatest challenges to sustainable wheat production in the 21st century. Septoria tritici blotch is one such disease as it inflicts millions of tonnes in yield losses per annum. This project will identify the molecular basis of Septoria tritici blotch and assess its potential as an Australian biosecurity threat.
Co-evolution of the host pathogen interaction between Leptosphaeria maculans and Brassica species. Brassica canola is Australia's third largest export crop, producing 13% of the world's canola oil. However, blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans leads to annual yield losses of 15%, with 100% loss associated with breakdown of resistance. International investment has provided novel genome resources for Brassica and L. maculans. Applying these resources to understand the co-ev ....Co-evolution of the host pathogen interaction between Leptosphaeria maculans and Brassica species. Brassica canola is Australia's third largest export crop, producing 13% of the world's canola oil. However, blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans leads to annual yield losses of 15%, with 100% loss associated with breakdown of resistance. International investment has provided novel genome resources for Brassica and L. maculans. Applying these resources to understand the co-evolution of this plant-fungal interaction could prevent the current boom-bust cycle of canola production in Australia. This study will also provide a model and knowledge base for applications in other species, leading to enhanced crops with increased plant protection and robust, reliable productivity.Read moreRead less
Control of sucrose source/sink status by the plant immune system. This project aims to investigate the roles of plant malectin receptor kinases in pathogen recognition and response. The project will utilise molecular and cell biological tools to detect complex formation and changes in sugar import into cells. Expected outcomes of this project include a better understanding of how pathogens manipulate plant cells to their benefit, and greater knowledge of which host molecules participate in this ....Control of sucrose source/sink status by the plant immune system. This project aims to investigate the roles of plant malectin receptor kinases in pathogen recognition and response. The project will utilise molecular and cell biological tools to detect complex formation and changes in sugar import into cells. Expected outcomes of this project include a better understanding of how pathogens manipulate plant cells to their benefit, and greater knowledge of which host molecules participate in this process. This should provide significant benefits such as a new theoretical basis to engineer crop plants for resistance against devastating diseases.Read moreRead less
Race status, sources of resistance and mechanisms of resistance to Peronospora parasitica, a major threat to oilseed Brassica production in Australia. Through successful identification of mechanisms and molecular characterisation of resistance to Peronospora parasitica races and the identification of sources of host resistance against these races, breeders, for the first time, will be able to develop cultivars with resistance against the full spectrum of P. parasitica races occurring across sout ....Race status, sources of resistance and mechanisms of resistance to Peronospora parasitica, a major threat to oilseed Brassica production in Australia. Through successful identification of mechanisms and molecular characterisation of resistance to Peronospora parasitica races and the identification of sources of host resistance against these races, breeders, for the first time, will be able to develop cultivars with resistance against the full spectrum of P. parasitica races occurring across southern Australia. Benefits include prevention of severe losses in canola from downy mildew, and more viable and sustainable production with less reliance upon fungicides. This research addresses the National Research Priority 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' and the Priority Goal of 'Transforming existing industries', and will particularly benefit southern Australian rural communities.Read moreRead less
Race status, resistance mechanisms, and new sources of resistance to Phytophthora clandestina, a major threat to subterranean clover production. Devastating outbreaks of disease caused by Phytophthora clandestina (Phytophthora root rot) since the late 1970s demonstrated the capacity of this disease to impact severely on clover pasture production across southern Australia, particularly as new races of Phytophthora have rapidly emerged to overcome the resistance of all commercial cultivars. The p ....Race status, resistance mechanisms, and new sources of resistance to Phytophthora clandestina, a major threat to subterranean clover production. Devastating outbreaks of disease caused by Phytophthora clandestina (Phytophthora root rot) since the late 1970s demonstrated the capacity of this disease to impact severely on clover pasture production across southern Australia, particularly as new races of Phytophthora have rapidly emerged to overcome the resistance of all commercial cultivars. The proposed research seeks to delineate new races of the pathogen, to identify the histological and biochemical mechanisms by which resistance to Phytophthora root rot is expressed, and to identify new sources of host resistance. This proposed research will enable breeders, for the first time, to incorporate multiple types of resistance and against different races into new host varieties.Read moreRead less