Accepting HDR Candidates

Available HDR projects

Student research projects are available for enthusiastic and talented students wishing to further develop skills and knowledge in plant biology, environmental science and horticulture crop genomics. Research projects offer experience in technologies related to next generation sequencing, molecular biology, functional genomics, genetic engineering, synthetic biotechnology, viral gene editing, metabolite quantification, developmental and physiological characterisation, plant phenotyping, cell microscopy, postharvest quality analysis, and environmental plant growth strategies. We address fundamental questions and hypotheses relating to the impacts of environmental change on agricultural production. Our goal is to understand how changing environments (heatwaves, elevated CO2, light, drought and mechanical stress) influence health promoting micronutrient accumulation, growth, development and yield of plants. We investigate how the environment trains memory forming processes and primes stress acclimation to climate change.

HUNTING FOR GENETIC AND METABOLIC REGULATORY SWITCHES IN PLANTS

Bacteria and plants are natural chemical factories producing micronutrient metabolites (e.g. vitamins and antioxidants such as carotenoid pigments) that promote animal health, cellular communication and regulate gene expression. We are discovering light and metabolite sensitive switches in plants that facilitate metabolic and cellular homeostasis, as well as control gene expression or protein levels. A translational goal will be to develop this new knowledge into synthetic biotechnology innovations.

ELUCIDATING CAROTENOID SIGNALS THAT PROMOTE PLANT GROWTH

Environmental and development conditions affect the temporal and spatial variation of plant carotenoid secondary metabolites that provide pharmaceutical and animal nutritional benefits. We are discovering carotenoid-derived metabolites that control root architecture, cellular signalling, nuclear gene expression, symbiotic microbial associations, and that deter insect herbivory. A translation goal is to develop carotenoid derivatives as plant growth regulators that can innovate agricultural sustainability and improve crop production and human health.

DECIPHERING HOW PLANTS ACCLIMATE TO MECHANICAL STRESS

Plants sense and respond to touch, acoustic vibration, wind, rain, herbivory and hence mechanical stress. Plants forget a single event of mechanical stress yet remember prolonged mechanical stress that alters plant morphology; a phenomenon called thigmomorphogenesis. Our team investigates the physiological, molecular, and epigenetic forming processes that enable acclimation to plant mechanical stress events. We decipher how mechanical stress primes transcriptional memory and programs somatic stress acclimation to make a hardier plant. We are discovering how different events, intensities, and frequencies of mechanical stress alter plant growth, pollination, reproduction and acclimation to biotic as well as abiotic stress.

ELUCIDATING PLANT CELL BEHAVIOUR TO SONIC VIBRATIONS AND BIOACOUSTICS
We are engineering precision devices to investigate the frequency-dependent power-law behaviour of plant living cells by contrasting contact-induced mechanical vibration with precision non-contact sonication methods. We interrogate the relationship between the frequency of sonic vibration with pollination success and tomato fruit size to understand the power law behaviour of plant cells. Our experimental strategy is to advance non-contact sonication methods as the first step towards engineering a simple, scalable, and robotic method for precision automation of pollination within the horticultural cropping industry.

ENHANCING HORTICULTURAL PROTECTED CROPPING AND GENETICS FOR NEXT GENERATION ORCHARD PRODUCTION

We are developing Smart Glass films, photovoltaic shade coverings, advanced fertigation strategies and breeding for elite genetic varieties designed for energy-efficient protected cropping. We utilise transcriptomic, epigenomic, viral induced gene regulation, and genome editing techniques to decipher mechanisms modulating traits for flowering, bud dormancy, crop architecture, fruit colour and quality. We are generating molecular markers to fast-forward national crop breeding programs.