News: Honours projects - Plant science
Understanding the function of GIPCs in barley root adaptation to salinity
Honours project
The honours student will profile barley GIPCs using sphingolipidomics. They will also use CRIPSR/Cas9 gene editing to develop a barley line with an altered GIPC glycan headgroup, for comparison to the Arabidopsis mutant.
[Read more about Understanding the function of GIPCs in barley root adaptation to salinity]
Comparison of root traits in old and new wheat genotypes
Plant physiologists have studied the single plant, and agronomists have looked at the whole crop, but the plant within the community has scarcely been investigated. Whilst evolution favours competitive phenotypes, agriculture selects for phenotypes with lower competitive ability or a communal behaviour.
[Read more about Comparison of root traits in old and new wheat genotypes]
Alternative crops for dryland farming systems
Crop-growing regions experience increasingly dryer and warmer climates, and more lands are becoming hostile to any crop currently cultivated.
[Read more about Alternative crops for dryland farming systems]
Stomatal traits for water-use efficient crops
Water is the cost of our food. Understanding how plants use available water and convert it to food even in harsh environments is essential to develop resilient crops.
[Read more about Stomatal traits for water-use efficient crops]
Seed size variation in chickpea and lentil
Seed size is highly variable in most agricultural crops and affects crop productivity and quality.
[Read more about Seed size variation in chickpea and lentil]
High sodium wheat for disease resistance?
In the course of ongoing salinity tolerance research, we observed variation for leaf and stem rust resistance that seemed to be related to a novel trait for sodium accumulation in bread wheat.
Why does Pyrenophora teres cause net blotch disease in some barley plants and not others?
Honours project: Investigate the toxins produced by Pyrenophora teres that cause net blotch disease in barley.
Evaluation of soybeans as a crop in South Australia
Honours project: Join a team of researchers to evaluate the potential of soybeans to be grown in South Australia.
[Read more about Evaluation of soybeans as a crop in South Australia]
Using epigenetics to breed for enhanced reproductive, abiotic and/or biotic traits in cereal crops
Honours project: Various projects suitable for students interested in learning more about plant breeding, genetics, molecular biology, abiotic and biotic stress, and/or plant reproduction.
Plant nematode-interactions: parasitism and defence
Honours project: Discover how parasitic nematodes affect cereal plant roots and exactly which genes help the plants fight back.
[Read more about Plant nematode-interactions: parasitism and defence]
