Plant Sciences Seminar Series
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Seminars from the RSB Division of Plant Sciences.
Upcoming events
The Purple Tomato is a groundbreaking example of how biotechnology can translate scientific innovation into real-world impact. This talk traces the journey from fundamental plant science and the development of anthocyanin-rich tomatoes to regulatory approval (including Australia), commercialization, and consumer adoption.
For decades, photorespiration was regarded largely as a wasteful process that lowers photosynthetic efficiency. However, growing evidence points to an additional role in plant defence.
Water availability and quality strongly affect plant productivity, with drought and salinity disrupting water uptake and cellular homeostasis. Aquaporins (AQPs) are membrane proteins that facilitate the movement of water and small solutes across cellular membranes. However, the contributions that AQPs make to water-stress responses in wheat (Triticum aestivum) remain poorly understood, leaving a knowledge gap that my research seeks to address.
Past events
Plants detect invading pathogens using immune receptors that are located both inside the cell and at its surface. Structural and biochemical studies have transformed our understanding of how intracellular immune receptors recognise effector proteins secreted by pathogens. But far less is known about how plant cell-surface receptors recognise effectors in the apoplast – the space outside the plant cell where many fungal pathogens colonise their hosts.
The photosynthetic bacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 is a widely used model organism for studying bacterial photosynthesis and has considerable biotechnological potential.
As drought events become increasingly frequent and severe, improving crop drought resistance is a major challenge for global agricultural production. However, the translation of crop drought research from laboratory discovery to field application has been persistently constrained by a disconnect between controlled-environment drought treatments and field-based drought conditions.
C4 photosynthesis is a highly efficient carbon assimilation pathway that contributes to the high productivity of major crops such as maize, sorghum, and sugarcane. Understanding the genetic mechanisms regulating C4 photosynthesis and leaf senescence is important for improving photosynthetic efficiency and crop productivity.
This seminar will outline a predictive modelling research theme and highlight recent examples integrating physiology, phenotyping and genetics to evaluate potential interventions and guide crop adaptation.
Chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signaling has long been understood through transcriptional lenses, but growing evidence points to translational control as an equally decisive layer
My PhD project aims to develop and apply novel screening methodologies to improve the identification and characterisation of heat-tolerant wheat genotypes.
Climate change is quickly reshaping the environments in which wheat is cultivated, challenging global food security through increasing temperatures, heat stress, and unpredictable climatic variability.
Growing water-scarcity under climate change makes cost-effective water saving interventions in agriculture crucial for sustaining crop yields.
There is growing industry interest to develop the allotetraploid oilseed Brassica carinata for the production of sustainable aviation fuel.
Estimations of the gross primary productivity (GPP) of land ecosystems are key to accurately predict the global carbon cycle.
As the key enzyme responsible for inorganic carbon uptake in most photosynthetic organisms, Rubisco exhibits poor catalytic activity and reacts promiscuously with oxygen, limiting the rate of photosynthesis. To offset this limitation, many photosynthetic organisms have evolved carbon-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) that saturate CO2 near Rubisco, maintaining enzyme function and suppressing oxygenation.