Dr. Florence Danila, from the ANU Research School of Biology, received the 2023 ACT Young Tall Poppy Science Award for her work on plasmodesmata. This award is given by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science to most outstanding scientists for achievements in the area of scientific research and communication.

Extreme and prolonged weather events including drought can cause significant decline in crop production, decreasing food supply, increasing food prices and reducing access to nutritious food. As climate change becomes more and more prevalent globally, there is an urgent need to improve plant’s ability to make food given less fertilizer and water and adapt to non-optimal environments.

Plasmodesmata are tiny channels in plants important for intercellular transport and Dr Florence Danila has found that plants that are able to make food more efficiently have more plasmodesmata than less efficient food crops. Her current research aims are to understand how plasmodesmata are formed and regulated throughout plant development and to identify the genetic controls involved using agronomically important model crop species like rice, wheat and millets for crop improvement strategies.

This article was first published by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science.