Scientists from ANU are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.
Not content with the challenging conditions for crop production here on Earth, Associate Professor Caitlin Byrt is lending her expertise to an ambitious space mission to grow plants on the moon.
ANU will lend its unique expertise in plant biology to an ambitious mission led by Australian space start-up Lunaria One that aims to grow plants on the moon by as early as 2025.
A team of researchers from the ANU Research School of Biology and CSIRO has been awarded more than $1 million to develop technology that harvests valuable resources from our wastewater.
Using cutting-edge technology, biologist Dr Benjamin Schwessinger from The Australian National University (ANU) is helping to protect the biosecurity of Australia's unique flora and agricultural industry.
Fungal phytopathogens secrete a litany of molecules during their infection of a plant host, including virulence factors like effector proteins. Secreted virulence factors function in the apoplast of host tissues or are trafficked into host cells.
With half a million species and representing a billion years of evolution, a better understanding of the green plant tree of life is crucial for the survival of humankind.
Phloem is the vascular tissue in plants - responsible for transporting sugars from source to sink. It is well established that osmotic currents drive the flow of sap through phloem vessels.