News & events
News
Scientists from ANU and James Cook University have identified an "exquisite" natural mechanism that helps plants limit their water loss with little effect on carbon dioxide intake - an essential process for photosynthesis, plant growth and crop yield.
How do you tell if your plants need water? Recently, I asked this question of a group of about 40 biologists at the Australian National University.
Researchers have discovered why malaria parasites are vulnerable to some drug therapies but resistant to others, offering scientists another piece of the puzzle in the global fight against the disease.
Making good food choices is necessary both for ourselves and for the planet, says plant scientist Professor Justin Borevitz.
While Angus Rae focuses intently on a captivating microscopic world, he is actually working towards a solution for an environmental catastrophe occurring on a global scale.
A new research centre based at ANU will train the next generation of scientists to develop more resilient crops and significantly grow Australia's agricultural sector.
Events
The enzyme Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (RuBisCO) is responsible for the entry of atmospheric carbon into the biosphere during photosynthesis. Despite this key role, RuBisCO maintains several biochemical shortcomings, making it an attractive target for laboratory protein engineering.
Site-specific C-to-U RNA editing is a hallmark of plant organelle transcript maturation. Up to thousands of specific cytidines are converted into uridines in plant chloroplasts and mitochondria, with no evidence of editing activity in the cytosol.
Photorespiration (PR) is the pathway that detoxifies the product of the oxygenation reaction of Rubisco. It has been hypothesized that in dynamic light environments, PR provides a photoprotective function by serving as a sink for excess ATP and/or reducing equivalents.
The tiny, self-contained genetic system of the chloroplast (or plastid) in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is well suited for genetic engineering and has recently seen a surge in the deployment of synthetic biology approaches.
In my talk, I’d like to introduce two of my postdoctoral studies where I explored the independent expression of two genes in tobacco: Rubisco activase (RCA) and a spider silk gene, Major ampullate spidroin 1 (MaSp1).
Talk followed by panel discussion about future directions in Plant Science.