The Best Practice Guidelines for the Collection and Transfer of Genetic Resources are a comprehensive framework designed to guide ethical and scientifically sound practices in the management of genetic resources. Australian law in relation to the collection, transfer, and use of genetic resources is fragmented and incomplete. This creates problems for researchers, access providers, and Indigenous Australians. The Guidelines help

The laboratory strain of Nicotiana benthamiana, a native Australian plant, has been extensively used for the last two decades in plant research around the world. It has an almost unique ability to rapidly express foreign genes in its leaves after simple injection of a bacterium, carrying the foreign DNA. The Waterhouse group has been pioneering an understanding of the species’

Pictured above (L-R) Sebastian J Schultheiss, Mark Cooper, Rupashree Dass, Owen Powell, István Dékány Computomics and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture administered by The University of Queensland will collaborate on the investigation of machine learning methods to enhance complex trait predictions and accelerate genetic gain for plant breeding. Under this

Following the success of the 2022 Symposium in Brisbane, the Centre partnered with the University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and UF Horticultural Sciences Department to host the two-day hybrid Genotype x Environment x Management (GxExM) Symposium II in Gainesville, Florida and online. Through his work with the Centre, Chief Investigator Mark Cooper led the creation

Phenotypic prediction based on genotypic make-up is a key challenge in plant improvement. It relies on access to large data sets on breeding populations and advanced genome-to-phenome (G2P) prediction methods. One of the challenges of public sector research on plant breeding is in the scale of investment and experimentation possible. Universities do not have the funding capacity to do testing

A significant body of work on the evolution of land plants has been conducted in 2022. The research led from Chief Investigator John Bowman’s lab provides new insights into the mechanisms controlling the development and reproduction of non-vascular plants, and outlines the benefit of using liverworts as a model system. By providing insights into the evolution of vascular plants, the

Understanding plant-water relations and crop water use for agricultural systems is forming a significant body of work for the Centre. Such research is critical for improving ecosystem management and breeding crops with traits including improved water use efficiency, drought tolerance, and heat tolerance, to combat the environmental stresses caused by climate change. Cooper and Messina provide an overview of methodologies

The newly launched ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is cultivating the next crop of plant science experts. Administered by The University of Queensland, the collaborative research initiative aims to develop tools to improve plant productivity and resiliency. Deputy Centre Director (Research) Professor Mark Cooper said the next generation of plant scientists was urgently needed to tackle the

The Australian Research Council (ARC) officially launched the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture on Thursday 11 August 2022.  ARC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Judi Zielke, said the Centre’s work will only become increasingly important as our climate continues to change. “As the amount of arable land decreases, we need research that boosts food

Increasing crop production is at the core of achieving food security in the 21st century. A group of scientists is addressing this challenge by studying shoot branching, one of the key factors affecting yield. They simulated breeding trials with selection for branching using computational simulations ofgene-controlled traits. They found that selection for branching is difficult due to the complex interactions among