PROJECT
Exploiting chemical signals to boost plant performance
Discovering the functional basis for a new chemical signalling pathway in plants
Understanding how plants perceive and respond to changes in their environment is fundamental to improving the performance of crops in the field. Over the past few years, we have identified a hormone-like signalling pathway in plants that modulates several aspects of plant growth and development.
This pathway is the same one that many native plants use to detect chemicals found in bushfire smoke, called karrikins.
We want to know how this pathway operates, what it does, and how we can make the most of it to modify plant growth as required.
This project has three primary aims:
- Define the function of the karrikin signalling pathway in plant physiology, stress responses and plant development
- Establish how the karrikin signalling pathway interacts with that of other plant hormones, most notably auxin, in the control of plant development
- Characterise the transcriptome effects of activating the karrikin signalling pathway, with the intention of identifying new upstream and downstream components
For more background information, see the suggested readings below.
- Suggested readings
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- Yao, J., Mashiguchi, K., Scaffidi, A., et al. (2018) An allelic series at the KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 locus of Arabidopsis thaliana decouples ligand hydrolysis and receptor degradation from downstream signalling. Plant J.
- Waters, M.T., Gutjahr, C., Bennett, T. and Nelson, D.C. (2017) Strigolactone Signaling and Evolution. Ann Rev Plant Biol, 68, 291–322.
- Waters, M.T. (2017) ) From little things big things grow: karrikins and new directions in plant development. Functional Plant Biology, 44, 373–385
- Waters MT, Scaffidi A, Moulin SLY, Sun YK, Flematti GR, Smith SM (2015): A Selaginella moellendorffii Ortholog of KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 Functions in Arabidopsis Development but Cannot Mediate Responses to Karrikins or Strigolactones. Plant Cell 2015, 27:1925–1944.
- Waters MT, Nelson DC, Scaffidi A, Flematti GR, Sun YK, Dixon KW, Smith SM (2012): Specialisation within the DWARF14 protein family confers distinct responses to karrikins and strigolactones in Arabidopsis. Development 2012, 139:1285–1295.
Research team leader: Dr Mark Waters
I am a Senior Research Fellow/Senior Lecturer in the School of Molecular Sciences. I joined in 2016 as an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow. My interests lie in the mechanisms by which plants make decisions and modulate their growth according to their environment. Prior to this, I worked at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, which is housed in the same building as the School and specialises in plant molecular research. My lab is affiliated with Plant Energy Biology and has access to its world-class expertise and facilities in molecular plant science.
How to apply
Interested in becoming part of this project? Complete the following steps to submit your expression of interest:
Step 1 - Check criteria
General UWA PhD entrance requirements can be found on the Future Students website.
Necessary training in specific techniques will be provided, but ideally you would also have:
- Hands-on laboratory experience in molecular biology, biochemistry and/or genetics
- Some experience in bioinformatics and handling large datasets
Step 2 - Submit enquiry to research team leader
Step 3 - Lodge application
After you have discussed your project with the research team leader, you should be in a position to proceed to the next step of the UWA application process: Lodge an application. Different application procedures apply to domestic and international students.
Scholarships
- Domestic students
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All domestic students may apply for Research Training Program and University Postgraduate Awards (UPA) scholarships
- International students
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A range of scholarships are available from international organisations and governments. The full list, organised by country, is available on the Future Students website.
In addition, all international students may apply for International Research Training Program scholarships.
- Indigenous students
- Indigenous students are encouraged to apply for Indigenous Postgraduate Research Supplementary Scholarships.
- Forrest Foundation scholarships
- All international and Australian students who wish to study towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at The University of Western Australia may apply for Forrest Scholarships.
