Calcium (Ca) deficiency is a significant problem in both the developing and developed work leading to conditions such as bone fragility, osteoporosis and rickets. Plants vary considerably in bioavailable Ca but could potentially be engineered to have improved nutritional value and bioavailable Ca content. Plants accumulate nutrients in excess of their immediate needs and store the extra in cell vacuoles. However, nutrient storage pools in different cell-types are compositionally distinct, for instance, phosphate and Ca appear to never co-localise within the vacuoles of the same cell.
At present, the mechanisms behind these patterns of nutrient distribution are not well understood, and their physiological significance is unclear. However, such specificity in ion compartmentation complicates conventional biofortification efforts leading to unpredictable results. Through a recent microarray study, from cells that differ in ion compartmentation profiles, we have identified a number of gene candidates that are likely to regulate calcium storage.
The project on offer will involve the misexpression of genes in specific tissues using a range of cell-specific promoters followed by a full physiological analysis of plant phenotypes. In addition, regulation of transporters will be analysed in vivo and in vitro. Arabidopsis, rice (and other cereals) will be the main models used. Results are likely to be fundamental to our understanding of how plants function, should lead to nutritional enhancement of crop plants, and consequently the fortification of animal and human diets, without adversely affecting crop plant physiology.
The appointee will be part of an integrated research team and will be supervised jointly by Professor Roger Leigh, Professor Steve Tyerman and Dr Matthew Gilliham. Work will also involve close collaboration with partners at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.
Funding Notes
Full scholarships are available to Australian or NZ permanent residents or citizens. A tax-free living allowance is also available for all other nationalities. Additional fee-paying and full scholarships are currently available. Applicants are encouraged to apply ASAP.
See http://www.agwine.adelaide.edu.au/plant/plant_phys/pcp/ for more details.
Karley AJ, Leigh RA and Sanders D (2000) TIPS 5, 465-470
Storey R and Leigh R A (2004) Plant Physiol, 136, 3838-3848
Jeong J and Guerinot ML (2008) PNAS, 105, 1777-1778
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