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Nutritional Biology Group
'Nutrition in the food chain'
Major Research Themes
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Micronutrients in the food chain;
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Anti-nutrients and Promoter substances of iron and zinc absorption in staple
food crops;
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Cultivar
differences among staple-food crops in ability to extract micronutrients
from soils, especially soils of low general fertility, and the genetics and
molecular biology of such traits;
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Cultivar
differences in ability to load micronutrients into food grains, and the
genetics and molecular biology of such traits;
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The role
of adequate micronutrient nutrition in resistance to disease, product
quality in general and in the sustainability of cropping systems;
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Nutrients
of particular interest include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine,
selenium and boron, as well as pro-vitamin A carotenoids, phytate, fructans
and resistant starch.
Group Members
Students
PhD
Masters
Collaborators
Current Research
We have a
mixture of projects ranging from capacity building analytical labs to improve
analytical quality and providing technical assistance to the CGIAR and NARS
researchers working in HarvestPlus, through to plant physiology and molecular
biology. Ultimately, our aim is to improve our knowledge of the processes
involved in delivering Fe and Zn to the edible portion of the plant, with links
to staff and students on this web-page giving greater detail on our current work
in this area.
Associate Professor James Stangoulis
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Mechanisms of short and long distance transport of micronutrients in plants.
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Plant
nutrition expertise to HarvestPlus and it’s collaborators.
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Capacity
building in analytical labs associated with HarvestPlus.
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Mapping
nutritional traits in staple food crops.
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Studying
the effects of staple food nutrient QTL on iron bioavailability .
Professor
Robin Graham
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Research
to develop food systems that deliver adequate nutrients in balance to
subsistence farming families in poor countries.
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Nutrient-genotype interactions, nutrient-disease interactions,
nutrient-water interactions.
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Analysis
of staple food crops for nutritional traits.
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Iron-zinc
interactions in humans.
Dr Eun Young Choi
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Purification and isolation of Zn binding protein in milled rice endosperm.
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Identify
characteristics of the major grain tissues of Zn-dense wheat.
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Development of rapid- and semi-quantitative analysis for selecting Fe and
Zn-dense genotypes of staple food crops using colour image analyses and
colour reagents.
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Identify
the tolerance and toxicity mechanisms of B (boron) for maintenance of root
growth in barley.
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Environmental Horticulture (Effects of integrated solar radiation system and
plant factory system on photosynthesis, respiration and mineral
nutrients/water uptake in vegetable plants grown in hydroponics)
Lachlan Palmer
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Method
development for the analysis of fructans, phytate, carbohydrates,
nicotianamine and amino acids using Ion-exchange Chromatography.
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Collection and analysis of phloem sap by aphid stylectomy.
Bianca
Kyriacou
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Investigation of genes involved in iron uptake from soils and transport
across the plant, with particular emphasis on those belonging to the
nicotianamine gene family, using the following methods:
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GFP
detection
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Southern
analysis
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ICP-OEP
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PPB
staining
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T1 plant
growth
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Generate
new plant lines overexpressing endosperm specific ion transporter genes and
NAS genes
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Iron
Tracking ie: phloem→xylem→shoot→grain
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Radiolabelled Fe2+/3+ real-time tracking across plant
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Protein
analysis at endosperm level
Philippa
(Pip) Cook
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Investigation of strategies to enhance transport of nutrients into the
grain, with a focus on zinc, initially focusing on a candidate zinc protein
in rice identified in the Stangoulis laboratory. Methods to be used include;
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The use
of RNAi for gene suppression, and over-expression vector constructs to alter
the gene expression of the candidate proteins in planta.
Bao-Lam
Huynh
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Development of an improved method for fructan measurement,
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Surveys
of genetic variation in wheat grain fructan level
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Mapping
quantitative trait loci affecting wheat grain fructan level
Results have
show:
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Wheat grain
fructan level varies widely
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Is highly
heritable, and
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Can be
improved using both phenotypic and molecular selection.
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The fructan-assay
method can be adopted in plant breeding.
Follow-up
research
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Development
of gene-based markers for grain fructan
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Expression of fructan candidate genes
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Grain
fructan chain-length variation
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Retention
of fructan in wheat products
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Effects
of high-fructan wheat on human/animal gut health
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Mapping
for
bioavailability in humans/animals
Thi Thanh Tra
Duong – Adelaide University
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Investigating
how high and low C/N plant residues affect the microbial communities and
chemical properties of poor nutrient soils when being added repeatedly.
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Effects of
plant roots on the plant residue decomposition in the presence of wheat
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Action of N
release in the presence of high and/or low C/N residues and when the N
mineralisation occurs will be determined.
Major methods
to be used in this project include:
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The Cadmium
reduction method: Used for available nitrogen analysis
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PLFA
analysis: Microbial community structure
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Gas Analyser
Servomex 1450: Respiration rate
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TOC analyser:
Microbial C&N measurement
See publication list
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