Nutriomics - the study of the processes and genes controlling accumulation of nutrients in plants
The aim of this website is to catalogue the current state of Australian nutriome research, with a view to identifying strengths within Australia and areas for possible research and training synergy - basically:
Who does what?
Who has what?
And how can we get more from what we've got?
We want to increase awareness of techniques being used in Australia , to try to coordinate research more, to increase the efficiency, throughput and depth of studies. Such co-ordination is becoming increasingly important as research internationally heads further towards an integration of molecular and whole plant techniques, to try to investigate further the role of specific genes in the life of the plant.
Limitation of plant growth by under- or over-supply of beneficial and toxic elements is a major determinant of plant distribution in natural and semi-natural communities, and is one of the most important factors limiting crop productivity. It is estimated that, globally, crop production is reduced to two-thirds of its potential due to inappropriate levels supply of a range of nutrients and toxins, at an estimated cost of $US1000 bn annually. The problems are more acute in Australia than many other places, due to the low rainfall and ancient soils, and the cost to Australian agriculture is at least $Aus10 bn annually.
Undersupply of N, P and K along with trace elements (e.g. B, Cu, Zn) can be ameliorated by addition of fertilisers, but this is incomplete, expensive and environmentally damaging. Oversupply of toxic elements (e.g. Na, Cl, B, Al, Mn) is best avoided by improved agronomic practice, but soil damage is already significant in many areas, and production in poor soils needs to be improved by increasing the ability of plants to maintain growth in these sub-standard soils.
It is notable that plants vary greatly in their abilities to maintain growth in sub-optimal soil conditions. Elucidation of the genetic basis for this variability is the main aim of the field of 'nutriomics' - plant nutrition. The main aim of this website is to catalogue expertise, in an attempt to coordinate this expertise and add value to the whole business. This should facilitate identification of research strengths and likely future directions of collaborative research within Australian plant 'nutriomics', with a view to compiling an ARC Research Network grant to undertake collaborative nutriomics research. For example, the establishment of central facilities (e.g. MIFE/patch clamp, membrane proteomics) and the development of generically useful resources (e.g. enhancer trap lines of rice to allow cell-specific gene activation) for the use of the whole nutriomics community are likely to be developed as a result of this initiative.
There are two main layouts in this website, one based on biological questions being addressed, and another on the technologies being used. The entire site is searchable for key words, which includes the ability to use wildcards.
We then link to data on each person from each of these categories. This makes this site more than simply an audit of Australian nutriome research, but a useful resource for the community.
The links are key - from the titles (as listed on the Biology and Technology pages), we can then simply lead the user to the core information on each relevant laboratory.
We hope you find it useful! The ARC would like us to identify strengths and potential opportunities for development - feedback from you, the users, on this would be very welcome!
Mark Tester
5 February, 2004
