11.01.2015 Views

Issue 3 2006 - acpfg

Issue 3 2006 - acpfg

Issue 3 2006 - acpfg

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

ACPFG vector<br />

<strong>Issue</strong> 3 – Autumn <strong>2006</strong><br />

Salt tolerance grant (Page 11) Beta-glucan breakthrough (Page 2) Lifeprint Australia launched (Page 4)<br />

T h e m a g a z i n e o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n C e n t r e f o r P l a n t F u n c t i o n a l G e n o m i c s


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Cover: Emeritus Professor Bruce<br />

Stone, Dr Rachel Burton, her son<br />

Callum and Professor Geoff Fincher<br />

celebrating the gene discovery<br />

Pictured: Professor Geoff Fincher, Dr<br />

Rachel Burton and Emeritus Professor<br />

Bruce Stone, with a barley plant<br />

In this issue: Pg<br />

Lifeprint launch 4<br />

Salt: roots to shoots 6<br />

Antibody encounters 8<br />

Nitrogen use 10<br />

French collaboration 11<br />

Lorne Genome Conference 12<br />

New home at La Trobe 14<br />

Getting graduates 15<br />

GIG in Queensland 16<br />

Student in spotlight 17<br />

New faces 18<br />

Enhanced grains possible thanks<br />

to beta-glucan breakthrough<br />

“...we now have the opportunity to modify<br />

beta-glucan levels in cereals, developing<br />

specialty cereals for different industries...”<br />

By Cobi Smith<br />

Dr Rachel Burton, Professor Geoff Fincher<br />

and a team of scientists associated with<br />

the ACPFG have solved a puzzle that<br />

researchers have been working on for<br />

more than thirty years. Their beta-glucan<br />

breakthrough was published in the March<br />

31 issue of Science.<br />

The scientists have identified<br />

a gene family, CslF, implicated<br />

in the synthesis of (1,3;1,4)-β-<br />

D-glucans in cereals like wheat<br />

and barley. These beta-glucans<br />

are an important component of<br />

dietary fibre, and impact human<br />

and animal health, as well as the<br />

production of beer and spirits.<br />

“This discovery means we<br />

now have the opportunity to<br />

modify beta-glucan levels in<br />

cereals, developing specialty<br />

cereals for different industries,”<br />

Dr Burton said.<br />

“Beta-glucan is good for human<br />

health, so we can increase the<br />

levels in wheat and barley for<br />

human consumption. We can also<br />

develop low beta-glucan varieties<br />

for animal feed, because pigs and<br />

chickens can’t cope with too much<br />

beta-glucan,” she said.<br />

The low varieties should<br />

also prove popular with breweries,<br />

because beta-glucan<br />

causes filtration problems<br />

in beer production.<br />

Beta-glucan helps prevent and<br />

treat human health conditions<br />

like colorectal cancer, obesity,<br />

non-insulin-dependent diabetes,<br />

high serum cholesterol and cardiovascular<br />

disease.<br />

When the news of the discovery<br />

was made public, the media<br />

were particularly interested<br />

in the potential for enhanced<br />

cereal products to alleviate these<br />

medical problems.<br />

Another possible outcome is<br />

cereal waste better suited for use<br />

as biofuel. Straw with higher betaglucan<br />

content and less cellulose<br />

may be easier to process, reducing<br />

the cost of producing fuel.<br />

The gene discovery has not<br />

been an overnight success story.<br />

Emeritus Professor Bruce Stone<br />

from La Trobe University can<br />

attest to this.<br />

“We first published on the<br />

biosynthesis of beta-glucan in<br />

1973, but the biochemical route to<br />

the enzyme proved to be frustratingly<br />

difficult. Now, a generation<br />

later, using the tools of molecular<br />

genetics and gene transfer, the<br />

ACPFG team have made the<br />

breakthrough,” he said.<br />

Professor Geoff Fincher of<br />

the University of Adelaide, and<br />

Professor Tony Bacic and Dr Ed<br />

Newbigin of the University of<br />

Melbourne, received funding<br />

from the Grains Research and<br />

Development Corporation in<br />

2000 to apply emerging functional<br />

genomics technologies to the<br />

problem of identifying the betaglucan<br />

synthase genes in cereals.<br />

Dr Burton began working on the<br />

project then, following on from her<br />

work on cellulose biosynthesis.<br />

The eventual breakthrough<br />

involved comparative genomics.<br />

Dr Andrew Harvey compared a<br />

chromosomal region in barley<br />

linked to high levels of beta-glucan<br />

to the completed rice genome,<br />

identifying the CslF gene family<br />

as the most likely candidates for<br />

beta-glucan synthesis in cereals.<br />

To test whether the CslF genes<br />

were implicated, Dr Burton built<br />

vectors containing the rice CslF<br />

genes for transformation into<br />

Arabidopsis plants.<br />

Research officer Melissa<br />

Pickering transformed the plants,<br />

some of which started producing<br />

beta-glucan in their cell<br />

“...the potential for<br />

enhanced cereal<br />

products to alleviate<br />

these medical problems”<br />

walls, which does not normally<br />

happen in dicotyledonous plants<br />

like Arabidopsis.<br />

Dr Sarah Wilson at the<br />

University of Melbourne used<br />

transmission electron microscopy<br />

to locate the beta-glucan<br />

in the walls of the transformed<br />

Arabidopsis plants, using a<br />

gold-labelled monoclonal<br />

antibody generated in Professor<br />

Stone’s laboratory more than a<br />

decade ago.<br />

“This work has been a fantastic<br />

team effort by staff in South<br />

Australia and Victoria, with great<br />

synergy between the different<br />

groups,” Dr Burton said.<br />

Dr Burton is now working on<br />

altering the levels of beta-glucan<br />

in barley plants by manipulating<br />

the CslF genes, aiming to develop<br />

grains that will be the forerunners<br />

of specialty cereals.<br />

2<br />

3


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Stephen Fletcher and Dr Andrew Milligan will test for traces of GM soybean<br />

Cover: The scientists with some DNA samples ready for analysis<br />

DNA can be extracted from grain and even from highly processed food like crackers<br />

Lifeprint launches into European market<br />

The ACPFG’s first spinout company has<br />

been launched, in partnership with German<br />

company, Lifeprint GmbH. The new company,<br />

Lifeprint Australia Pty Ltd, is developing scientific<br />

techniques for genetic modification<br />

(GM) testing in Europe.<br />

Cobi Smith asked Lifeprint Australia’s<br />

Research and Development (R&D) Manager<br />

Dr Andrew Milligan about what to expect<br />

from the new company.<br />

What led to the establishment<br />

of Lifeprint Australia<br />

In mid-2005 the ACPFG identified a<br />

German company, Lifeprint GmbH,<br />

which has developed a strong<br />

position in Europe doing tests on<br />

food and related products. Lifeprint<br />

GmbH had identified some new<br />

market opportunities in the field of<br />

testing for the presence of genetically<br />

modified organisms (GMOs),<br />

but the company has no research<br />

capability of its own. These<br />

opportunities could be realised<br />

with the addition of the scientific<br />

skills available at the ACPFG.<br />

In the course of our negotiations,<br />

we could clearly see the<br />

synergy between the two organisations:<br />

Lifeprint GmbH, with its<br />

marketing capability within<br />

Europe and skill in delivering<br />

testing services to a ready market;<br />

and ACPFG, with our expertise in<br />

plant molecular biology and first<br />

class research facilities. And so<br />

Lifeprint Australia was born, with<br />

the broad aim of developing new<br />

technologies for GMO testing of<br />

grain and food.<br />

Why did the ACPFG decide to<br />

collaborate with Lifeprint GmbH<br />

First of all, the collaboration<br />

appeared attractive from a commercial<br />

point of view: it presented<br />

a path for the ACPFG to enter<br />

the food testing industry, which<br />

is worth a billion dollars worldwide.<br />

In terms of GMO testing,<br />

Europe is the biggest market, and<br />

Lifeprint GmbH has five years<br />

experience operating under the<br />

complicated legislative framework<br />

imposed by the European Union.<br />

Lifeprint GmbH is therefore in an<br />

ideal situation to identify opportunities<br />

and help deliver new<br />

products to the market.<br />

The ACPFG also saw that a<br />

successful Lifeprint Australia<br />

could contribute to the delivery<br />

pipeline of genetically modified<br />

“...the presence of<br />

GM canola in the<br />

commercial Australian<br />

canola crop highlighted<br />

the need for accurate<br />

testing services...”<br />

(GM) crops in Australia. ACPFG<br />

researchers are using genetic<br />

modification technology to<br />

develop stress-tolerant cereals,<br />

and Lifeprint Australia can help<br />

in the tracking and monitoring of<br />

these GM varieties, providing as<br />

much information as possible to<br />

farmers and consumers.<br />

Where is the market for this research<br />

The market is mainly in Europe,<br />

where there is a lot of consumer<br />

concern about GMOs in food<br />

and there are rigorous guidelines f<br />

or labelling. We are also keeping<br />

one eye on the Australian<br />

market – the recent discovery of<br />

GM canola in the commercial<br />

Australian canola crop highlighted<br />

the need for accurate testing<br />

services here. I feel that we are<br />

very well positioned to provide<br />

valuable input into the Australian<br />

industry in the future, particularly<br />

if GM crops come to be grown<br />

and accepted here.<br />

Why is testing for GM in foods important<br />

It’s really important that consumers<br />

are able to make an informed<br />

choice about what they eat. This<br />

reflects on biotechnology companies<br />

like the ACPFG – we have to<br />

be seen to be acting transparently<br />

and responsibly.<br />

What progress has been made so far, in<br />

terms of research and development<br />

Currently, all the testing labs in<br />

Europe and America use a single<br />

technique for GMO analysis: realtime<br />

polymerase chain reaction<br />

(PCR), which is a quantitative<br />

technique for measuring DNA.<br />

We have developed our own<br />

real-time PCR assays for a number<br />

of crops, which in some cases<br />

are more sensitive than the previously<br />

published tests. Sensitivity<br />

is very important, because the<br />

amount of DNA that can be<br />

extracted from, say, a biscuit is<br />

very low. These assays have provided<br />

us with the research tools<br />

that we need for testing certain<br />

scenarios that have so far proved<br />

too challenging for the industry.<br />

Despite the dominance of realtime<br />

PCR in GMO diagnostics, the<br />

technique does have several shortcomings:<br />

it is expensive, it needs<br />

qualified technicians, it can’t be<br />

performed in the field, and studies<br />

have shown that it’s actually not<br />

very precise. For these reasons,<br />

a lot of our efforts recently have<br />

“It’s really important<br />

that consumers are<br />

able to make an<br />

informed choice...”<br />

been focused on the development<br />

of completely new technology for<br />

GMO detection.<br />

Who is currently involved<br />

in Lifeprint Australia<br />

There are four ACPFG personnel<br />

involved in some way with<br />

Lifeprint Australia. Michael<br />

Gilbert is the CEO; Peter Langridge<br />

is a Director; I manage the<br />

scien- tific projects; and Stephen<br />

Fletcher performs the laboratory<br />

work. Dr Sibylle Roesel, of<br />

Lifeprint GmbH, is also a Director<br />

of Lifeprint Australia.<br />

What does this new company mean for you<br />

personally, and in terms of your career<br />

I’ve always had a keen interest in<br />

technologies that have industrial<br />

applications, so Lifeprint Australia<br />

was appealing from that point of<br />

view. But more importantly, my<br />

involvement with the company<br />

presents me with a great opportunity<br />

to develop my business skills.<br />

So far Stephen and I have been<br />

concentrating on the science,<br />

but we have recently written a<br />

couple of business plans and I<br />

really enjoyed it. The plan now is<br />

to take on more of the commercial<br />

responsibilities, with mentoring<br />

from Michael Gilbert.<br />

What do you see happening with<br />

Lifeprint Australia this year<br />

Everyone involved in Lifeprint<br />

Australia knows that it will need to<br />

stand on its own merits, but I am<br />

really optimistic about the future.<br />

Stephen and I are particularly<br />

excited about the new technologies<br />

that we proposed, so hopefully<br />

we can secure some investment to<br />

pursue those projects.<br />

One other option we are investigating<br />

is the provision of a testing<br />

service within Australia, which<br />

would provide some income<br />

and allow us to get on with the<br />

interesting R&D projects.<br />

Dr Andrew Milligan, Lifeprint Australia’s<br />

R&D Manager, has<br />

been working as a molecular<br />

biologist in the ‘Functional<br />

Genomics in the Growth and<br />

End-Use Quality of Cereals’<br />

program, funded by the Grains<br />

Research and Development<br />

Corporation. He completed his<br />

PhD at Rothamsted-Research<br />

and Zeneca Agrochemicals in<br />

the UK, where he studied GM<br />

approaches to herbicide resistance<br />

in wheat.<br />

4<br />

5


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Pictured, and right: Fluorescent images of<br />

Arabidopsis roots showing expression of<br />

green fluorescent protein (GFP) in pericycle<br />

cells and cells among the vasculature.<br />

The expression of GFP is driven by expression<br />

of a yeast transcription factor, GAL4.<br />

Thus, when plants are transformed a second<br />

time with a gene of interest behind the upstream<br />

activation sequence to which GAL4 binds,<br />

the expression of this gene of interest will<br />

occur only in the cells fluorescing green.<br />

Using this system, we have shown that<br />

expression of the gene encoding a Na + influx<br />

protein called AtHKT1 in the cell types illustrated<br />

above decreases shoot Na + accumulation,<br />

whereas expression of AtHKT1 in all cells in the<br />

plant causes increased shoot accumulation of<br />

Na + . This has implications for understanding<br />

the genes involved in salinity tolerance.<br />

From roots to shoots:<br />

tackling salinity in specific cells<br />

By Professor Mark Tester<br />

It’s widely recognised that salinity is a big<br />

problem in Australian agriculture.<br />

A plant’s salinity tolerance is<br />

largely determined by its ability<br />

to exclude sodium ions (Na + ) from<br />

its shoots, where concentrations<br />

can build up to much higher levels<br />

than in the roots. A plant that can<br />

maintain a low level of Na + in its<br />

shoots is likely to be more salt<br />

tolerant than a plant that allows<br />

Na+ to accumulate there.<br />

Given this, ACPFG researchers<br />

are looking at how to stop<br />

Na + from accumulating in plant<br />

shoots. Researchers have recently<br />

discovered they’re able to increase<br />

or decrease the amount of Na + in<br />

shoots by changing the expression<br />

of a gene involved in the transport<br />

of Na + in roots. The Na + transporter<br />

plays an important role in<br />

this research. This is a protein that<br />

lets Na + leak into cells.<br />

The combined efforts of<br />

researchers Gehan Safwat,<br />

Inge Moller and Dr Deepa<br />

Jha have recently shown that<br />

unregulated over-expression of<br />

a gene called AtHKT1, which<br />

encodes the Na + transporter,<br />

will increase shoot Na + . Whereas<br />

expression of AtHKT1 specifically<br />

in stelar cells will decrease<br />

how much Na + accumulates<br />

in the shoots.<br />

So, unregulated over-expression<br />

of the gene, which makes the<br />

Na + transporter go into overdrive<br />

all over the plant, doesn’t help<br />

the plant to cope with salinity.<br />

But if we regulate where the gene<br />

expression happens, in this case in<br />

specific cells in the centre of the<br />

roots, it does help, with less Na +<br />

ending up in the shoots.<br />

This research used 197 segregating<br />

second generation plants<br />

from at least ten independent<br />

transformations, where each plant<br />

has been analysed for shoot Na +<br />

accumulation and genotyped<br />

for the presence or absence of<br />

“A plant that can maintain a low level of Na + in<br />

its shoots is likely to be more salt tolerant...”<br />

AtHKT1. These results should be<br />

published later this year.<br />

Hopefully this research will<br />

lead to plants that pump out salt<br />

from the roots, keeping it away<br />

from the shoots, meaning the<br />

plants would be more able to cope<br />

with Australia’s salty soils.<br />

Professor Mark Tester specialises in<br />

plant physiology. He is funded by<br />

an Australian Research Council<br />

Federation Fellowship, through<br />

the University of Adelaide’s<br />

School of Agriculture and Wine,<br />

at the Australian Centre for Plant<br />

Functional Genomics.<br />

After a Bachelor of Science with<br />

Honours in Adelaide, he did a<br />

PhD at Cambridge on the electrophysiology<br />

of ion channels. He<br />

has since applied this knowledge<br />

to Na + transport in roots, with<br />

the aim of increasing the salinity<br />

tolerance of crops.<br />

His work has been cellular<br />

and reverse genetic in nature,<br />

and he is now relieved to be<br />

able to add a forward genetic<br />

approach at the ACPFG.<br />

Genotyping is identifying the genetic<br />

features of an organism.<br />

Na + is the symbol for sodium ions, which<br />

is the form salt takes in plants.<br />

Over-expression is an increase in the expression<br />

of a gene. Expression is the process by which the<br />

instructions in genes are used to create proteins.<br />

Segregation, in genetics, is when more than one form<br />

of a gene will assort randomly during reproduction.<br />

Stelar cells are in the central part of a plant’s root,<br />

immediately surrounding the vascular tissue.<br />

6<br />

7


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Right: Nadim Shadiac harvesting antibodies<br />

Below: using antibodies to detect protein by western blot<br />

Bottom: antibody-rich media derived from<br />

a monoclonal hybridoma cell line<br />

By Nadim Shadiac<br />

The ACPFG has a world-class monoclonal<br />

antibody unit that is essential for the<br />

work of our researchers. Through this<br />

facility, links have been established<br />

with researchers from agricultural<br />

institutes in Australia and overseas.<br />

The unit is exceptional within the ACPFG<br />

because it deals mainly with animal<br />

cells, rather than plants.<br />

What is it about monoclonal<br />

antibodies that make them so<br />

useful for proteomics in agriculture<br />

The answer is specificity.<br />

Each antibody is capable of recognising<br />

only one site on a particular<br />

protein. This gives researchers a<br />

very powerful tool for studying<br />

their protein of interest.<br />

The antibodies allow us<br />

to collect information on the<br />

structure, chemical modifications<br />

and conformation of target<br />

proteins in plants. Antibodies<br />

also allow us to show a protein’s<br />

location at both cellular and tissue<br />

levels, measure the amount of<br />

cialised. Lymphocytes are taken<br />

from the mouse and fused to<br />

cancerous myeloma cells, because<br />

lymphocytes cannot survive alone<br />

in culture. The fused cells are<br />

known as hybridomas. We can<br />

then screen for individual cells<br />

producing the antibody of interest<br />

and since the hybridoma cells<br />

are immortal, we can grow and<br />

culture them indefinitely while<br />

they produce the antibody.<br />

As well as the methods mentioned<br />

above, there are several<br />

procedures during the process<br />

that enable the completion of a<br />

given antibody project. Techniques<br />

such as the enzyme-linked<br />

immunosorbent assay (ELISA)<br />

and western blotting are used for<br />

quality control throughout the<br />

development of antibodies.<br />

The ACPFG has well-established<br />

systems in place to handle<br />

all stages of monoclonal and<br />

polyclonal antibody development.<br />

Two temperature-regulated carbon<br />

dioxide incubators provide a<br />

Affinity chromatography is a biochemical<br />

method that separates and purifies a<br />

particular protein from a mixed sample.<br />

An antibody is a protein produced<br />

by the body’s immune system that<br />

recognises and helps fight antigens.<br />

An antigen is a foreign substance, such<br />

as a protein, that stimulates an immune<br />

response when introduced into the body.<br />

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay<br />

(ELISA) is a biochemical method that detects<br />

the presence of antigens or antibodies.<br />

Antibody encounters: what mice can tell us about plants<br />

“Each antibody is capable of recognising<br />

only one site on a particular protein. This<br />

gives researchers a very powerful tool<br />

for studying their protein of interest”<br />

protein and determine the identity<br />

of their binding partners.<br />

As far as the ACPFG goes,<br />

the most common types of proteins<br />

studied are those involved<br />

in abiotic stress responses in<br />

cereals. Combined with simple<br />

affinity chromatography techniques,<br />

the antibodies can<br />

help purify these stress-related<br />

proteins from the plant.<br />

So how are monoclonal antibodies<br />

made The process, which<br />

typically takes four to six months<br />

per project, relies on the immune<br />

system of a laboratory mouse.<br />

Researchers are able to produce<br />

the protein of interest artificially,<br />

outside of a plant. They can introduce<br />

the artificial protein into the<br />

mouse, stimulating an immune<br />

response. This protein ‘antigen’<br />

travels through the circulation<br />

system and is channelled through<br />

the spleen where the lymphocyte<br />

cells recognise the foreign protein<br />

and produce antibodies against it.<br />

Researchers can then use these<br />

antibodies to study how this same<br />

protein behaves in its native state<br />

– that is, in the plant.<br />

In the stages that follow, the<br />

technology becomes highly spe-<br />

home for the delicate cell cultures.<br />

Cryogenic storage vessels allow<br />

for the safekeeping of around 800<br />

individual cell lines at any given<br />

time. An animal housing facility<br />

is located on the Waite campus,<br />

allowing us to easily exchange<br />

animal materials.<br />

The monoclonal antibody<br />

unit is a fundamental part of<br />

most ACPFG research programs,<br />

even though mouse spleens and<br />

cancer cells might not come to<br />

mind when you think of drought<br />

or salinity problems in crops!<br />

Nadim Shadiac is the program<br />

leader for the ACPFG’s<br />

monoclonal antibody unit. He<br />

is responsible for coordinating<br />

all antibody projects for the<br />

centre and external organisations.<br />

Nadim’s background is<br />

in protein chemistry, having<br />

completed a Biotechnology<br />

degree with the University of<br />

Adelaide, followed by Honours<br />

in Biochemistry in 2002. In his<br />

Honours degree Nadim worked<br />

on viral proteins involved in<br />

suppressing the human immune<br />

response. <strong>2006</strong> is his fourth year<br />

at the Waite Campus.<br />

A hybridoma is a cell made from the fusion of<br />

a spleen cell and myeloma cell, which can<br />

be cloned and maintained indefinitely in cell<br />

culture to produce monoclonal antibodies.<br />

Lymphocytes are white blood cells<br />

responsible for producing antibodies<br />

during an immune response.<br />

Monoclonal antibodies are artificially<br />

produced antibodies, designed to<br />

target a specific antigen.<br />

Western blotting is a technique for identifying<br />

a particular protein using antibodies,<br />

after proteins have been separated using<br />

electrophoresis and transferred onto a sheet.<br />

8<br />

Antibody-producing hybridoma cells under the microscope<br />

9


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Salt researchers (from left) Dr Alex Johnson, Dr Olivier Cotsaftis, Professor Mark Tester and Darren Plett<br />

The ACPFG turns to dwarves to improve nitrogen use<br />

By Dr Trevor Garnett<br />

The ACPFG has a new project aimed at<br />

improving the way plants use nitrogen, which<br />

uses information from dwarf corn plants.<br />

Plants need plenty of nitrogen<br />

to grow properly, as the nutrient<br />

plays a role in almost all plant<br />

activities. To satisfy this need,<br />

farmers worldwide apply about 90<br />

million tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser<br />

to croplands each year. The reason<br />

farmers have to add this much<br />

nitrogen is that many agricultural<br />

crops are very inefficient at using<br />

it. For example, cereals use only<br />

30 per cent of the nitrogen that is<br />

applied as fertiliser.<br />

Apart from being economically<br />

wasteful, this practice is<br />

also costly to the environment.<br />

Nitrogen pollution of waterways<br />

is a worsening problem worldwide.<br />

Nitrogen fertiliser use adds<br />

to greenhouse gases through the<br />

emission of nitrous oxide, a gas<br />

with more than 300 times the<br />

global warming power of carbon<br />

dioxide 1 , which by conservative<br />

estimates accounts for more than<br />

seven per cent of the human-influenced<br />

greenhouse effect 2 .<br />

Why are crops so bad at using<br />

nitrogen It may be that, by breeding<br />

for crops that have high yields<br />

when there is plenty of nitrogen<br />

available, we have created<br />

inefficient plants.<br />

ACPFG researchers, in collaboration<br />

with Pioneer Hi-Bred in<br />

the US, are aiming to improve the<br />

nitrogen use efficiency of cereals.<br />

We hope to do this by increasing<br />

the efficiency of mechanisms<br />

that plants use to accumulate and<br />

utilise nitrogen.<br />

Focusing on corn, the project<br />

will characterise nitrogen-related<br />

processes at the physiological,<br />

biochemical and molecular levels<br />

across plants’ lifecycles. The<br />

goal is to work out what makes<br />

a more nitrogen-efficient plant,<br />

Dr Trevor Garnett caressing the silks of a corn plant<br />

and ultimately make plants with<br />

these attributes.<br />

Important nitrogen processes<br />

happen throughout a plant’s<br />

lifetime, and given that corn<br />

grows to about two metres tall,<br />

this makes it a difficult plant to<br />

work with. Fortunately, the<br />

project uses a dwarf variety that<br />

grows to less than half a metre,<br />

but otherwise behaves like<br />

non-dwarf plants.<br />

“...farmers worldwide<br />

apply about 90<br />

million tonnes of<br />

nitrogen fertiliser to<br />

croplands each year”<br />

The research uses a multifaceted<br />

approach including classical<br />

plant physiology and biochemistry<br />

teamed with transcriptomics to<br />

define the rate-limiting steps in<br />

nitrogen use efficiency, and cellspecific<br />

gene activation to modify<br />

nitrogen use efficiency.<br />

The project, lead by Dr<br />

Brent Kaiser from the University<br />

of Adelaide and the ACPFG’s<br />

Professor Mark Tester will<br />

benefit from access to the<br />

extensive germplasm and bioinformatics<br />

resources of Pioneer<br />

Hi-Bred’s corn breeding programs.<br />

This association will also be<br />

important in delivering improved<br />

plants to farmers.<br />

References<br />

1. http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/<br />

2. http://www.fertilizer.org/ifa/<br />

Dr Trevor Garnett has recently joined<br />

the ACPFG to manage the nitrogen<br />

use efficiency project. He is<br />

a plant physiologist specialising<br />

in plant nutrition.<br />

Dr Garnett was an undergraduate<br />

at the University of Adelaide<br />

before doing a PhD in Tasmania<br />

on the nitrogen nutrition of forest<br />

Eucalypts.<br />

Before joining the ACPFG, he<br />

worked for the South Australian<br />

Research and Development<br />

Institute, where he managed a<br />

project funded by the Australian<br />

Centre for International<br />

Agricultural Research. The project<br />

collaborated with Chinese and<br />

Laotian scientists with the goal of<br />

finding lucerne that could grow<br />

in stressful environments.<br />

His research at the ACPFG<br />

will focus on characterising the<br />

processes that limit nitrogen use<br />

efficiency in plants and working<br />

out how they can be improved.<br />

Left, a dwarf corn, and right, a normal corn,<br />

planted at the same time.<br />

New salt tolerance project<br />

links Australia and France<br />

Researchers at the ACPFG and CIRAD (French<br />

Centre de Coopération Internationale<br />

en Recherche Agronomique pour le<br />

Développement) are working together,<br />

thanks to a new grant.<br />

The French-Australian Science<br />

and Technology Programme has<br />

provided funds for ACPFG researchers<br />

Dr Alex Johnson, Dr Olivier<br />

Cotsaftis, Professor Mark Tester<br />

and a student to travel and<br />

work at the French centre.<br />

Dr Emmanuel Guiderdoni,<br />

ano-ther collaborator and a<br />

French student will come from<br />

CIRAD to the ACPFG.<br />

The joint research project uses<br />

a cell type-specific transgene<br />

expression system in rice to investigate<br />

and improve salinity tolerance<br />

mechanisms in cereals. The workload<br />

is shared between the centres,<br />

with molecular cloning and plant<br />

evaluation happening at ACPFG,<br />

and plant transformation and seed<br />

bulking at CIRAD.<br />

Professor Guiderdoni will<br />

come to Adelaide in August, and<br />

the ACPFG researchers will go to<br />

France later this year.<br />

“This project is just the first<br />

of what we hope will be several<br />

collaborations between CIRAD<br />

and ACPFG,” Dr Johnson said.<br />

“...to investigate and<br />

improve salinity tolerance<br />

mechanisms in cereals”<br />

10<br />

11


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

The World Lifesaving Championships, with the Lorne Genome Conference building in the background<br />

What would attract an ACPFG<br />

researcher to Lorne, Victoria in<br />

the middle of February <strong>2006</strong><br />

View from the Great Ocean Road<br />

By Margaret Pallotta<br />

Would it be the spectacle of hundreds of<br />

very fit beach-lovers competing in Rescue<br />

<strong>2006</strong>, the World Lifesaving Championships<br />

Well, that was certainly an attraction, but<br />

there were as many thrills at the 27th Lorne<br />

Genome Conference which I attended!<br />

This friendly conference is<br />

held annually at Lorne over<br />

a few days, and provides a<br />

good opportunity to compare<br />

current genomics research<br />

activities across many fields.<br />

Most delegates are from the<br />

human and animal research worlds<br />

and it’s interesting to talk to them<br />

about the things we can do in plant<br />

research. They are sometimes<br />

more than a little envious of the<br />

amount of genetic manipulation<br />

we are ethically able to do with<br />

plants in our attempts to unravel<br />

gene function. The resources and<br />

methodologies available to plant<br />

researchers mean that in some<br />

areas of genomics research we are<br />

at the forefront of discovery.<br />

The benefit of interaction<br />

between researchers from different<br />

areas was highlighted for me in<br />

an inspiring talk given by Dr<br />

Geoffrey McFadden, who has a<br />

botany background and whose<br />

group was the first to recognize the<br />

similarity between chloroplasts of<br />

plants and a non-photosynthetic<br />

plastid of malaria parasites. The<br />

parasite plastid arose by endosymbiosis<br />

of a photosynthetic<br />

bacterium, and this realization<br />

has lead to numerous excellent<br />

new drug targets that show huge<br />

potential in the fight against this<br />

problematic disease.<br />

Dr Peter Fraser, head of the<br />

Laboratory of Chromatin and<br />

Gene Expression at the Babraham<br />

Institute in Cambridge, showcased<br />

some spectacular cytological<br />

work by his lab on ‘transcription<br />

factories’ located in nuclear subcompartments.<br />

The results from<br />

their studies of 30 different genes<br />

on 8 chromosomes suggest that<br />

“The link between<br />

medical research and<br />

plant research is strong”<br />

gene recruitment to transcription<br />

factories is non-random, with<br />

specific subsets of co-expressed<br />

genes preferentially co-associating<br />

in factories.<br />

The link between medical<br />

research and plant research<br />

is strong. Nutritious foods are<br />

an important part of preventative<br />

health care, and it’s worth<br />

remembering that all the lives<br />

saved or lengthened through<br />

medical research inevitably<br />

leads to greater requirements<br />

for food… plant research will<br />

always be important!<br />

Margaret Pallotta works in the Core<br />

Technologies section of the<br />

ACPFG, offering genetic analysis<br />

support for researchers. In addition<br />

she is currently working on<br />

the analysis of an extensive barley<br />

transposon-tagged population.<br />

She has previously worked for<br />

the University of Adelaide and<br />

CSIRO Plant Industry.<br />

12<br />

13


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

ACPFG student in the spotlight<br />

Node’s new home at La Trobe<br />

The Victorian Department of Primary<br />

Industries (DPI) node of the ACPFG at La<br />

Trobe University recently moved to the new<br />

Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre (VABC) at<br />

the university’s Research and Development<br />

Park, in Bundoora.<br />

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks<br />

launched the $20 million dollar<br />

centre in February, and said the<br />

environment that promotes<br />

effective interactions, networks<br />

and the incubation of spin off<br />

companies,” he said.<br />

As well as DPI staff associated<br />

with the ACPFG and the Victorian<br />

Centre for Plant Functional<br />

Genomics, the centre is home<br />

to the Victorian Microarray<br />

VABC would cement the state’s Technology Consortium,<br />

reputation as an international<br />

biotechnology leader.<br />

the Victorian Bioinformatics<br />

Consortium, Florigene Ltd,<br />

The ACPFG Principal Investigator<br />

Professor German<br />

Spangenberg is also the<br />

VABC chairman. He said the<br />

VABC will enhance the science<br />

“...an international<br />

biotechnology leader”<br />

Above: Education Officer Marie Thorpe running a Get into Genes workshop at the VABC opening<br />

Main: Visit to the microarray technology facility at the VABC. From left: Prof German Spangenberg, DPI<br />

Bundoora; State Member for Bundoora, Sheryl Garbutt; Minister for Agriculture,<br />

Bob Cameron; Minister for Innovation, John Brumby and Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks<br />

and technology base and<br />

innovation capability of Australia’s<br />

agricultural biotechnology<br />

sector.<br />

“The VABC co-locates and<br />

clusters academic and commercial<br />

research and development<br />

groups in the sector, fostering an<br />

GE Healthcare Biosciences and<br />

the head office of the Molecular<br />

Plant Breeding Cooperative<br />

Research Centre.<br />

It is also the base for the Get<br />

into Genes education program<br />

in Victoria.<br />

Stills from the SA Great television commercial<br />

By Fleur Dolman<br />

Earlier this year the ACPFG was approached<br />

by SA Great to represent science in its latest<br />

media campaign.<br />

The campaign, called ‘Now<br />

and in the future…SA Great’,<br />

looked at South Australian creativity<br />

and innovation in art, science<br />

and technology.<br />

The ACPFG was asked to<br />

choose a young, emerging scientist<br />

from their research team,<br />

and I was lucky enough to get<br />

the gig. Being involved in a<br />

television commercial and<br />

photographic shoot was a new<br />

experience for me and I thoroughly<br />

enjoyed it.<br />

It was fun having my hair<br />

and make-up professionally<br />

perfected. I had to laugh when<br />

the crew applauded me for my<br />

‘excellent afternoon’s work’ which<br />

consisted of sitting, standing and<br />

smiling whilst being fussed over.<br />

It was tough but I think I could<br />

get used to it!<br />

My ‘manager’ Belinda Barr<br />

supervised the vast amount of<br />

“...my headless body<br />

is dotted around<br />

Adelaide on billboards<br />

and buses!”<br />

camera footage shot as well as<br />

the four rolls of photographs.<br />

Unfortunately, SA Great decided to<br />

use a photograph in which my face<br />

is hidden by a massive light globe<br />

for the campaign. Now my headless<br />

body is dotted around Adelaide on<br />

billboards and buses!<br />

Luckily the commercial is great<br />

and the ACPFG is getting excellent<br />

media exposure. It’s fantastic that<br />

SA Great has given us the opportunity<br />

to be in the campaign. The<br />

print advertisement, featured<br />

above, gives a bit more information<br />

and if you catch the television<br />

advertisement, you can hear me<br />

and actually see my head for a<br />

few seconds!<br />

Fleur Dolman is completing her<br />

PhD at the ACPFG, studying<br />

plant cytosolic thioredoxins.<br />

She is also regularly involved<br />

in ACPFG education and communication<br />

events. Fleur has<br />

a Bachelor of Biotechnology<br />

from Flinders University with<br />

Honours, for which she studied<br />

kinase signalling cascade genes<br />

in grapevines.<br />

14<br />

15


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

Get into Genes trialled in Queensland<br />

By Belinda Barr<br />

After successfully delivering Get into<br />

Genes in South Australia for the past three<br />

years the ACPFG and Molecular Plant<br />

Breeding Cooperative Research Centre<br />

(MPBCRC) are looking to run Get into Genes<br />

on a national level.<br />

We have successfully expanded<br />

into Victoria, with the<br />

appointment of a joint ACPFG/<br />

MPBCRC Education Officer,<br />

Marie Thorpe, and we are now<br />

looking for further opportunities<br />

throughout Australia.<br />

So we headed up to sunny<br />

Queensland – of course the<br />

weather was a major drawcard,<br />

but we also were invited up there<br />

by potential delivery partners and<br />

the ACPFG Queensland node.<br />

As well as attending a successful<br />

number of meetings, MPBCRC’s<br />

Dr Amanda Able and I ran five<br />

Get into Genes sessions with the<br />

local schools. Kelvin Grove State<br />

College was the first point of call.<br />

Here’s what some of the students<br />

had to say…<br />

“In March, Kelvin Grove<br />

biology students participated<br />

in the Get into Genes<br />

program. This involved small<br />

experimental work stations<br />

designed to show us how<br />

DNA plays an important role<br />

in modern agriculture.<br />

It was particularly interesting<br />

to understand how DNA can<br />

be used to identify characteristics<br />

of an organism<br />

and how these can lead to<br />

improvements in crops”<br />

Jordan Reutas, Year 12 »<br />

“I was lucky enough to<br />

join Ms Gosney’s year<br />

12 biology class to<br />

do experiments<br />

on DNA. My<br />

favourite part was using<br />

the electrophoresis tank.<br />

We used a micropipette<br />

to fill the wells in the<br />

electrophoresis gel. It was<br />

a great challenge to get<br />

it accurate. It was a good<br />

experience and sparked my<br />

interest in biotechnology. “<br />

« Amy Mullaly, Year 9<br />

A big thanks to Bruce Stevens<br />

from Education Queensland,<br />

and Dr Stephanie Williams<br />

from the Australian Research<br />

Council Centre of Excellence for<br />

Integrated Legume Research, for<br />

teeing up the workshops with the<br />

Queensland schools.<br />

We are negotiating with organisations<br />

to collaborate and deliver<br />

Get into Genes in Queensland,<br />

and are confident it will be up<br />

and running by the end of <strong>2006</strong>.<br />

Watch this space!<br />

The ACPFG exhibit at a<br />

careers fair in Queensland<br />

Students lining up to enter the University<br />

of New South Wales careers fair<br />

“...aiming to attract<br />

more quality Honours<br />

and PhD students from<br />

around the country”<br />

Getting graduates<br />

By Cobi Smith<br />

Throughout autumn the ACPFG education and<br />

communication team travelled Australia on<br />

the graduate careers fairs circuit.<br />

Our new ‘transform your<br />

career’ exhibit was rolled out<br />

at universities in Queensland,<br />

New South Wales, the Australian<br />

Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria<br />

and South Australia, all in about<br />

a fortnight.<br />

This is the first year the ACPFG<br />

has attended graduate careers<br />

fairs outside of Adelaide, aiming<br />

to attract more quality Honours<br />

and PhD students from around the<br />

country. There were few scientific<br />

organisations represented at the<br />

fairs, so our presence was a welcome<br />

sight for science students<br />

looking for career guidance.<br />

Trying to cover so many events<br />

in a short space of time was a<br />

logistical challenge. We covered<br />

as many universities with strong<br />

biotechnology and science programs<br />

as we could, given our<br />

small team. Hopefully next year<br />

we’ll make it to universities that<br />

missed out this time.<br />

The ACT ‘Tertiary to Work’<br />

fair, which incorporates every<br />

university in the capital, was the<br />

first on the calendar in mid March.<br />

I lugged our banners and brochures<br />

out to the Australian Institute of<br />

Sport where the event was held,<br />

accompanied by PhD student<br />

Caitlyn Byrt, who is now based in<br />

Canberra. Students there showed<br />

a lot of interest, particularly in the<br />

summer scholarship program.<br />

The following week was the<br />

most hectic, in which I covered<br />

Queensland while Belinda headed<br />

to New South Wales, with ACPFG<br />

staff Fleur Dolman, Katrina Smoult<br />

and Darren Plett holding the fort at<br />

universities in South Australia.<br />

The response in Queensland<br />

was overwhelming: I ran out of<br />

publicity material on the first day<br />

and had to get boxes sent ahead<br />

to other universities.<br />

There was a lot of interest from<br />

bioinformatics students, so it was<br />

fortunate that PhD bioinformatics<br />

student Nikki Appelby was on hand<br />

at the University of Queensland to<br />

answer questions.<br />

Luckily Belinda had time<br />

to restock after New South<br />

Wales before spreading the love<br />

of science in Victoria the following<br />

week.<br />

Hopefully the student interest<br />

displayed at careers fairs will result<br />

in more applications for PhD<br />

scholarships in 2007. Regardless,<br />

we’ve increased awareness of<br />

ACPFG scholarship opportunities<br />

amongst eligible students,<br />

and reassured anxious science<br />

students that there are careers out<br />

there for them!<br />

16<br />

17


ACPFG VECTOR ISSUE 3 – AUTUMN <strong>2006</strong><br />

New Faces<br />

New Faces<br />

Dr Simon Conn<br />

Jeremy Pinyon<br />

I recently completed my PhD at the Flinders University<br />

in Adelaide. During my PhD I identified the major<br />

anthocyanin transport and storage pathways and<br />

characterised their influence on the accumulation of<br />

anthocyanins in grape suspension cells.<br />

I joined the ACPFG in February <strong>2006</strong> as a post-doc to<br />

work on the joint project with Pioneer Hi-Bred, looking at<br />

nitrogen use efficiency in maize.<br />

Last year I graduated from a Bachelor of Biotechnology at<br />

the University of Adelaide, where I learnt of the ACPFG<br />

through its affiliation with the university.<br />

I enjoyed my scholarship with the ACPFG over<br />

the summer break, under the expert supervision of<br />

Dr Andrew Jacobs. I was warmly welcomed by the<br />

helpful and friendly Fincher lab and have continued<br />

on, starting Honours here in January.<br />

I’m characterising rice promoters with a focus on salt<br />

tolerance. My project has been divided into two parts: firstly<br />

confirming the expression specificity of some proposed<br />

tissue-specific rice promoters, then identifying the expression<br />

patterns of promoters that will be isolated from HKT<br />

genes, which direct the sodium ion transporter in rice.<br />

Dr Delphine Fleury<br />

I am originally from Brittany in France, where I obtained my<br />

Master of Chemistry and Plant Biology, studying the genetic<br />

diversity of Agropyron. I also did a degree in Genetics<br />

and Plant Production at the French National Institute of<br />

Agronomical Research, where I worked on the salt resistance<br />

of Pseudomonas.<br />

I then joined the Plant Biotechnology Institute<br />

of Toulouse for my PhD. There I worked on sunflowers<br />

for two seed companies, constructing genetic maps and<br />

identifying quantitative trait loci for physiological traits and<br />

pathogen resistance.<br />

In 2002, I did postdoctoral research at Ghent University<br />

in Belgium, looking at the phenotype and gene expression<br />

profiles of Arabidopsis leaf developmental mutants.<br />

After 4 years of cold and rain in Belgium I was happy to<br />

move to Adelaide and come back to crop research in the<br />

ACPFG. Here I’m looking at the structure and behaviour<br />

of wheat and barley genomes.<br />

Katrina Smoult<br />

My association with ACPFG began after my second undergraduate<br />

year at the University of Adelaide. I did a summer<br />

scholarship with Dr Juan Juttner, we looked at abiotic<br />

stresses affecting barley. I enjoyed my time at the centre<br />

and returned the following summer, working with Dr Stuart<br />

Roy, on salt stress in Arabidopsis. Having graduated with<br />

a Bachelor of Biotechnology, I am now doing my honours<br />

year in Professor Mark Tester’s lab.<br />

As part of the salt focus research group, my project<br />

involves exploring the effects of constitutive and cell-type<br />

specific expression of sodium transporters and how this<br />

can affect sodium accumulation in rice.<br />

Teerachai Kuntothom<br />

I was born and raised in Khon Kaen, a province in northeastern<br />

Thailand. I have a Bachelor of Science in Biology<br />

and a Master of Science in Molecular Biology. I am currently<br />

completing my PhD in Biochemistry under the supervision<br />

of Associate Professor James Ketudat Cairns at Suranaree<br />

University in Thailand.<br />

At the ACPFG I am learning techniques of protein<br />

chemistry, molecular modeling and enzyme kinetics in<br />

Professor Fincher’s laboratory, under the supervision of<br />

Associate Professor Maria Hrmova.<br />

I am studying relationships between the structure and<br />

function of rice and barley β-D-glucosidases, with the ultimate<br />

aim of generating altered enzymes with modified substrate<br />

specificities via structure-based genetic engineering.<br />

Joanna Sundstrom<br />

My undergraduate years were spent at the North Terrace<br />

campus of the University of Adelaide where I completed<br />

a Bachelor of Biotechnology with Honours.<br />

In my Honours project I investigated the genetic control<br />

of cotton fibre development, characterising two putative<br />

fibre-specific transcription factors.<br />

I have just started my PhD with Professor Mark Tester<br />

in the salt focus group. I am investigating how changes to<br />

gene expression in specific root cell types of Arabidopsis<br />

affect the accumulation of various ions in the shoot.<br />

Initially this will involve identifying the genes that<br />

Gehan Safwat has randomly activated in particular root cell<br />

types, which have generated plants with altered ion<br />

levels in the shoots.<br />

Marie Thorpe<br />

Dr Gang Ma<br />

I graduated from the University of Adelaide with a PhD in<br />

molecular biology, during which I published several papers.<br />

I’ve been involved in plant breeding research, particularly<br />

wheat, in both China and Australia.<br />

While working as a visiting scientist at the Waite Campus I<br />

was involved in a Grains Research and Development Council<br />

project, studying aluminium toxicity under high pH, which is<br />

a major abiotic factor for crops in southern Australia.<br />

I was also involved in two Australian Research Council<br />

projects, studying insect immunity and biodiversity using<br />

molecular biology approaches.<br />

I’m currently studying the response of barley cell wallrelated<br />

genes to abiotic stress factors, using functional<br />

genomic strategies.<br />

As a child, I used my blackboard and a packet of coloured<br />

chalk to ‘teach’ anyone who cared to listen. I always said I<br />

wanted to be a teacher when I grew up — until the year in<br />

high school when I discovered the work of Gregor Mendel.<br />

In typically adolescent fashion, I abandoned my first love<br />

for a new one: genetics.<br />

During my undergraduate years at the University of<br />

Melbourne, I was taught by several exceptional scientists<br />

who reinforced my fascination with genetics. Human genetics<br />

has been my main professional interest for over 15 years.<br />

I have also taught for short periods, at primary, secondary,<br />

tertiary and adult levels. But it was only after I<br />

completed my Master of Education in 2002 that education<br />

returned to the foreground.<br />

Since then I have developed two programs for primary<br />

school students and written genetics units for the National<br />

Science Literacy Testing scheme.<br />

I am delighted to now be part of the Get into Genes<br />

team and to have the opportunity to bring this excellent<br />

educational program to Victorian students.<br />

Anzu Okada<br />

Hui Zhou<br />

I completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours and a Master<br />

of Science in agricultural science at Tohoku University in<br />

Japan, where I researched transgenic rice seeds that produce<br />

recombinants for a cedar pollen allergen, as a future remedy<br />

for pollen allergies.<br />

After my degree I married and moved to Melbourne<br />

with my husband, where I worked as a research assistant<br />

in the plant molecular biology lab of the University<br />

of Melbourne. I focused on wheat regeneration and<br />

transformation using mature wheat embryos.<br />

I moved to Adelaide one year ago and<br />

enjoyed a relaxing life. I recently travelled to my long time<br />

dream destinations, China’s ‘Silk Road’ and Northern Pakistan.<br />

However I found myself missing laboratory work.<br />

Now I’m very happy to join this fantastic centre.<br />

I’m working with Dr Thorsten Schnurbusch on a<br />

map based cloning project to research the Boron<br />

tolerance gene, Bo1, of wheat.<br />

I am a new Technical Assistant working with Bu-Jun on the<br />

construction of bacterial artificial chromosome libraries.<br />

I received my undergraduate degree from Heilongjiang<br />

University, China in 2001, and Master degree from<br />

Qigihar University, China, in 2004. I then worked as a<br />

lecturer at Heilongjiang University for a year.<br />

I previously focused on molecular biology, especially<br />

on the cloning and expression of a gene (VP2) from<br />

an infectious bursal disease virus.<br />

I came to Australia in 2005 as a dependent of my<br />

husband, who is completing his PhD at the CSIRO, on<br />

the Waite campus.<br />

I like Australia, especially Adelaide. I feel very<br />

lucky that I have the chance to work at the ACPFG,<br />

which I believe is one of the best places to work<br />

in agricultural research in the world. I assure you<br />

that I will certainly make some contributions to<br />

the ACPFG!<br />

18<br />

19


ACPFG vector<br />

Keep an eye on the<br />

ACPFG website for the<br />

launch of the careers<br />

guide, featuring<br />

interviews with the<br />

people pictured here.<br />

Can you spot the<br />

ACPFG impostor<br />

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR PLANT FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS<br />

The International Triticeae Mapping Initiative and the Australian<br />

Centre for Plant Functional Genomics invite you to attend the<br />

<strong>2006</strong> ITMI workshop & ACPFG Genomics Symposium<br />

McCracken Country Club in Victor Harbour, South Australia<br />

27th–31st August <strong>2006</strong><br />

For registration details go to www.<strong>acpfg</strong>.com.au<br />

There’s more than just science at ACPFG symposiums<br />

<strong>2006</strong> Transformation Workshop<br />

17–21 July <strong>2006</strong>, at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus<br />

This workshop gives postgraduate students and researchers a<br />

practical and theoretical insight to the technologies used in<br />

transformation, tissue culture and genetic engineering.<br />

For registration details go to www.<strong>acpfg</strong>.com.au<br />

Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics<br />

PMB 1, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064<br />

To subscribe to Vector, the ACPFG magazine, send an email to reception@<strong>acpfg</strong>.com.au<br />

with your address and ‘subscribe to Vector’ in the subject, or post to the address above.<br />

The ACPFG vector is a quarterly publication.<br />

Contributions, comments and queries are<br />

welcome. If you have any information on<br />

ACPFG news, events, research or international<br />

travel that should be included in the next issue,<br />

please contact:<br />

Cobi Smith, Communications Officer<br />

Email: cobi.smith@<strong>acpfg</strong>.com.au<br />

Ph: (08) 8303 7230<br />

Fax: (08) 8303 7102<br />

For more ACPFG news and information, go to:<br />

www.<strong>acpfg</strong>.com.au<br />

The ACPFG gives no warranty and makes<br />

no representation that the information in<br />

this document is suitable for any purpose<br />

or is free from error. The ACPFG accepts no<br />

responsibility for any person acting or relying<br />

on the information contained in this document,<br />

and disclaim all liability for any loss, cost or<br />

expense incurred by reason of any person using<br />

or relying on the information contained in this<br />

document or by reason of any error, omission,<br />

defect, or mis-statement contained therein.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!