Our Graduate Researchers

The Effect of Sub-Optimal Temperature on the Cellular Metabolism of Wheat and Arabidopsis thaliana Optimal temperature is the key to the viability of cereal crops. When the ambient temperature significantly deviates from the optimal one, physiological and molecular changes occur within crops, which adversely impact their growth and development. Excessive frosts have negatively impacted Australian wheat production in recent years, causing …

Analysis of ribosome heterogeneity and specialization during Arabidopsis temperature acclimation Research Project Summary: My PhD project supports the hypothesis of what has been called the ribosomal code. An analogous figure to the histone code in which structural features of chromatin influence transcription. Specifically my project entails the Analysis of ribosome heterogeneity and specialization during Arabidopsis temperature acclimation. I am focusing in plants …

Research Project: Building a Wall – Developing small molecule biosensors to visualize cell wall biosynthesis Project Supervisors: The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology: Dr Arun Sampathkumar / The University of Melbourne: Dr Berit Ebert Email:  Mariette@mpimp-golm.mpg.de    

Metabolic transport into plant mitochondria: promiscuous or specific? Research Project Summary: Most members of the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) are transport proteins found in the inner mitochondrial membrane that link pathways and processes associated with mitochondrial functions such as cellular respiration. In Arabidopsis, 58 MCF proteins have been identified. However, while a number have been extensively investigated at the biochemical level, these …

Improving plant root performance by investigating the relationship between nutrient availability and cell wall biosynthesi Research Summary: Nitrogen (N) is a macronutrient essential for plant growth. N sensing, absorption, and transport occur at the root-soil interface. Over 100 megatons of costly synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are added to crops yearly to ensure yields; however, modern crops are highly inefficient in N acquisition. To …

Research Project: Circadian Regulated Dynamics of Translation in Plants Supervisors: The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology: Dr Reimo Zoschke, The University of Melbourne: Dr Michael Haydon Email contact:  ting@mpimp-golm.mpg.de / m.ting6@student.unimelb.edu.au Student Bio: Michael Ting was raised in Calgary Alberta Canada. He became interested in plant research during his bachelors degree where he studied the synthesis of medicinal compounds from the opium poppy. He then …

Research Project: Interplay of microtubules and cellulose synthesis at the cell plate Project Supervisors: The University of Potsdam: Professor Dr Markus Grebe / The University of Melbourne: Professor Staffan Persson, Dr Heather McFarlane Email:  hsiangc@student.unimelb.edu.au Publication: Chen HW, Persson S, Grebe M, McFarlane H (2018) Cellulose synthesis during cell plate formation. Physiologia Plantarum 164:17-26. doi: 10.1111/ppl.12703.  

From nucleotide sugars to polysaccharides: How do plants control the delivery of substrates for cell wall biosynthesis and protein glycosylation? Research summary: The aim of Pawel’s Ph.D. project is the elucidation of the process of substrate delivery for cell wall biosynthesis in plant cells. In his research, he combines various protein-protein interaction studies, cutting edge microscopy, mass spectrometry and preparations of native …

Sugars, sinks and cell wall synthesis – how plants use sugar signals to invest their carbon capital for growth Research Project Summary: I have been working between Staffan Persson (UoM) and Prof Mark Stitt (MPI-MP) on a project where we try to elucidate how carbon allocation is controlled during the diel cycle in Arabidopsis thaliana. In particular, I have found that the …

Understanding how mechanical forces influence morphogenesis: the role of the putative mechanosensor DEK1 Research summary: Although sessile, plants still need to sense mechanical forces during their growth and development. Mechanical forces, generated by turgor pressure inside growing plant cells are actively shaping plant tissues and determine organ initiation and growth patterns. Growing cells in a plant tissue are “pushing” each other …

Research Project: The LEUNIG regulatory complex: How does it control shoot apical meristem formation during embryogenesis as well as its post-embryonic activity? My research focuses on the genetic processes controlling shoot growth during embryogenesis and then throughout the life of the plant. Shoot development during embryogenesis is characterized by the formation of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), a proliferative structure that …

A quantitative and global view of transport and tracking in plant cells using computational approaches Research summary: I work on automated, computational frameworks to analysis microscopy images by quantifying certain processes in plants. Here, I focus especially on cytoskeletal components, such as the actin filaments. In my first project, we developed an automated framework which extracts and analyzes actin filaments from images …