New plant biotech centre will develop better crops
[ UniNews Vol. 12, No. 18
6 - 20 October 2003 ] By Jason Major
A $20 million plant biotechnology centre to explore ways of improving agricultural sustainability and develop plants resistant to drought, frost and salinity was opened recently at the University of Melbourne.
The new Victorian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (VCPFG) was officially launched by Victorian Minister for Innovation John Brumby.
The VCPFG is a joint venture between the Universitys Plant Cell Biology Research Centre (School of Botany) and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) through La Trobe Universitys Plant Biotechnology Centre.
The new Centre is also a core participant in the recently announced Australia Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.
Leading the University of Melbourne node are Professor Tony Bacic, Dr Ed Newbigin and Dr Barbara Howlett (Botany). Professor German Spangenberg heads the La Trobe/DPI node.
Establishment of the VCPFG has been facilitated by a $4 million grant from the Victorian Governments Science, Technology and Innovation program.
Introducing Minister Brumby, the Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Gilbert, noted the immense support that this State Government has given to science and technology and to innovation in Victoria.
He expressed the hope that the investment made by all parties involved in the Centre would result in practical outcomes that contribute to the economic development, environmental remediation and economic future of Australia.
Minister Brumby said the new Centre would position the State as a world leader in developing new technologies for plant production underpinning Australias agri-food sector.
He said one reason the work carried out in this striking building (the new Botany building) is so important is that botanical research is a vital component of Victorias expanding biotech sector one of the many strong contributors to the innovation base in Victoria.
Paying tribute to the work being carried out in Botany and more generally in the University, the Minister identified the University as a leader, not just in Victoria but in Australia and internationally.
The leadership that you provide and, of course, the scholarship and the world class research, go to make up an institution which is critical to Victorias future, he said.
Co-chair of the VCPFG and Director of the Plant Cell Biology Research Centre, Professor Tony Bacic, described the new Centre as unique in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Centre will provide state-of-the-art functional genomics platforms to help deliver an increase in knowledge and infrastructure capital in Australia vital to the agri-food sector. It will research the function of the more than 25,000 genes of flowering plants and measure the impact that changes to a gene have on the plant and the way it responds to changes in the environment, or what is known as plant functional genomics, he said.
The Centre will be able to do this using the latest platform technologies to improve agricultural sustainability.
Professor Bacic said agricultural practice has the potential to become more sustainable if herbicide and fertiliser applications can be reduced, water-use efficiency is increased and tolerance to salinity and mineral-use efficiency is enhanced in agricultural and horticultural crops.
VCPFG researchers are already screening native and exotic grasses with genes that provide tolerance to a range of environmental stresses. The plants include:
A salt-tolerant grass, Agrostis robusta that was previously thought to be extinct;
Weeping grasses, such as Microlaena stipoides, that are tolerant to aluminium levels in soil;
Antarctic hair grass, Deschampsia antarctica, which can handle extreme cold; and
Hypoallergenic ryegrasses that can reduce hay fever.
Professor Bacic said global trends suggest the market for plant functional genomics will grow from its 1999 level of $US30 billion to $US600 billion by 2010.
The VCPFG is well positioned to partner nationally and internationally to drive innovation in this research area, ultimately leading to commercial outcomes, he said.
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