Plant biology
Life is dependent on plants: as the only organisms able to make their own food, these primary producers are vital to the world's ecosystems. From food, medicines, clothing and the air we breathe, we could not exist without them. Indeed, all of the research that occurs within the School of BioSciences is built upon the foundation of plant functions. Research groups in Plant Biology study a broad range of topics including:
- Plant diversity, classification, biogeography and conservation
- Plant growth and development
- Plant cell wall biosynthesis and cell-cell communication
- Plant nutrition and genetic engineering of crops to improve human nutrition (biofortification)
- Plant breeding systems and self incompatibility
- Plant defence against herbivory; plant secondary metabolites including cyanogenic compounds and the oils of eucalypts
- Plant interactions with fungal pathogens
- Evolution of plant, algal and protozoan cells, e.g., evolution of endosymbionts, the malaria parasite with its remnant chloroplast, and bio-mineralisation and bioadhesion of algal cell walls.
Students working in the plant biology field are eligible for support in the form of the generous scholarships and awards from the Botany Foundation.
Supervisors
Andrew Drinnan
Plant development, morphology, anatomy, architecture and evolution
Alex Johnson
Plant and food biotechnology
Allison Van de Meene
Plant cell biology using high-end microscopy techniques
Berit Ebert
Plant cell wall biosynthesis
Edwin Lampugnani
Plant evolution and development
Ed Newbigin
Pollen biology
Joanne Birch
Plant Evolution
John Golz
Developmental regulation and translational research
Joshua Heazlewood
Plant glycomics
Mike Bayly
Plant Evolution
Mike Haydon
Plant cell signalling
Margie Mayfield
Plant and insect community ecology
Marc Somssich
The Role of the Cell Wall in Plant Immunity
Michelle Watt
Plant root system discovery and application to human and environmental challenges in Earth and in Space
Pranali Deore
Microalgae and Advanced imagaing techniques
Robert Walker
Plant, soil and microbe interactions
Suzie Reichman
Pollution impact and management
Vicky Waymouth
Soil microbes and rhizosphere interactions