Functional Genomics in Cereals

The Cereal Biotechnology research group is lead by Professor Peter Langridge with most of the research now being conducted for the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics. The laboratory still has strong ties with the University of Adelaide through postgraduate teaching. Opportunities exist to undertake research with members of the laboratory as students of the University of Adelaide.

The research group also collaborates with the following research organisations:

• MPB CRC
• GRDC National Wheat and Barley Molecular Marker Programmes

Major Research Themes

• Functional genomics of cereal grain development.
• Structure and behaviour of wheat and barley genomes.
• Self-Incompatibility in Phalaris coerulescens

The Langridge lab is composed of an interdisciplinary team that conducts world-class research in the broad field of cereal genomics.

Research Programme Highlights

• Functional genomics of cereal grain development

  The adoption of new varieties and changes in agronomic practices have, in the last few decades, realised significant enhancements of cereal grain quality and yield. But there remains considerable scope for further improvement, dependent on a detailed understanding of the genetic control of grain development. Genomics and the related technologies of proteomics and metabolomics provide the tools for identifying targets for manipulation, through the elucidation of the gene networks and molecular events that control grain development.

  Project aims:

  • Identify candidate genes that regulate wheat and barley endosperm and embryo development.
• Assign functions to candidate genes using a reverse genetics approach.
• Manipulate grain quality or yield through the targeted up- or down-regulation of key genes.

Contact: Professor Peter Langridge
Funding: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics

• Structure and behaviour of wheat and barley genomes

  The key aim of the project is to investigate the relationship between genome structure, physical location of genes and gene expression in the large and polyploid genome of wheat and its near relative, barley. The information that will be generated will allow a view of the behaviour of the genomes and lead to the development of new breeding strategies that make more efficient use of variation within the cultivated, land race and wild gene pool than is currently possible.

  Project aims:

  • Identify the recombination events along the terminal 20 cM of group 3 chromosomes and link the genetic and physical maps of the region.
  • Generate data that describes the selective pressures that operate within each genome through direct measures of gene changes and through estimates of linkage disequilibrium.
  • Investigate the epistatic interactions between genes and investigate the relationship between polyploidy and heterosis.

  Contact: Professor Peter Langridge
  Funding: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics

• Self-Incompatibility in Phalaris coerulescens

  Self-incompatibility is a mechanism that prevents self-pollination and thus promotes outbreeding. In many grasses, self-incompatibility is controlled by two unlinked genes, called S and Z. We have been using the species Phalaris coerulescens, a member of the Avenae tribe, to study self-incompatibility and to clone the genes involved. As an outbreeding species Phalaris is highly heterozygous, making experimental approaches that target allelic differences, such as differential screening or differential display, very difficult due the enormous number of potential candidates.

  In order to isolate the genes we have therefore adopted a map-based cloning approach. Detailed linkage maps for the genomic regions encompassing S and Z have been generated and a Phalaris BAC library has been constructed. We are now moving towards generating BAC contigs that span the self-incompatibility loci, the identification of candidate genes and the investigation of their roles in a self-incompatible interaction.

  Contact: Dr Ute Baumann
  Funding: Australian Research Council