Project description
Plants roots interact with the soil and the microbes living within to grow and complete their life cycles. The microbes closely associate with the rhizosphere of the roots and colonise the roots living within the endosphere. Interactions can be beneficial or pathogenic. The beneficial plant-soil-microbe interactions drive the bioavailability of key nutrients, water and may influence soil structure and health. Legumes associate with rhizobia (bacteria) that live in the nodules (symbiosis) within the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric N. the rhizobia in turn receive carbon and sugars from the plants. Â Chickpeas are a legume that associate with rhizobia. Australia is the second largest producer of chickpeas in the world and most of the crop is exported to Asian countries including India. Despite this, not a lot is known about chickpea physiology; effect of abiotic stress on nodulation and factors that influence the symbiosis. In this project, students will investigate the effect of water stress on nodulation and N fixation in a diverse panel of haplotypes imported from India. The students will study the effect of a combination of microbes (bacteria + fungi) on nodulation, N fixation, growth and yield. Students will develop skills in whole plant physiology, microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics.
Assumed knowledge
Plant Biology, ecology, microbiology
Supervisors research focus
Food security and human health
Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.