Smart Plants and Solutions for Enhancing Crop Resilience and Yield

该联谊会旨在制定针对作物复原力和粮食安全的变革性解决方案。叶绿体是光合作用的场所，它调控着一系列控制光合作用、生长和抗旱能力的细胞过程。预计将首次发现叶绿体所使用的一套通信网络的蓝图。我将使用合成生物学来重新布线网络，以便通过精确地打开和关闭弹性来产生在好季节和坏季节都更高产、更有弹性的“智能植物”。这种对作物系统的重新想象，包括社会影响，将有助于绘制澳大利亚农业的未来。

The Fellowship aims to produce transformative solutions targeting crop resilience and food security. The chloroplast, the site of photosynthesis, regulates a suite of cellular processes that control photosynthesis, growth and drought resilience. It is expected that a first ever blueprint of the suite of communication networks used by the chloroplast will be discovered. I will use synthetic biology to rewire the network in order to generate 'smart plants' that are higher-yielding and more resilient in both good and bad seasons by precisely switching on and off resilience. Such re-imaginings of crop systems, inclusive of societal implications, will help chart the future of Australian agriculture.