Latest Centre News
Dr Joshua Heazlewood
SUBA paper recognised by ISI as triggering a fast-moving research front
The SUBA database, established and maintained by the Centre tracks new data
on the subcellular location of proteins in the model plant Arabidopsis. This
is rapidly becoming the central reference point for researchers on the issue
of where a protein resides in plant cells. Just this month Thomson ISI
recognised the high citation rate of the original SUBA paper by selecting it
in ISI's Fast Moving Fronts
for November. An interview with the first
author, former PEB researcher Dr Joshua Heazlewood,
is now on the ISI website, or you could download the
PDF.
Centre researchers part of US consortium that has mapped the human
epigenome — the genome's new clothes
A major breakthrough study, published today in Nature, has provided a complete roadmap of the human epigenome and has major implications in the treatment of human diseases and for the development of stem-cell based regenerative medicine. An epigenome may be thought of as the clothes that dress a genome, controlling the way genes are packaged and expressed without actually altering the underlying DNA code. Epigenomes are flexible and can be changed by environmental factors such as diet, stress and chemical exposure, leading to changes in gene expression. These changes can be temporary or they can be more permanent, with some studies suggesting they can be passed down from generation to generation.
This research was conducted by an international consortium of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and University of California San Diego; Morgridge Institute for Research, the Genome Centre for Wisconsin and The University of Wisconsin-Madison; and The University of Western Australia. It is part of, and funded by, the NIH Roadmap Reference Epigenome Consortium. The consortium including three researchers linked to the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and WA Government-funded State Centre of Excellence in Computational Systems Biology.
Chief Investigator Dr Harvey Millar and PhD candidate Julian Tonti-Filippini with Julian's Genome browser in the background. [click to expand image]
This is the first study to fully sequence the human epigenome at single-base resolution, and required re-sequencing the human genome more than thirty times to map the location of tens of millions of tiny biological markers known as cytosine methylation sites.
The paper also reveals a remarkable difference between normal human cells and stem cells in the type and pattern of methylation sites. The stem cells contain many methylations at unusual sites in the genome that must be actively propagated from one cell division to another. This finding could provide the key to understanding how stem cells can make many different cell types, while other human cells have defined roles that cannot be changed.
The lead researcher in this groundbreaking study was Dr. Ryan Lister, a former Centre PhD student from Professor Jim Whelan's laboratory, who has been based at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California for several years.
UWA PhD student Mr Julian Tonti-Filippini, supervised by UWA Professor Harvey Millar, collaborated with Dr Lister to develop software tools for data handling, analysis and visualisation. This is the second collaboration between the three scientists, following on from a successful study that mapped the complete epigenome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, published last year in the journal Cell.
Extracting the Fun from National Science Week 2009
[Photo: Plant Powerstation, an interactive booth allowing participants to get involved by extracting DNA from strawberries]
Plant Energy Biology's education program was in full swing over three days during National Science Week 2009. Canberran primary, secondary school students and parents alike were thrilled by the opportunity to become scientist for a day during the National Science Week event held at the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra.
The weekend event was aimed at promoting science to the youth of Canberra but also provided a great opportunity to engage in conversation with the general public eager to learn about plant biology.
Plant Energy Biology was one of thirteen key research bodies attending the event with representatives from CSIRO, ANU, Geoscience Australia, CIT Forensics, NASA/Canberra Deep Space Complex, and University of Canberra to name a few.
The ANU node ran the popular Plant Powerstation, an interactive booth allowing participants to get involved by extracting DNA from strawberries. The booth was manned by a full cross-section of PEB staff, students and postdocs who all volunteered their time to run a very well received demonstration. Over the course of the three days an estimated 700 people took part in the DNA extraction booth and PEB members were interviewed by ABC 666 radio and several ANU magazine reporters making for a very successful event.
[Photo: Kamel Hammani. ]
Kamel Hammani recognised for excellence in science communication.
The centre would like to congratulate co-tutelle PhD student Kamel Hammani. Kamel has been recently announced this years winner of the Edith Cowan University 'New Investigator Prize for Biological Research', at the Combined Biological Science Meeting at UWA.
Kamel's project with PEB focuses on reverse genetics of PPR editing factors in Arabidopsis chloroplasts and he conducts this work in Professor Ian Small's laboratory group. The award recognised Kamel for outstanding oral presentation of his project.
The New Investigator Award is designed to support the travel of postgraduate or early career research scientists, currently resident in Western Australia, to attend and deliver their results at a national or international conference. Winners of The New Investigator Prizes will each recieve $2000.
[Photo: Primary School winning student Caitlin Carr is congratulated by Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley. ]
ExSCItement 2009
Now in it’s third year ExSCItement recently returned to inspire and engage the next generation of scientists . This years line up of speakers covered a fantastic array of science research applications from plant science in Antarctica , to urban sustainability and building world championship winning race cars!
This event celebrated National Science Week and was attended by over 200 metropolitan secondary school students.
ExSCItement also showcases the research efforts of participants in the centres Powerful Plants education program with winning primary and secondary students presenting their plant science projects to the audience. We would like to congratulate winning Powerful Plants students; Adrienne Payne and Sarah Biddle (Shenton College) for their research project entitled" Plant Hormones and their effects on Plant Growth" ; and Caitlin Carr (Westcoast PEAC/Swanbourne PS) for her investigation entitled "Salinity and Plant Tolerance".
Guest speakers this year included: Western Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley and ABC Gardening’s Josh Byrne.
[Photo: Centre Director Professor Ian Small mentors Shenton College student Stephan Martineau in his research project on Plant Tropisms.]
Mentoring the next generation
Four PEB research mentors recently visited Shenton College to meet students participating in the centre’s Powerful Plants Schools Program.
Throughout Terms 2 and 3 Shenton students will be conducting their own plant research projects in areas ranging from biofuels to plant electricity, each student group has their very own PEB mentor who will stay in contact via email and help guide them through their projects, providing advice, expertise and assistance in analysis of results.
Education and Communications Manager, Yvonne Van Der Ploeg is excited about the potential of this program, “we eagerly await the wonderful results this program will provide. It not only helps the students but it also ensures we are very aware of where the next generation of scientists interests and talents lie.”
“By mentoring students we are also talking to them about what we do in the laboratory and also what it’s like to actually become a plant scientist. We hope to inspire students towards the joys of performing research and perhaps even look into a future career in sciences”
Research projects will be presented at the centre’s ExSCItement student conference which is held in National Science Week.
PEB takes it's student expertise to China.
[Photo:Participants in the Microarray Training Course learn the ropes with presenters Reena Narsai (left) and Estelle Giraud (right)] Two PhD students from Plant Energy Biology/UWA recently put their expertise in research technologies on display by running a Microarray technology course for Zhejiang Univerisity students at The Joint Research Laboratory in Genomics and Nutrinomics in China. Students Reena Narsai and Estelle Giraud recieved high praise from supervisor Professor Jim Whelan for the high calibre of the course which was designed to instruct students in the use of microarray technology."One of the aims of our centre is to ensure that through high quality supervision and education experiences our students are shining examples of the next generation of scientists", says Professor Whelan. "By using the cutting edge technology platforms, both Reena and Estelle have developed very solid skills in microarray analysis, its wonderful to see them imparting this knowledge through the delivery of this course and exposing students and staff in an international collaborative research centre." |
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Minister for Education and Tourism Hon Dr Elizabeth Constable visits the Joint Research Laboratory in Genomics and Nutrinomics.
[Photo: Professor Huixia "Sylia" Shou outlines the importance of the rice research projects conducted by the joint laboratory staff and students. From left; UWA Vice Chancellor Alan Robson, Hon Dr Elizabeth Constable, Professor Huixia "Sylia" Shou and Joint Laboratory Co Director Professor Jim Whelan] Recently on the 24th April 2009, the Hon Dr Elizabeth Constable West Australian Minister of Education and Tourism visited the Genomics and Nutrinomics Zhejiang/ UWA Joint Laboratory in Zheijiang China. All delegation members were impressed with the collaborative links UWA has established with ZJU. In her speech Dr Constable remarked on the importance of linkages and understanding between universities and education systems in China and Australia and also outlined the importance and contribution of intenational students to our universities and community. Guests to Dr Constables tour and visit to the laboratory included UWA Vice Chancellor Alan Robson, Co Director of the joint laboratory and Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology Professor Jim Whelan and Joint Laboratory Professor Huixia "Sylvia" Shou. |
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[Photo: Katynna Gill and Renee Simms with the Plant Powerstation ready for crowds at the Tocal Field Days] On the Road with Plant PowerstationRecently the University of Sydney PEB labs hit the road for the Tocal Field Days in New South Wales. The Plant Powerstation was a very popular edition to the event with hands on activities introducing the centre’s cutting edge research to rural communities. The event hosted around 28 000 people through the gates. In addition to the Plant Powerstation booth, staff members Katynna Gill (Education, Training and Outreach Officer), Renee Simms (Research Assistant) and Angela Ho (Research Associate) conducted four Powerful Plants workshops for high school students from local schools. These educational workshops introduce students to biotechnology equipment used to in plant molecular biology research and also to the life of a plant scientist. |
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[Photo: Sabina Kaulau has won the prestigious Otto Hahn Medal from the Max Planck Society] Sabine Kaulau honoured with prestigious Otto Hahn Medal.We would like to congratulate Post doctoral research associate Sabine Kaulau on her recent announcement as the recipient of the highly prized Max-Plank Society’s Otto Hahn Medal. This award is in recognition of her PhD thesis that was completed in the laboratory of Ralph Bock at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm, Germany. Sabine will be presented with the award during the general meeting of the society which will take place in Germany in June.
Sabine joined our centre in February this year and will be working on the Agronomics EU project in Ian Small’s laboratory group. |
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[Photo: Chris Cazzonelli, David Deery (CSIRO), Peter Crisp, Ralph Schunk (LemnaTec) and Nazia Nisar with the Scanalyzer in the background] Scanalyzer Training Workshop at ANUThe Plant Scanalyzer system (Lemnatec, Germany) offers a high throughput, non-invasive imaging technique that is well suited for morphological studies of the plant Arabidopsis. The ANU node has acquired one unit of Plant Scanalyzer to study changes in Arabidopsis phenotype produced by mutations or adverse growing conditions such as drought. Fifteen people from several labs in BaMBi, RSBS (ANU) and CSIRO attended the 4-day long training and demo sessions; co-ordinatied by ANU"s Gonzalo Estavillo and run by Ralph Schunk from LemnaTec. This comprehensive training introduced the users to the basic concepts of plant imaging and provided basic training for running the system such as workflow, data mining, image processing and database administration. The Plant Scanlyzer - acquired by an ANU major equipment grant is one of the few purchases of such a system by an academic unit in the world. The goal is to lead research in the field of plant phenomics in conjunction with the recently established Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (http://www.plantphenomics.org.au/). |
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 [Research Power: Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (click to expand image)] Investing in Plant Research for Australia’s Future.The Australian Research Council (ARC) have given a ringing endorsement to the future of fundamental plant research by recently awarding a 9.8 million dollar renewal of funding to the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. This funding resulted from a competitive review process conducted by the ARC beginning in July 2008 amongst eleven ARC Centres of Excellence around the country. The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology will receive $2.8 million each calendar year to total $9.8 million over the three-and-a-half year period, making it one of only three reviewed centres awarded an extension of such magnitude. Director of the Centre Professor Ian Small is delighted with the announcement, which secures the Centre’s cutting edge research efforts through to 2013. He congratulated the Centre’s staff and students on the high standard of research and community outreach since opening in 2006. To see the Centre go through this competitive review process and be one of only three centres nationwide awarded such a substantial funding endorsement from the ARC is wonderful and a true testament to our team efforts to date.Professor Small said. With research nodes at The University of Western Australia, Australian National University and The University of Sydney, Plant Energy Biology has gained respect and visibility whilst forging many key relationships in its research activities both nationally and internationally. It has also been recognised for its contribution to educating the next generation of plant scientists with its professional training, school education and community outreach initiatives. | |||
Phenomics Training workshop at ANU 2009
 [Photo caption: Etienne Delannoy and Olivier Keech use the PAM Chlorophyll Fluorometer. Inset: Phenomics group. (click to expand images)] 
[Photo caption:Melanie Carmody, Allison Frith and Olivier Van Aken assess gas exchange in maize using a Li-Cor (click to expand image.)]
The Centre assembled a comprehensive training workshop which taught both theory and technical aspects of a wide range of plant phenotyping methods. Research scientists from CPEB, ANU, CSIRO and the Australian Phenomics Facility contributed to the four day workshop. Participants came from Uni of Adelaide, ACPFG, Uni of Sydney, UWA and Mount Annan Botanic Garden. Positive feedback from participants reflected the value of this training opportunity, with one participant stating: |
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September 2008: SUCCESSFUL BODEN CONFERENCE "PLANT ENERGY AND WATER PRODUCTIVITY" [Photo caption: Conference Attendees (click to expand image... warning: 4.3Mb download!)] Plant scientists from around Australia and the world met at ANU to consider strategies necessary to develop improved plants for agriculture and biofuels and to assess and manage plants in natural environments (see the conference abstract). Organised by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at ANU and CSIRO Plant Industry, the three day meeting brought together a diverse group of experts in the field of photosynthesis and plant energy production. The combination of basic researchers in molecular biology through to plant breeders and ecologists provided a fertile setting for translational biology, which is promoting the use of basic research for practical outcomes. Some Quotes...
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Powerful Plants hits National Science Week
[Photo caption:Powerful Plants Workshop attendees learn the fine art of micropipetting with PEB Scientist Matt Gordon.] Click on image to expand. Plant Energy Biology's education program Powerful Plants has been showcased in two events across Australia during National Science Week 2008. Western Australian secondary school students involved in the Powerful Plants program were treated to the inspiring National Science Week student event "ExSCItement" which was organised by Plant Energy Biology and the University of Western Australia's UniDiscovery program. The event featured key note speaker and 2005 Australian of the Year, Dr Fiona Wood and a collection of well known and aspiring scientists to excite and enthuse students to the next generation of scientific research and careers. Winning Powerful Plants students also featured and presented their plant research projects to the 250 attending students and were also presented with their awards by Dr Wood. The Powerful Plants Workshops were also held as part of the National Science Week celebrations in Canberra at The Australian National University (ANU). Attendees to this Powerful Plants event were treated to hands on activities such as gel electrophoresis, DNA extractions and chloroplast streaming. Each activity was run by PEB scientists and all participants had a great day being introduced to the wonders of plant science. | |||
Bao Yugang Guest Professorship
[Photo caption:PEB CI Professor Jim Whelan and Yang Wei President of Zhejiang University.] click to expand image The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology congratulates Chief Investigator Professor Jim Whelan for receiving the Bao Yugang Guest Professorship which was presented by President YANG Wei, President of Zhejiang University (ZHU),China. The Bao Yugang Guest Professorship honours Professor Whelan as an internationally recognized plant scientist. His appointment will focus on improving international exchange and development in plant science and genomics between ZHU and The University of Western Australia (UWA), by means of lecturing, teaching courses, and research collaborations. Professor Whelan is also Co Director of ZHU/UWA Joint Research Laboratory in Genomics and Nutriomics which couples the expertise in energy biology and Arabidopsis research at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at with the expertise in plant nutrition and rice genetics at the College of Life Sciences at ZJU. |
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Bringing plant science to Mudgee
[Photo caption: Renee Simms and Katynna Gill bring Plant Powerstation to the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days, NSW.] click to expand image
What do plant scientists really get up to? How do they do their work? What sorts of research are they doing right now? These questions were answered by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, from the University of Sydney, at the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 July. Mudgee is a rural town in NSW located about four hours north-west of Sydney. The Mudgee Small Farm Field Days are the biggest event in the region each year and attract around 30 000 visitors to the field days. The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology ran its popular Plant Powerstation expo stand with hands-on biology activities at the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days, making front page news in the Mudgee Guardian, plus feature articles in The Land and the Western Magazine. Kids and adults extracted DNA from strawberries and looked at plant cells down the microscope at Plant Powerstation, while learning more about the cutting edge plant science conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. “Enthusing people about plant science has never been more important,” said Katynna Gill, Science Communication and Education Officer for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Energy Biology, at the University of Sydney. “Plant science is vital and informs Australia’s $60 billion plant industry, including plant-based agriculture and plant products.” “The hands-on activities are fun and introduce concepts in plant science and genetics research to the general public,” said Katynna. “It’s also a great opportunity for potential students to ask questions about studying science at university and get some insight into what it’s really like.” |
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Congratulations Abby!The ASPS -Functional Plant Biology Best Paper Award for a young scientist in 2007 was recently awarded to Abby Cuttriss for a research article written with Barry Pogson and collaborators during her graduate studies at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Australian National University http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/102/aid/2285.htm. Nominations were judged on the basis of reviewers' reports, and selected by the executive council of the Australian Society of Plant Scientists. The article, 'Regulation of lutein biosynthesis and prolamellar body formation in Arabidopsis', is an investigation of the regulation of the photosynthetic carotenoid pigment lutein, and its role in plastid development. Abby is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the City University of New York and will return to Canberra to present the paper at COMBIO2008. |
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click to expand image Intellectual Property Training workshop for PEB at ANUIn a course tailored specifically for CPEB, Dr Matthew Rimmer from the ANU College of Law covered a number of topics including: patent validity, patent ownership, infringement/offenses, plant breeders' rights, confidential information and copyright law. Dr Rimmer is a senior lecturer and an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture. Centre participants appreciated the training opportunity and have pledged to keep good laboratory notebooks! This workshop is part of the centres Professional Training Program and ongoing commitment to deveopment of its staff and students. |
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Powerful Plants teacher training in Cambodia
click to expand image Education officer Sue Cossetto took the CPEB Powerful Plants education program to the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sue ran a series of workshops for secondary teachers from around Cambodia. "The ever-popular DNA extraction was a highlight!" Sue reflected. "Although we did have our challenges, we had to improvise on materials, including the use of chop sticks to spool DNA". In addition to the workshops, Sue was an evaluator at the Teachers Science Fair. CPEB sponsored a Plant Science Teaching Prize. The winning group presented a project titles 'An easy procedure to study stomata and their response to different environmental conditions.' |
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 Bindhu Holavanahalli with PEB Mentor Dr Aneta Ivanova Young Scientist wins International PrizeBindhu Holavanahalli, a 17 year old student who is a particpant in the "Young Scientist" education program of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (PEB) at The University of Western Australia (UWA) has won fourth prize in the International BioGENEius Challenge held in San Diego. As one of 16 international finalists to compete in the final stage of the Sanofi-aventis BioGENEius Challenge which took place in San Diego at the Bio2008 Conference in June, Bindhu was presented with her award in front of a crowd of over 2500 people and also had the opportunity to meet Arnold Schwartzenegger and Federal Science Minister Kim Carr. She was also congratulated by Western Australia's Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley. Under the mentorship of Dr Aneta Ivanova at PEB, Bindhu was able to complete a project which used cutting edge biotechnology to investigate the effects of post harvest treatments sulphur dioxide and resveratrol on table grapes (Vitis vinefera). This research project was developed in conjunction with previous research by Centre Chief Investigator Professor Jim Whelan, Dr Micheal Considine and Professor Kevin Croft as part of a ARC linkage grant and Department of Agriculture support and was seen as a perfect opportunity for a Bindhu to engage her interests and skills. The International BioGENEius challenge is a competition introduced and supported by the Department of Industry and Resources in Western Australia and Bindhu and fellow Australian participant Oliver Tester were the first finalists in the pilot project of this competition. The centre would like to thank all of the particpants and staff involved throughout this project and congratulate Bindhu on her award. |
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click to expand image. AnnoJ visualisation of the epigenome of ArabidopsisCentre researchers Julian Tonti-Filippini and Harvey Millar collaborated with researchers from the JR Ecker Laboratory at the Salk Institute in San Diego to analyse DNA methylation and the mRNA and smRNA components of the transcriptome by new deep sequencing technologies. Julian's AnnoJ Web 2.0 genome browser, developed in the centre, was a key tool in the visualisation of this huge dataset. This groundbreaking research was published April 17th in Cell and the data can be viewed via AnnoJ at Salk. |
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Photo: Dr Xavier Sirault explains how to measure water potential using the thermocouple psychrometer. (left to right) Meisha Holloway-Phillips (Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research), Stewart Field (National Wine & Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt Uni), Xavier Sirault (CSIRO Plant Industry), Jason Smith (Viticulture, School of Wine and Food Sciences, Charles Sturt Uni), Gonzalo Estavillo (PEB, ANU). full-sized image Plant Phenomics Workshop at ANU, December 2007The ANU node of PEB developed and ran a unique Plant Phenomics training workshop. Designed to deepen attendee's knowledge on a range of phenotyping techniques, this course fills a gap in training opportunities available in Australia. Given by highly regarded scientists from ANU and CSIRO, this workshop proved to be very popular with participants from Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, NSW Department of Primary Industry, The Australian Cotton Research Institute, ACPFG , CSIRO, ANU and University of Sydney. For details on workshop offerings see our flyer (PDF). |
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 Groups Ponder Technology Delivery Mechanisms Centre researchers trained in Technology translationAs part of its ongoing commitment to deliver end-user benefits from its intellectual capital, the Centre augmented the continuing support of UWA's Office of Industry & Innovation by engaging Deloitte Growth Solutions Pty Ltd to deliver a technology translation training course. Held over 2 days at The UWA Old Boatshed on the banks of The Swan River, the course received unanimous acclaim from participants. "Commercialisation Workshop: an introduction to the commercialisation of valuable intellectual property" broke new ground for most participants, revealing another dimension to their research. |
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Ashley Carron-Arthur Centre undergraduate student wins prize at elite Bachelor of Philosophy conferenceAshley Carron-Arthur won the "best seminar" prize at ANU's third annual Bachelor of Philosophy (PhB) conference in the College of Science. The PhB program is an exciting research-focused degree wherein one quarter of the student's study is individually tailored research projects. The prize is based on the quality of presentation, research content and their ability to answer questions. Significantly, Ashley was giving his first ever talk to this group of high flyers who were in their 2nd and 3rd year of study, yet Ashley's project 'Characterising the PIN6 gene for auxin transport' took a prize. He was co-supervised by Barry Pogson and Chris Cazzonelli. |
