Technology Platforms

The technology platforms described below are heavily dependent on cutting-edge functional genomics approaches. A major benefit of this Centre of Excellence is the bringing together of complementary skills and technologies nationally, to attain maximal technical capability and synergy. Four distinct technology platforms are co-managed by relevant CIs familiar with current techniques and capable of developing and applying relevant breakthroughs in the field. These platforms are at the frontier of present technology and, collectively, are unmatched by any other Centre in this research area worldwide. One of the goals of the Centre is to promote these emerging technologies in Australia and facilitate their uptake by the scientific community.

Platform T1. Arabidopsis screening and phenotyping platform

Measuring plant growth and function (phenotyping) is a key bottleneck in identifying the roles of genes, proteins and regulators that we study in our research programs. We are implementing specific technologies within the Centre for measuring various aspects of plant energy function both at low and high throughput scales. In addition, we are linking with other organisations both in Australia and internationally to improve our capabilities. Read more...

Platform T2. Molecular profiling platform

Molecular profiling provides a snapshot of living plant cells at a point in time, with the transcriptome indicating what the cell might do, the proteome suggesting what it could do and the metabolome showing what it is doing. Read more...

Platform T3. Targeted genetic modification

The major advantages to working with Arabidopsis are the powerful genetics approaches that are possible, the ease of genetic transformation and the incredible resources available worldwide. The Centre is making full use of these resources and intends to maximise the benefits of the critical mass of Arabidopsis researchers gathered in the Centre. Read more...

Platform T4. Informatics and data analysis

The Centre has constructed several databases to house and analyse molecular profiling data integrated into genomic data sets based on Arabidopsis genome sequencing and annotation from international sources. Web-based interfaces to our databases are available through www.plantenergy.uwa.edu.au. Read more...