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Professor Anna Koltunow
Professor

Anna Koltunow

Email: 
Phone: 
0452413270

Overview

Background

Professor Anna Koltunow has a formidable record of accomplishment in plant reproduction research and translating that research into gains in agricultural sectors.

Her research focus is on the molecular and genetic mechanisms that regulate development of plant reproductive cell types and, therefore, seed and fruit formation. Accomplishments include developing seedless fruit, a sought-after commodity in the horticultural sector.

She was selected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to head an international collaborative research venture between six research organisations and a multinational seed company to develop technologies so smallholder African farmers could economically save seed from cowpea and sorghum hybrids. Professor Koltunow led the first five-year phase of this project, called Capturing Heterosis, while at CSIRO. This project finished in July 2019. The second phase, also funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Hy-Gain for smallholders – commenced in March 2020, at The University of Queensland.

The Hy-Gain project is a multi-party international research project comprising seven world leading teams aiming to develop a novel technology to increase seed yield and productivity in sorghum and cowpea crops for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This exciting 5-year project, is led by Professor Koltunow in QAAFI’s Centre for Crop Science. Hy-Gain aims to ensure the technology is compatible with plant breeding to support the future, rapid delivery of new high yielding sorghum and cowpea hybrids and improved varieties. The project has some fundamental discovery work, however its key aim is building and testing the utility of the technology in plants. The research objectives span molecular work in the laboratory to field work involving genetic, genomic and transgenic technologies and testing reproductive productivity of sorghum and cowpea plants in glasshouse and in the field.

Together, the Hy-Gain project team is developing new ways to breed sorghum and cowpea varieties that make it possible to achieve large gains in yields, while increasing resilience to diseases and environmental stress.

Professor Koltunow’s collaborations have had an international focus and she has consistently obtained external research funding from several sources (ARC, Australian rural development corporations, and bilateral funding involving CSIRO and India, China, Japan and Brazil and philanthropic funds). She has participated in EU consortia, trained international researchers and national and international students in plant reproduction research in partnership with national and international University collaborators. She has Professorial Affiliations with the University of Adelaide, La Trobe University and works with Huazhong Agricultural University in China.

Whilst maintaining an international profile in plant reproduction research, Professor Koltunow has also held senior leadership roles at CSIRO (including Program leader and Deputy Chief). She served on the Premier’s science council in South Australia, ARC College of Experts, as President and Past President of the International Association of Plant Reproduction Research and on various scientific boards including a CRC and two New Zealand Crown Research Institutes. She has been involved in the organization of 9 international conferences, works on advisory panels, editorial boards. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Availability

Professor Anna Koltunow is:
Not available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Adelaide

Research impacts

Academic achievements:

  • Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2018)
  • Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2016)
  • Member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts, Biology and Biotechnology (2010-2012)
  • President and Past-President of the International Society for Plant Reproduction Society (2002-2006;2006-10)
  • Director of two New Zealand Crown Research institutes, CRC for Viticulture and Provisor, a research companies (2003-2009)
  • Served terms as Program Leader and two terms as Deputy Chief at CSIRO Plant Industry (2001-2006 and 2013-2014)
  • Board of the IPMB society (elected, 1997-2000)
  • Australian Research Council 5-year Fellow (1991-1995).
  • Postdoctoral studies: CSIRO Horticulture (1986-1988), UCLA, USA (1989-1990).
  • PhD University of Adelaide, 1987.

Works

Search Professor Anna Koltunow’s works on UQ eSpace

98 works between 1983 and 2024

1 - 20 of 98 works

2024

Journal Article

Germline β−1,3-glucan deposits are required for female gametogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Pinto, Sara C., Leong, Weng Herng, Tan, Hweiting, McKee, Lauren, Prevost, Amelie, Ma, Chao, Shirley, Neil. J., Petrella, Rosanna, Yang, Xiujuan, Koltunow, Anna M., Bulone, Vincent, Kanaoka, Masahiro M., Higashyiama, Tetsuya, Coimbra, Sílvia and Tucker, Matthew R. (2024). Germline β−1,3-glucan deposits are required for female gametogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature Communications, 15 (1) 5875, 1-17. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50143-0

Germline β−1,3-glucan deposits are required for female gametogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

2024

Journal Article

Adaptation and plasticity of yield in hybrid and inbred sorghum

Otwani, Daniel, Hunt, Colleen, Cruickshank, Alan, Powell, Owen, Koltunow, Anna, Mace, Emma and Jordan, David (2024). Adaptation and plasticity of yield in hybrid and inbred sorghum. Crop Science, 64 (2), 560-570. doi: 10.1002/csc2.21160

Adaptation and plasticity of yield in hybrid and inbred sorghum

2022

Journal Article

Structural variation and parallel evolution of apomixis in citrus during domestication and diversification

Wang, Nan, Song, Xietian, Ye, Junli, Zhang, Siqi, Cao, Zhen, Zhu, Chenqiao, Hu, Jianbing, Zhou, Yin, Huang, Yue, Cao, Shuo, Liu, Zhongjie, Wu, Xiaomeng, Chai, Lijun, Guo, Wenwu, Xu, Qiang, Gaut, Brandon S, Koltunow, Anna M. G., Zhou, Yongfeng and Deng, Xiuxin (2022). Structural variation and parallel evolution of apomixis in citrus during domestication and diversification. National Science Review, 9 (10) nwac114, 1-16. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwac114

Structural variation and parallel evolution of apomixis in citrus during domestication and diversification

2021

Journal Article

Regulation of nucellar embryony, a mode of sporophytic apomixis in Citrus resembling somatic embryogenesis

Xu, Yuantao, Jia, Huihui, Wu, Xiaomeng, Koltunow, Anna M.G., Deng, Xiuxin and Xu, Qiang (2021). Regulation of nucellar embryony, a mode of sporophytic apomixis in Citrus resembling somatic embryogenesis. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 59 101984, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.101984

Regulation of nucellar embryony, a mode of sporophytic apomixis in Citrus resembling somatic embryogenesis

2020

Journal Article

Unequal contribution of two paralogous CENH3 variants in cowpea centromere function

Ishii, Takayoshi, Juranic, Martina, Maheshwari, Shamoni, Bustamante, Fernanda de Oliveira, Vogt, Maximilian, Salinas-Gamboa, Rigel, Dreissig, Steven, Gursanscky, Nial, How, Tracy, Demidov, Dmitri, Fuchs, Joerg, Schubert, Veit, Spriggs, Andrew, Vielle-Calzada, Jean-Philippe, Comai, Luca, Koltunow, Anna M. G. and Houben, Andreas (2020). Unequal contribution of two paralogous CENH3 variants in cowpea centromere function. Communications Biology, 3 (1) 775, 775. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01507-x

Unequal contribution of two paralogous CENH3 variants in cowpea centromere function

2020

Journal Article

Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of an endogenous PHYTOENE DESATURASE gene in T1 progeny of apomictic Hieracium enables new strategies for apomixis gene identification

Henderson, Sam W., Henderson, Steven T., Goetz, Marc and Koltunow, Anna M. G. (2020). Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of an endogenous PHYTOENE DESATURASE gene in T1 progeny of apomictic Hieracium enables new strategies for apomixis gene identification. Genes, 11 (9) 1064, 1064-16. doi: 10.3390/genes11091064

Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of an endogenous PHYTOENE DESATURASE gene in T1 progeny of apomictic Hieracium enables new strategies for apomixis gene identification

2020

Journal Article

A detached leaf assay for testing transient gene expression and gene editing in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.)

Juranić, Martina, Nagahatenna, Dilrukshi S. K., Salinas-Gamboa, Rigel, Hand, Melanie L., Sánchez-León, Nidia, Leong, Weng Herng, How, Tracy, Bazanova, Natalia, Spriggs, Andrew, Vielle-Calzada, Jean-Philippe, Koltunow, Anna M. G. and Koltunow, Anna M. G. (2020). A detached leaf assay for testing transient gene expression and gene editing in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.). Plant Methods, 16 (1) 88, 88. doi: 10.1186/s13007-020-00630-4

A detached leaf assay for testing transient gene expression and gene editing in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.)

2019

Conference Publication

Harnessing asexual seed formation to preserve hybrid vigour and complex yield traits

Koltunow, Anna M.G. (2019). Harnessing asexual seed formation to preserve hybrid vigour and complex yield traits. The Third International Tropical Agriculture Conference TropAg 2019 , Brisbane, QLD Australia, 11-13 November 2019. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. doi: 10.3390/proceedings2019036003

Harnessing asexual seed formation to preserve hybrid vigour and complex yield traits

2019

Journal Article

Phenotypic plasticity of aposporous embryo sac development in Hieracium praealtum

Juranic, Martina, Johnson, Susan D. and Koltunow, Anna M. (2019). Phenotypic plasticity of aposporous embryo sac development in Hieracium praealtum. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 14 (8) e1622981, 1622981. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2019.1622981

Phenotypic plasticity of aposporous embryo sac development in Hieracium praealtum

2018

Journal Article

Asexual female gametogenesis involves contact with a sexually fated megaspore in apomictic Hieracium

Juranic, Martina, Tucker, Matthew R., Schultz, Carolyn J., Shirley, Neil J., Taylor, Jennifer M., Spriggs, Andrew, Johnson, Susan D., Bulone, Vincent and Koltunow, Anna M. (2018). Asexual female gametogenesis involves contact with a sexually fated megaspore in apomictic Hieracium. Plant Physiology, 177 (3), 1027-1049. doi: 10.1104/pp.18.00342

Asexual female gametogenesis involves contact with a sexually fated megaspore in apomictic Hieracium

2018

Book Chapter

The central role of the ovule in apomixis and parthenocarpy

Koltunow, Anna M., Vivian-Smith, Adam, Tucker, Matthew R. and Paech, Nicholas (2018). The central role of the ovule in apomixis and parthenocarpy. Annual Plant Reviews online. (pp. 234-270) Chichester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781119312994.apr0053

The central role of the ovule in apomixis and parthenocarpy

2018

Journal Article

Assembled genomic and tissue-specific transcriptomic data resources for two genetically distinct lines of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) walp)

Spriggs, Andrew, Henderson, Steven T., Hand, Melanie L., Johnson, Susan D., Taylor, Jennifer M. and Koltunow, Anna (2018). Assembled genomic and tissue-specific transcriptomic data resources for two genetically distinct lines of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) walp). Gates Open Research, 2 7, 7. doi: 10.12688/gatesopenres.12777.2

Assembled genomic and tissue-specific transcriptomic data resources for two genetically distinct lines of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) walp)

2017

Journal Article

A Genetic Screen for Impaired Systemic RNAi Highlights the Crucial Role of DICER-LIKE 2

Taochy, Christelle, Gursanscky, Nial R., Cao, Jiangling, Fletcher, Stephen J., Dressel, Uwe, Mitter, Neena, Tucker, Matthew R., Koltunow, Anna M G., Bowman, John L., Vaucheret, Hervé and Carroll, Bernard J. (2017). A Genetic Screen for Impaired Systemic RNAi Highlights the Crucial Role of DICER-LIKE 2. Plant Physiology, 175 (3), 1424-1437. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.01181

A Genetic Screen for Impaired Systemic RNAi Highlights the Crucial Role of DICER-LIKE 2

2017

Journal Article

Genetic analyses of the inheritance and expressivity of autonomous endosperm formation in Hieracium with different modes of embryo sac and seed formation

Henderson, Steven T., Johnson, Susan D., Eichmann, Joel and Koltunow, Anna M. G. (2017). Genetic analyses of the inheritance and expressivity of autonomous endosperm formation in Hieracium with different modes of embryo sac and seed formation. Annals of Botany, 119 (6), 1001-1010. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcw262

Genetic analyses of the inheritance and expressivity of autonomous endosperm formation in Hieracium with different modes of embryo sac and seed formation

2016

Journal Article

Seeds of doubt: Mendel's choice of Hieracium to study inheritance, a case of right plant, wrong trait

Bicknell, Ross, Catanach, Andrew, Hand, Melanie and Koltunow, Anna (2016). Seeds of doubt: Mendel's choice of Hieracium to study inheritance, a case of right plant, wrong trait. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 129 (12), 2253-2266. doi: 10.1007/s00122-016-2788-x

Seeds of doubt: Mendel's choice of Hieracium to study inheritance, a case of right plant, wrong trait

2016

Journal Article

Generation of an integrated Hieracium genomic and transcriptomic resource enables exploration of small RNA pathways during apomixis initiation

Rabiger, David S., Taylor, Jennifer M., Spriggs, Andrew, Hand, Melanie L., Henderson, Steven T., Johnson, Susan D., Oelkers, Karsten, Hrmova, Maria, Saito, Keisuke, Suzuki, Go, Mukai, Yasuhiko, Carroll, Bernard J. and Koltunow, Anna M. G. (2016). Generation of an integrated Hieracium genomic and transcriptomic resource enables exploration of small RNA pathways during apomixis initiation. BMC Biology, 14 (86) 86, 86. doi: 10.1186/s12915-016-0311-0

Generation of an integrated Hieracium genomic and transcriptomic resource enables exploration of small RNA pathways during apomixis initiation

2016

Journal Article

Mechanisms of endosperm initiation

Hands, Philip, Rabiger, David S. and Koltunow, Anna (2016). Mechanisms of endosperm initiation. Plant Reproduction, 29 (3), 215-225. doi: 10.1007/s00497-016-0290-x

Mechanisms of endosperm initiation

2016

Journal Article

New observations on gametogenic development and reproductive experimental tools to support seed yield improvement in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]

Salinas-Gamboa, Rigel, Johnson, Susan D., Sanchez-Leon, Nidia, Koltunow, Anna M. G. and Vielle-Calzada, Jean-Philippe (2016). New observations on gametogenic development and reproductive experimental tools to support seed yield improvement in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]. Plant Reproduction, 29 (1-2), 165-177. doi: 10.1007/s00497-015-0273-3

New observations on gametogenic development and reproductive experimental tools to support seed yield improvement in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]

2016

Book Chapter

A comparison of in vitro and in vivo asexual embryogenesis

Hand, Melanie L., de Vries, Sacco and Koltunow, Anna M. G. (2016). A comparison of in vitro and in vivo asexual embryogenesis. In vitro embryogenesis in higher plants. (pp. 3-23) edited by Maria Antonietta Germanà and Maurizio Lambardi. New York, NY United States: Humana Press . doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3061-6_1

A comparison of in vitro and in vivo asexual embryogenesis

2015

Journal Article

Development: turning on endosperm in seeds

Koltunow, Anna and Rabiger, David S. (2015). Development: turning on endosperm in seeds. Nature Plants, 1 (12) 15189. doi: 10.1038/nplants.2015.189

Development: turning on endosperm in seeds

Funding

Current funding

  • 2023 - 2026
    Predicting Perfect Partners: climate resilient seed production technology
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2026
    Hy-Gain for Smallholders (2020-2025)
    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Professor Anna Koltunow is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

Media

Enquiries

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