Dr Peter Crisp
Dr

Peter Crisp

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 52141

Background

Dr Peter Crisp is an expert in crop genomics, epigenomics and molecular genetics. He is a Group Leader and Senior Lecturer in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability at The University of Queensland. Peter’s research program is focused on crop functional genomics, epigenetics and biotechnology, and has significantly advanced our understanding of the contribution of epigenetics to heritable phenotypic variation in plants.

His group has invented groundbreaking technologies for harnessing (epi)genetic variation and their discoveries have led to exciting new avenues for decoding genomes and for the rational engineering of gene regulation for trait improvement in plants. Having benefited immensely from brilliant mentors, Peter is passionate about training. He leads a budding group of talented students and researchers and is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding and the International Research Training Group for Accelerating Crop Genetic Gain. Peter is also an affiliate of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. His research group seeks to understand the contribution of epigenetics to heritable phenotypic variation in crop plants, focusing on cereals including barley, sorghum, wheat and maize. This includes the development of methods to harness epigenetic variation for crop improvement; understanding the role of epigenetics in environmental responses and using innovative epigenomic approaches to distill large genomes down to the relatively small fraction of regions that are functionally important for trait variation. Research in the Crisp Lab spans both wet lab and computational biology providing a powerful platform to integrate genetic, genomic and biotechnological approaches.

Peter is a former recipient of an ARC DECRA Fellowship and a UQ Amplify Fellowship and an ASPS Goldacre awardee.

Check out the CrispLab website here

Follow Dr Crisp on Bluesky: @pete-crisp.bsky.social, and Twitter: @pete_crisp

Availability

Dr Peter Crisp is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Agricultural biotechnology Agricultural molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences Biological Sciences Crop and pasture production Epigenetics (incl. genome methylation and epigenomics) Genetics Plant biology

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University

Research impacts

Read about Dr Crisp’s work on plant stress memory and epigenetics in New Scientist here

Search Professor Peter Crisp’s works on UQ eSpace

48 works between 2009 and 2025
All (48) Journal Article (44) Book Chapter (2) Other Outputs (2)

41 - 48 of 48 works

2016

Journal Article

Learning the languages of the chloroplast: retrograde signaling and beyond

Chan, Kai Xun, Phua, Su Yin, Crisp, Peter, McQuinn, Ryan and Pogson, Barry J. (2016). Learning the languages of the chloroplast: retrograde signaling and beyond. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 67 (1), 25-53. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-111854

Learning the languages of the chloroplast: retrograde signaling and beyond

2015

Journal Article

Genetic suppression of plant development and chloroplast biogenesis via the Snowy Cotyledon 3 and Phytochrome B pathways

Ganguly, Diep, Crisp, Peter, Harter, Klaus, Pogson, Barry J. and Albrecht-Borth, Veronica (2015). Genetic suppression of plant development and chloroplast biogenesis via the Snowy Cotyledon 3 and Phytochrome B pathways. Functional Plant Biology, 42 (7), 676-686. doi: 10.1071/fp15026

Genetic suppression of plant development and chloroplast biogenesis via the Snowy Cotyledon 3 and Phytochrome B pathways

2014

Book Chapter

Grafting in Arabidopsis

Bainbridge, Katherine, Bennett, Tom, Crisp, Peter, Leyser, Ottoline and Turnbull, Colin (2014). Grafting in Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis Protocols. (pp. 155-163) edited by SanchezSerrano, JJ and Salinas, J. New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-580-4_7

Grafting in Arabidopsis

2013

Journal Article

Subset of heat-shock transcription factors required for the early response of Arabidopsis to excess light

Jung, Hou-Sung, Crisp, Peter A., Estavillo, Gonzalo M., Cole, Benjamin, Hong, Fangxin, Mockler, Todd C., Pogson, Barry J. and Chory, Joanne (2013). Subset of heat-shock transcription factors required for the early response of Arabidopsis to excess light. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110 (35), 14474-14479. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1311632110

Subset of heat-shock transcription factors required for the early response of Arabidopsis to excess light

2011

Journal Article

Evidence for a SAL1-PAP chloroplast retrograde pathway that functions in drought and high light signaling in Arabidopsis

Estavillo, Gonzalo M., Crisp, Peter A., Pornsiriwong, Wannarat, Wirtz, Markus, Collinge, Derek, Carrie, Chris, Giraud, Estelle, Whelan, James, David, Pascale, Javot, Helene, Brearley, Charles, Hell, Ruediger, Marin, Elena and Pogson, Barry J. (2011). Evidence for a SAL1-PAP chloroplast retrograde pathway that functions in drought and high light signaling in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell, 23 (11), 3992-4012. doi: 10.1105/tpc.111.091033

Evidence for a SAL1-PAP chloroplast retrograde pathway that functions in drought and high light signaling in Arabidopsis

2011

Journal Article

A novel fry1 allele reveals the existence of a mutant phenotype unrelated to 5 '-> 3 ' exoribonuclease (XRN) activities in Arabidopsis thaliana roots

Hirsch, Judith, Misson, Julie, Crisp, Peter A., David, Pascale, Bayle, Vincent, Estavillo, Gonzalo M., Javot, Helene, Chiarenza, Serge, Mallory, Allison C., Maizel, Alexis, Declerck, Marie, Pogson, Barry J., Vaucheret, Herve, Crespi, Martin, Desnos, Thierry, Thibaud, Marie-Christine, Nussaume, Laurent and Marin, Elena (2011). A novel fry1 allele reveals the existence of a mutant phenotype unrelated to 5 '-> 3 ' exoribonuclease (XRN) activities in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. PloS One, 6 (2) e16724, e16724. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016724

A novel fry1 allele reveals the existence of a mutant phenotype unrelated to 5 '-> 3 ' exoribonuclease (XRN) activities in Arabidopsis thaliana roots

2010

Journal Article

Chloroplast-to-nucleus communication: current knowledge, experimental strategies and relationship to drought stress signaling

Chan, Kai Xun, Crisp, Peter Alexander, Estavillo, Gonzalo Martin and Pogson, Barry James (2010). Chloroplast-to-nucleus communication: current knowledge, experimental strategies and relationship to drought stress signaling. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 5 (12), 1575-1582. doi: 10.4161/psb.5.12.13758

Chloroplast-to-nucleus communication: current knowledge, experimental strategies and relationship to drought stress signaling

2009

Journal Article

Regulation of carotenoid composition and shoot branching in arabidopsis by a chromatin modifying histone methyltransferase, SDG8

Cazzonelli, Christopher I., Cuttriss, Abby J., Cossetto, Susan B., Pye, William, Crisp, Peter, Whelan, Jim, Finnegan, E. Jean, Turnbull, Colin and Pogson, Barry J. (2009). Regulation of carotenoid composition and shoot branching in arabidopsis by a chromatin modifying histone methyltransferase, SDG8. Plant Cell, 21 (1), 39-53. doi: 10.1105/tpc.108.063131

Regulation of carotenoid composition and shoot branching in arabidopsis by a chromatin modifying histone methyltransferase, SDG8

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2027
    Unlocking crop epigenomics to uncover and engineer hidden diversity
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2029
    ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding for Agricultural Futures
    ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Program 2 - Resistance Sources: Using 'FastStack' to develop effective durable net blotch resistance gene stacks
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2024
    EpiGrape: Exploring intra-varietal variation in grapevine using epigenetics
    Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    An epigenetic blueprint for Queensland¿s sorghum crop of the future
    UQ Knowledge Exchange & Translation Fund
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Discovering hidden control elements for crop improvement
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Peter Crisp is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • Uncovering the contribution of epigenetics to heritable phenotypic variation in crops using (epi)genomics and large data

    New bioinformatic approaches for epigenomic analysis and epiGWAS in crops

    A bioinformatics oriented RHD project is available to study epigenomic variation and inheritance in crops including maize, sorghum and barley. This project will involve the development of new bioinformatic strategies to analyse novel types of epigenomic data we have developed in the lab. This project will address fundamental questions at the core of the field of epigenetics; and will have outcomes that are important for modern plant breeding and agriculture. The project can be largely bioinformatics or encompass a blend of wet lab (biotech and molecular biology) and computational work. Some prior bioinformatics experience is an advantage, although not essential if you are enthusiastic about learning bioinformatics.

  • Other projects available - get in touch!

    Projects can also be designed on new topics where our interests overlap and are happy to chat.

    • We are particularly interested in new projects in the areas of (epi)genomics and bioinformatics

    Other areas include:

    • Crop genomics and epigenomics
    • Biotechnology and CRISPR (sorghum and barley)
    • Bioinformatics focused on epigenomic analysis and DNA methylation
    • Enhancers and chromatin modifications

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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communications@uq.edu.au