Australia's native sorghums (ARC Discovery Project administered by Monash University) (2018-2021)
Abstract
This project aims to investigate the biological mechanisms driving the evolution of toxic cyanogenic glucosides by exploiting the natural diversity of Australian wild relatives of the crop sorghum that are adapted to different environments. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the role of cyanogenic glucosides using genome sequencing, physiological experiments, and chemical analyses. Two PhD students and an early career researcher are expected to visit Denmark for specialist training. Expected outcomes include new perspectives on how cyanogenic plants manage resources and combat environmental stress. This should provide significant benefit by providing new resources for plant breeders to produce more climate-resilient crops.
