Book your 2015 phenotyping experiment at The Plant Accelerator now

Do you work with crop plants? Are you interested in getting quantitative measurements of traits such as early vigour, nutrient and water use efficiency or salinity tolerance?

The Plant Accelerator is part of the NCRIS funded Australian Plant Phenomics Facility and offers high-throughput non-destructive phenotyping of crop plants in a greenhouse environment. Using automated imaging and watering systems, we can control the desired growth conditions while measuring their impact on plant performance and growth over time.

If you consider undertaking a phenotyping experiment at The Plant Accelerator in 2015, please contact us now to discuss your phenotyping needs and potential project.

We can provide advice on design and feasibility of your experiment and an itemised quote to help with budgeting or grant applications.

Especially if the time of year is important for your experiment, then contact us soon to ensure we can accommodate your project at the required time.

You can go online and fill out a request for quote:  http://www.plantphenomics.org.au/services/accelerator/ or contact Drs Bettina Berger and Trevor Garnett at: bettina.berger@adelaide.edu.au; trevor.garnett@adelaide.edu.au;

We look forward to working with you in the future.

Come along to our Annual General Meeting tonight Wednesday October 1 in the Bradman Theatrette of the National Convention Centre in Canberra. 5.30 t0 6.30pm

Inspiring Science

 

 

Inspiring Science is presented by Inspiring Australia (NSW) in partnership with City of Sydney. It is a monthly talk program that was launched during National Science Week. An account of the first meeting and a program of ongoing activities has been written by Jackie Randles, The University of Sydney (see article below). As a means of bringing this new initiative to the attention of Plant Scientists, Chris Cazzonelli, University of Western Sydney, has sent me this article for inclusion in Phytogen.

 

Tina Offler

 

 

What keeps scientists up at night?

 

The launch of the Inspiring Science monthly talks program attracted a full house in the Reading Room at Customs House during National Science Week. A frank discussion between four early career researchers and John Connor, CEO of the Climate Institute about what keeps them up at night revealed much about the highs and lows of life as a professional scientist.

 

The event was opened by NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Mary O’Kane who spoke about the need to foster understanding in the community of why science and engineering are crucial to the development of our society. Professor O’Kane said that hearing directly from researchers is a great way for people to discover what scientists do and why it matters. She also spoke of the need to support emerging researchers at the beginning of their careers, particularly women who enter science and engineering fields.

 

Interestingly, Professor O’Kane actually coined the term ‘early career researcher’ some twenty years ago at a high level meeting when wanting to discuss particular issues faced by women in science and engineering without necessarily highlighting their gender.

 

While each of the four early career researchers on the panel was positive about their career choice and passionate about the difference that their scientific research could potentially make to the community, all argued that the short-term nature of support for research scientists in general was a major setback. All were aware of other scientists who, after long careers, chose to eventually abandon the lab and pursue other employment options.

 

Securing research funding is one of the most difficult challenges scientists must face. Finding ways to ensure sustainable funding that allows research to come to fruition, potentially leading to market application, is a pressure shared by scientists at all stages of their career, but one that is particularly difficult for early career researchers who are still vying for status and recognition in competitive environments where funds are scarce.

 

The huge amount of work involved in preparing grant submissions not only detracts from time in the lab, but rarely leads to lasting support for research projects. In many cases, submissions that have taken months to write do not even lead to successful funding outcomes. The panel strongly argued that Australia needs a sustainable science funding model and backed calls from Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb for a national science strategy that would address this issue.

 

Dr Cameron Clark, a senior research fellow within the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, said that current research funding models prevent scientists from being able to effectively innovate and create for the future because few projects can be progressed within a few short years. Clark, who applies technology to dairy farming systems to reduce repetitive tasks, monitor animal health and welfare and increase farmer profit, warned that without a strategic long-term investment directed towards the early career researcher the best and most talented students may abandon research as a career altogether. As a result, Australia may miss the innovation and opportunities created by these individuals and the associated jobs growth, economic prosperity and standard of living that we have come to almost take for granted.

 

Dr. Chris Cazzonelli, a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Western Sydney’s (UWS) – Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, said that in addition to research funding worries, basic job insecurity is a constant pressure. Cazzonelli, who is passionate about understanding the molecular nature by which plants acclimate and adapt to environmental change, has only recently secured a permanent role at the Hawkesbury Institute of the Environment at UWS after years of short-term appointments. His entertaining observations about the “good, the bad and the ugly” of life as a scientist shed light on the pitfalls of working in hierarchical institutions, where competitiveness can exacerbate the constant stress of meeting deadlines while juggling lab research with teaching, writing papers and attending to administrative tasks.

 

Dr Amy Reichelt, an ARC DECRA postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Psychology UNSW who is interested in memory, addiction and behaviour control, stressed how important it is for young scientists to have mentors to guide them through the complex dynamics in universities that can sometimes appear to be unsupportive. Reichelt’s image of the serene duck gliding across the surface while their legs were furiously paddling beneath was instructive: in order to succeed professionally, others cannot perceive you to be out of your depth or unable to cope with the stress that comes with research. She also pointed out that the pressures for young women in science were intense, with the need to juggle many and varied tasks as a professional researcher making the choice to take time out to have a family daunting.

 

For researchers like Reichelt, who are supported with short-term grants that are likely to come to an end well before a research project is completed, the decision to have a family is complex. Without ongoing employment or access to funds to appoint a lab technician who could care for her rats and keep the research going, Reichelt fears starting a family may damage her career. Reichelt wants to see more support for women in her position so that motherhood does not impact upon their career ambitions.

 

Dr Vanessa Moss, a CAASTRO postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics at the University of Sydney who has only recently attained her PhD, is yet to face many of these pressures firsthand, but she is well aware of what’s in store. Moss, whose work looks at the gas that makes up galaxies billions of years in the past, is up all night using radio telescopes to listen to faint cosmic signals. By studying the hydrogen in galaxies far away from us, it is possible to see how the universe has changed on incredibly large timescales. Moss hopes to uncover what distant galaxies can tell us about the path our universe has taken and how this relates to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. But this can only happen if the field of astrophysics, particularly radio astronomy, continues to be a valued part of the Australian scientific landscape – and this is where science communication comes in. Moss, like the other panelists, sees huge value in engaging with the community about her work. But time taken preparing speeches and presentations in the context of outreach is generally heavily undervalued in the current academic system, where only research and publication are typically rewarded. Nevertheless, being able to communicate well with non-scientists remains a priority for Moss. She and the other researchers agreed that convincing decision makers of the worth and value of your research is a critical skill that all scientists need to actively develop. Even more so, it is vital that scientists are encouraged by funding bodies and employers to value their outreach, communication and teaching activities alongside their pioneering research.

 

Following the lively Customs House discussion, the panelists have decided to take their concerns directly to Australia’s Chief Scientist in a bid to assist him to secure better futures for today’s early careers researchers so that they can still be researching and innovating in years to come.

 

 

Coming up

Inspiring Science talks will be held at City of Sydney Libraries each month to connect Sydney’s up and coming scientists with the community.

 

6pm, Wednesday 10 September, Ultimo Library

Parasitology and Quantum Mechanics

Parasitologist Dr Joel Barratt from UTS takes us inside the fascinating world of parasites to explore the worms, ectoparasites and other organisms that live in our bodies while Dr Gang Zheng, a chemistry lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, explains how quantum mechanics-based techniques to manipulate and detect macroscopic magnetization can be used to reveal the major chemical components in any sample, from rum to animal tissue.

 

Bookings and further information: What’s On City of Sydney Library

 

 

12.30 pm 15 October, Customs House Reading Room

Wildlife forensics and amphibians

Discover how scientists Dr Greta Frankham and Dr Jodi Rowley are fighting wildlife crime on threatened species and championing the global plight of amphibians at the Australian Museum Research Institute.

 

 

6pm Wednesday 5 November, Ultimo Library

Carotenoids and cosmic timescales

Vegetables are good for us – but why? Dr Christopher Cazzonelli shares the secretes of carotenoids and if you’ve ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how we got to where we are today, Dr Vanessa Moss’ work examining gas from galaxies billions of years in the past will spark your interest.

 

 

Inspiring Science is presented by Inspiring Australia (NSW) in partnership with City of Sydney. Expressions of interest from researchers who would like to present in 2015 are welcome. Please email Jackie.randles@sydney.edu.au

 

Mineral nutrition of native plants in our Biodiversity Hotspot in a global context
Hans Lambers
School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Australia

South-western Australia was a part of Gondwanaland, and some of the most ancient parts of the Earth’ crust can be found here. Other parts of the landscape originated more recently from calcareous marine deposits. Therefore, the soils of Western Australia are amongst the most heavily leached and nutrient-impoverished in the world. Moreover, the soils on lateritic profiles tightly bind phosphate, so that, phosphorus (P) is also poorly available to plants that are not adapted to these conditions. The old, climatically buffered ancient landscapes of south-western Australia also comprise one of the world’s hotspots of higher plant species diversity. Therefore, this environment offers a unique opportunity to study plant adaptations to nutrient-poor conditions.
What is most intriguing is that the greatest higher plant species diversity is found on the most P-impoverished soils on the south-western Australian sandplains (kwongan), as shown in Figure 1. What is even more intriguing is that those species that lack mycorrhizal associations, which are considered to help the plant acquire P from nutrient-poor soils, are found predominantly on the poorest soils. When soil P increases, the Proteaceae peter out. There is an important message for managers here: don’t mess with soil P, or you will lose your precious Proteaceae!
What might be the causes of increased soil P which represents a threat to an iconic component of our kwongan flora? Increased fire frequency is one of them, because burning the vegetation returns P to soil that was originally locked up in the vegetation. Run-off from farmland or urban activities is another source. Some fire retardants contain P, and these should be avoided in severely P-impoverished bushland in WA. There are other that can be included, but the only one I want to add to the list here is the use of phosphite. This chemical is used to combat Phytophthora cinnamomi (dieback). In soil, microorganisms quickly convert it into phosphate. Since phosphite is used at a rate similar to what farmers use in the wheatbelt, the fertilising effect of phosphite spraying is significant. We cannot simply stop spraying phosphite and let dieback proceed. However, using phosphite cannot be a long-term solution and phosphite must be replaced by something that suits our P-impoverished landscapes much better. This is the subject of ongoing research efforts at UWA and Murdoch, supported by DEC and several partners.
A relatively large proportion of species from the P-poor environments in south-western Australia cannot produce an association with mycorrhizal fungi, but, instead, produce cluster roots (in most Proteaceae and in some Fabaceae) or dauciform roots (in Cyperaceae). These specialised roots are an adaptation both in structure and in functioning. Cluster-root-bearing Proteaceae in south-western Australia occur on the most P-impoverished soils (Fig. 1), whereas the mycorrhizal Myrtaceae tend to inhabit the less P-impoverished soils in this region.
The functioning of cluster roots in Proteaceae and Fabaceae has received considerable attention. Dauciform roots in Cyperaceae have been explored less, but they appear to function in a very similar manner. The growth of specialised cluster roots or dauciform roots in species of the Cyperaceae, Fabaceae and Proteaceae is stimulated when plants are grown at a very low P supply, and suppressed when leaf P concentrations increase. These specialised roots are all short-lived structures, and they release large amounts of carboxylates during an ‘exudative burst’ at rates that are considerably faster than reported for non-specialised roots of a wide range of species. Carboxylates are organic anions as found in citric acid and malic acid. The carboxylates play a pivotal role in ‘mining’ P that is sorbed onto soil particles.
Because the world P reserves are being depleted whilst vast amounts of P are stored in fertilised soils, there is a growing need for crops with a high efficiency of P acquisition. Some Australian native species have traits that would be highly desirable for future crops. The possibilities of introducing P-acquisition efficient species in new cropping and pasture systems are currently being explored. Western Australian Banksia species are also the most efficient species studied so far when it comes to using the P they have acquired for their photosynthesis. Therefore, possible strategies to introduce traits associated with a high P-use efficiency into future crop species are also considered promising.

High P-use efficiency in Proteaceae includes a highly efficient mobilisation of P from senescing leaves. In addition, many species operate at extremely low leaf P concentrations exhibiting rates of photosynthesis similar to crop plants; expressed per unit leaf P, their rates of photosynthesis are extraordinarily high.

Figure 1. Plant diversity and soil phosphorus status in south-western Australia’s global biodiversity hotspot. Note the relative abundance of non-mycorrhizal species on soils with the lowest phosphorus (P) content.

I arrived in Japan in late June, and it was already beginning to heat up, with relentless humidity and frequent rain. When I arrived on the express train into Tsukuba from Tokyo though, the weather seemed to fit nicely with the scene before my eyes – fields of rice paddies as far as the eye could see. All of them growing luscious, green, heathy rice plants. Rice was the reason I came to Tsukuba, in fact. Through the generosity of the ASPS and the R.N. Robertson travelling fellowship, I was able to visit the lab of Prof. Matthias Wissuwa at the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS, for short). JIRCAS is located a short bike ride out of central Tsukuba, dubbed the ‘Science City’ of Japan, which is home to countless research institutions and its own University. It is located 65 km out of Tokyo, and is a buzzing hub of science, technology, and home to many foreign researchers.

Prof. Wissuwa is an expert in phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) nutrition in crop plants, working primarily with rice. My PhD research so far has focused on arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and plant P and Zn nutrition, so it fit nicely with what was already being done at JIRCAS – except with the added factor of AM. While at JIRCAS, I sampled roots of different rice genotypes growing in Low P and High P fields, that ranged widely in their root morphology, biomass, and P uptake. Barely any work with regards to AM had been done on any of Prof. Wissuwa’s rice genotypes, although there were some preliminary data on extent of mycorrhizal colonization that helped us to select four varieties to focus on. With just a couple of weeks to analyse my root samples, I focused on two main tasks – staining roots to visually quantify the extent that they were colonized by AM, and quantifying the expression of the mycorrhizal-induced P transporter – OsPT11, by qPCR. I also spent a lot of time helping other people with their work, whether it be harvesting plants, sampling in the field, or maintaining the field sites (weeding).

The results were interesting, and demonstrated that the different rice genotypes varied greatly in their expression of OsPT11 and also in percentage of root colonised. This may point to the potential for AM to improve the P nutrition of rice, and further exploration into AM enhancement of rice nutrition will be of interest. Thank-you to the ASPS for bestowing the RN Robertson fellowship upon me so I could make the most of my visit to JIRCAS.

 

Stephanie Watts-Williams – 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey

I was fortunate enough to be granted a Plant Nutrition Trust award, in order to attend the International Plant Nutrition Colloquium 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey, in August. After a long journey from Melbourne, I arrived into the amazing city that I had heard so much about.

On the first day, we were welcomed to Istanbul and the IPNC by the colloquium’s chairman, and esteemed plant nutritionist, Prof. Ismail Cakmak, before settling down to hear the plenary presentation by Prof. Walter J Horst. Throughout the day, we heard talks from some of the world’s brightest and best young plant scientists in the Marschner session, dedicated to early career researchers, as well as some wonderful keynote presentations from researchers around the world.

Early on the second day of the colloquium, I was given the opportunity to present a talk in one of the parallel sessions under the topic of ‘rhizosphere process, root biology and nutrient acquisition’. I presented my PhD work to date, which involved a number of glasshouse experiments investigating the role of arbuscular mycorrhizas on plant zinc and phosphorus nutrition, and preliminary data from a meta-analysis. I was glad to find that other delegates approached me with questions, both in the designated discussion time, and also in break times during the rest of the colloquium. I thought it was wonderful of the colloquium’s committee to have offered oral presentations to so many PhD students, as it gave us the opportunity to expose our research to an audience who may not have encountered it otherwise.

Later that day, I heard some motivating talks in the keynote presentation that centered on the theme of biofortification – a topic that interests me greatly. Speakers included the director of Harvest Plus, Dr. Howarth Bouis, and Prof. Philip White, from the James Hutton Institute. Of particular interest were the new breeds of staple crops that have been genetically engineered to be biofortified with one of iron, vitamin A or zinc, and were in different stages of implementation into agricultural practices in various countries. The three most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide are represented here, and are thus the focus of Harvest Plus’ research. The next challenge for these researchers is to investigate the biofortification of multiple essential micronutrients into one crop. I left this session feeling particularly inspired to take part in research of this nature in the future.

The rest of the week was spent attending various sessions, viewing posters, and networking with other delegates. In particular, there were many talks discussing or utilising imaging techniques that allowed for the visual localisation of nutrients within plant tissues, which many delegates would find useful in their own research. I left the colloquium contemplating how I could improve the design of my future experiments, based on the techniques I had seen presented over the last four days.

Lastly, Prof Jan Schjoerring presented us with information on the next IPNC, to be held in Copenhagen in 2017. I was leaving for Copenhagen the next day, to embark on a research visit with an esteemed researcher in the study of mycorrhizas, and so left the colloquium feeling even more inspired.

I would like to sincerely thank the Plant Nutrition Trust for this award, which gave me the opportunity to attend my first international conference. While listening to talks gave me an insight into recent advances in plant nutrition, the colloquium also allowed me to meet an interesting and diverse range of researchers in my field.

Stephanie Watts-Williams        Monash University

Lydia Guja —  Seed Ecology IV, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

 

In June 2013, with financial support from the Plant Nutrition Trust, I travelled to Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China to attend the Seed Ecology IV conference.  The theme of the conference was ‘Seeds and the Future’ and the program addressed evolutionary seed ecology, seed dispersal, soil seed banks, seed germination and dormancy,  seed longevity and storage, and biodiversity conservation and restoration.  The conference program was intense, with 60 oral presentations over 3 days and no parallel sessions. A diverse range of engaging and current seed research was presented.

 

I gave an oral presentation about my PhD research entitled ‘Full spectrum X-ray mapping reveals differential localisation of salt in germinating seeds of differing salt tolerance’. This research brought together seed scientists and materials scientists from across Australia (with assistance from the R. N Robertson Travelling Fellowship) and investigated how germinating seeds either avoid or tolerate stress from mineral salts in saline environments.  This research represents the first investigation of ionic uptake and salt movement in plant seeds using a multi-detector X-ray mapping SEM developed by my collaborators. We demonstrated that damaging ions were compartmentalised in the endosperm of salt-tolerant seeds, but absorbed by the embryo of salt-sensitive seeds. The manuscript describing this research will shortly be available in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. I enjoyed being able to present this research to the Seed Ecology audience and it was well received and generated some engaging discussion and future opportunities for collaboration.

 

I also presented a poster ‘Ecological drivers of seed germination in endangered alpine bog and fen communities in Australia.’ This new research is being undertaken in my role as the Seed Conservation Biologist at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) and the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR). This research focuses on conservation and seed ecology of species that define a nationally listed endangered ecological community, ‘Alpine Sphagnum bogs and associated fens,’ recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999. In particular, I am interested in seed germination thresholds in acidic, waterlogged, and cool conditions and how this drives recruitment patterns in such a fragile environment. By presenting the poster I was fortunate to discuss preliminary results and future directions with other researchers working internationally in alpine environments.

 

This was my first time travelling to China and I was also fortunate to join the post conference field trip to Inner Mongolia to explore the natural beauty and history of this region. Without the assistance of the Plant Nutrition Trust I would not have been able to attend this conference. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to present my work and keep up to date with the latest seed research, professional subject matter, and communicate with leading seed researchers. The knowledge and networks gained are beneficial both for the completion of my thesis and in my new position as Seed Conservation Biologist at ANBG and CANBR.

Seed Ecology IV Conference in China, June 2013.

Top left: Lydia Guja presenting her X-ray mapping paper.

Below: presenting at the poster session.

Spectacular scenery seen during the post conference field trip to Inner Mongolia, China.

Below: An ovoo serves as both a religious site and landmark in the flat open grasslands.

Bottom : Mongolian gers are still used in the grasslands and are scattered between the large modern Chinese cities.

Lachlan Palmer  —  17^th International Plant Colloquium (IPNC) in Istanbul, Turkey

The Plant Nutrition Trust travel award gave me the opportunity to attend the 17^th International Plant Colloquium (IPNC) in Istanbul, Turkey from 19^th to 22^nd of August. The main theme for this colloquium was “Plant nutrition for nutrient and food security”. There were many excellent talks and informative posters that covered a broad spectrum of plant science and in particular, plant nutrition.

The keynote presentations were varied and full of amazing results. I particularly enjoyed the talk by Howarth Bouis, “Biofortification: A new tool to reduce micronutrient malnutrition” detailing the successes of the Harvest Plus breeding programs to improve the Zn, Fe or pro-Vitamin A status of staple food crops, and their plans for release into the developing world over the next few years. Results of feed trials using some of these varieties were also presented along with the adoption of these crops within target communities. This talk demonstrated that the increase of nutrients in the grain really can help communities at risk of nutrient deficiency and so improve health and quality of life.

The talk by Prof Jan Schjoerring titled,  ”Molecular speciation of micronutrients in plants: consequences for transport and storage”  demonstrated some of the methods at the cutting edge for identifying and examining nutrient storage compounds by using an array of interconnected, separation and detection systems. The talk detailed work being done on isolating and identifying the compounds involved in binding and storing Zn in the endosperm of rice. This talk gave a fascinating insight into the type of work that can be done when making full use of analytical tools.

The closing plenary presentation by Jian-Feng Ma titled, “Mineral transport from soil to seed” was of great interest as my PhD research is in this area. The work his group is doing on the nodal interface was extremely interesting. The role of this area of research in improving knowledge surrounding the flow of minerals through the plant transport stream cannot be underestimated. I believe that the information presented in this talk and the further reading I have done since will have a great impact on the writing of my thesis and the deciphering of the data I have collected.

Apart from the plenary and key-note presentations there was a great variety of short talks with some very interesting work being presented that is outside of my area of interest, but indeed, still stimulating. In particular, I was fascinated by the work being done in Japan using radioactive isotopes to image plant wide uptake (Tomoko M. Nakanishi “Development of real-time radioisotope imaging system to study plant nutrition”) with some amazing real time videos of the uptake and distribution of several elements being presented. I also found the work being done in the far north of the UK, examining the role of root phytases in managing manganese deficiency on calcareous soils of interest (Timothy S. George “Genotypic variation in the ability of plants to tolerate manganese deficiency in cereals grown in calcareous systems: the role of root phytases”). Phytate is normally considered an anti-nutrient but in this instance it may play a role in ameliorating manganese deficiency in some cases.

I was also given the opportunity to present work from my PhD research as a short talk “Micronutrient variability in phloem: changes in zinc concentration during grain loading”. This talk demonstrated our success at developing a method for measuring K, Mg, Zn and Fe in nano-litre phloem volumes and maturity related differences in elemental phloem concentration over the course of grain loading. I also presented tissue analysis from plants harvested immediately after phloem collection showing interesting relationships between grain and phloem elemental content. This talk was well received and I had some excellent discussions with academics that will help me in further refining the work for my thesis. We have also had enquiries into possible collaboration to make use of the techniques we have developed from my PhD.

I am truly honoured for the opportunity provided to me by the Plant Nutrition Trust. To have the chance to travel to a major international conference and present my work was a wonderful opportunity for me; one which has expanded and added to my experience as a PhD student and increased my knowledge and understanding in the area of plant nutrition. I look forward to making use of this knowledge in future research opportunities.

 

 

 

Report from Recipients of 2013 Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Scholarship Award

 

Julie Hayes — 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium (IPNC) and Boron Meeting 2013

 

The 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium (IPNC’13) was held in August of this year in Istanbul, Turkey. With support from the Plant Nutrition Trust, I was able to attend this meeting, as well as a small satellite meeting on boron held immediately prior to IPNC’13.

I work at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, and study aspects of plant nutrition and nutritional stresses. For the last twelve years, I have focussed my research efforts on tolerance to high soil boron in wheat and barley. Thus, I relished the opportunity to participate in a small, specialist meeting discussing boron toxicity and deficiency in agriculture internationally. In attendance were around 80 delegates from across the world, including countries that encounter problems associated with soil boron deficiency (China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) and boron toxicity (Turkey, USA). Australia was also well represented, with researchers from both the University of Adelaide and the University of Western Australia – large areas across the southern cereal growing regions of our country have toxic levels of boron in the subsoil. In addition to presenting my own research, I heard talks on a wide variety of research topics, from soil science to molecular studies of boron transport in Arabidopsis. Highlights included a report of a new, slow-release boron fertiliser that should reduce the risk of boron toxicity arising as a consequence of fertiliser application. A number of papers were also presented from research groups in Japan, who were the first to identify and describe boron transporters in plants.

The theme for IPNC’13 was nutrient and food security, and a number of excellent talks were given around nutritional aspects of food security. Walter Horst (Germany) identified critical gaps in our knowledge of plant nutrition, including the physiology behind nitrogen use efficiency and the role of plant growth promoting microorganisms. Phillip White (United Kingdom) and Michael Grusack (USA) outlined the challenges of manipulating whole-plant nutrient transport to increase the accumulation of mineral elements in edible plant parts. An economist with HarvestPlus, Howarth Bouis (USA), discussed the ever-increasing severity of micronutrient malnutrition (“hidden hunger”) for humans in the developing world, and demonstrated the potential for biofortification to have a positive impact. After listening to and viewing the many other oral presentations and posters on topics relating to plant nutrition, I realised the importance of a united effort to identify critical areas of plant nutrition research and to make real progress towards meeting quantity and quality targets for world food production into the future.

 

Julie Hayes (ACPFG, Adelaide)