Plant Cell Walls
Plant cell walls represent the world’s largest renewable carbon resource and have become major new drivers of international research in plant science.
Australian crop and food industries together with emerging industries related to renewable transport fuels and biomaterials will all gain from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Cell Wall Biology established at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus.
ARC funding of $19.25 million has been awarded to the Centre, with an additional $12 million of support from partner institutions and collaborators. Bioplatforms is a major sponsor of the Centre and will provide access to the infrastructure and expertise available through Metabolomics Australia along with its suite of functional genomics technologies and bioinformatics capabilities.
Due to their central roles as renewable sources of transport fuels, as functional foods to improve human health, and as a source of raw materials for industrial processes, plant cells have become major new drivers of international research in plant science. The Centre will define the regulatory mechanisms that control molecular, enzymic and cellular processes involved in the synthesis, deposition, remodelling and depolymerisation of cell wall polysaccharides of cereals and grasses.
The Centre will build an international team with a focus on scientific, technical and training aspects to generate outcomes that will significantly enhance biotechnologies that underpin Australian crop industries worth $8 billion per annum, associated food industries valued at about $40 billion per annum, and massive emerging industries related to renewable transport fuels and biomaterials.