Dissecting sensory chloroplasts in specialised cells for climate resilience

The increasing frequency and intensity of climate extremes are threatening Australian agriculture production. Climate extremes negatively impact crop yields, specifically grains and oilseed, which are down by 87% and are estimated to diminish our GDP by $5.5 billion annually. Traditional strategies to enhance crop resilience often target the entire plant, however, this often results in trade-offs with undesirable impacts on plant growth and seed yield. Greater precision in our strategies is needed to avoid the trade-offs and inform future crop breeding that enhances both crop and economic resilience. This project seeks to discover and understand the specialised roles of diverse plant leaf cells in sensing changes to their environment, such as extended drought and intense sunlight. By deepening our understanding of the cellular and molecular specialisation within the plant leaf, we can leverage the discoveries and insights to guide Australian crop breeders and global agri-tec