Agriculture is a cornerstone in the development of human civilisation and plays a key role in society; contributing significantly to social and economic development and allowing for a predictable supply of food. However, by 2050, the population is expected to surpass nine billion, requiring current crop yields to increase substantially. Hence, there is a pressing need for new agricultural techniques to meet this demand.
Through understanding the processes that control a plant’s growth and development, we may be able to tackle this problem at the molecular level. My project aims to characterise the karrikin signalling pathway, which regulates seed germination. Karrikins are compounds found in bushfire smoke and while the central proteins that define this pathway have been identified, it is unknown how they function together to affect germination.
By using a combination of X-ray crystallography and other biochemical techniques, we are able to obtain information about the functions and specific roles of individual proteins as well as the interactions that occur between them.
Overall, gaining insight into the karrikin signalling pathway will give us new tools to use in addressing the problem of food sustainability and we can therefore work towards finding tangible applications using the fundamental knowledge we have uncovered.