Transcript Jason Terpolilli

Honours Projects 2013
Jason Terpolilli
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I am part of the Centre for Rhizobium Studies in the School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
(please note our new website is under construction)
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My research focus is in plant-microbe interactions, and the root nodule bacteria
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RNB (rhizobia) are unique in their ability to convert atmospheric N2 into plant-available N in
symbiosis with legumes
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Research in the area is driven by:
 Requirements for highly efficient N2-fixing symbioses in agriculture, which reduce CO2-footprint of farming
and reliance on chemical fertilisers
 The integral place N2-fixation plays in nutrient cycling.
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On the next few slides are some potential honours projects.
If any of them interest you, or you have any questions about them, I encourage you to come and discuss them with
me.
Cheers
Jason
[email protected]
Optimising N2-fixing symbiotic interactions to improve crop productivity
Infected
plant cell
TCA
ATP & eN2
Nitrogenase
Sucrose
Malate
Bacteroid
NH3
Gln
Asn
Xylem
Phloem
Effectiveness on Medicago truncatula
Key research aims:
1. Understand what drives N2-fixation efficiency
• Why are some symbioses highly efficient?
• Identify genetic determinants
• Apply these in the field
2. Overcome competition
• Aggressive nodulation by resident soil rhizobia
• Often fix little or no N
• Is selective nodulation a solution?