Allison Pearson

Dr Allison Pearson

Research Fellow

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

My Research

My expertise is in crop plant genetics. I have experience in plant sequencing, SNP detection, marker design and genotyping and genetic map construction. The focus of my work is the development of Australian wheat and barley varieties that have improved yield under Australian field conditions. I am currently working on a project funded by the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) for "Improving wheat yield by optimising energy use efficiency".  This project involves the running of a large TPA experiment using over 800 genotypes for the detection of QTL to identify genomic regions associated with yield and stress tolerance traits.

Plants on Plant Accelerator conveyor system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other work and experience also includes the study and improvement of Australian wheat and barley for enhanced salinity tolerance.  Soil salinity is a major limitation to cereal production and breeding new salt tolerant cultivars has the potential to improve cereal crop yields.  We have worked on different populations to study the effects of salinity and to determine the regions of the genome which contain loci and/or genes for enhanced salinity tolerance which can be bred into elite Australian germplasm.  As well as a previously funded GRDC project which I worked on we also have a SAGIT-funded project which is developing an advanced mapping population using embryo rescue.  This project has allowed a population that would normally take 3-4 years to develop using traditional methods be completed in 12 months with the lines developed ready for use in glasshouse and field experiments. In addition SAGIT have refunded the project until the end of 2019 to perform greenhouse trials at the Plant Accellerator on this same wheat RIL population.

Are you interested in doing a PhD at the University of Adelaide?

There are a number of scholarships available with the university scholarships for Australian students  known as the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA). These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and in designated areas of research strength. The University also offers a range of Scholarships for international students. The application involves filling in the "application form for admission/scholarship".

When applying for domestic scholarships please remember to tick both the APA and Divisional box.  After the closing date, the Graduate Centre will forward your application to the School to consider. If an APA is not awarded then the school will consider offering a divisional scholarship.  Further details can be found at the scholarship websites http://www.adelaide.edu.au/scholarships/

Further information on international PhD scholarships can be found at:  https://www.adelaide.edu.au/graduatecentre/scholarships/research-international/opportunities/

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  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2019 Ward, B., Brien, C., Oakey, H., Pearson, A., Negrão, S., Schilling, R., . . . van den Hengel, A. (2019). High‐throughput 3D modelling to dissect the genetic control of leaf elongation in barley (Hordeum vulgare). The Plant Journal.
    DOI
    2018 Asif, M., Schilling, R., Tilbrook, J., Brien, C., Dowling, K., Rabie, H., . . . Pearson, A. (2018). Mapping of novel salt tolerance QTL in an Excalibur × Kukri doubled haploid wheat population. TAG Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 131(10), 2179-2196.
    DOI Scopus1
    2011 Pearson, A., Cogan, N., Baillie, R., Hand, M., Bandaranayake, C., Erb, S., . . . Forster, J. (2011). Identification of QTLs for morphological traits influencing waterlogging tolerance in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 122(3), 609-622.
    DOI Scopus18 WoS16 Europe PMC10

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2004 Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., Krstic, M. P., & Robinson, S. P. (2004). The effect of bunch exposure on anthocyanin accumulation in Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) grapes and wine. In Blair (Ed.), Proceedings of the 12th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (pp. 75-78). Melbourne, Australia.
    2004 Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., Krstic, M. P., & Robinson, S. P. (2004). The effect of light on Anthocyanin accumulation in Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.). In I. Konczak, & W. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Anthocyanins. Sydney, Australia.
    2004 Hannah, R., Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., & Krstic, M. P. (2004). Bunch exposure and accumulation of anthocyanins in different grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.). In I. Konczak, & W. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Anthocyanins. Sydney, Australia.
  • Date Investigators Title Funding Amount Role
    2016 AS Pearson Conference Funding Award Plant Nutrition Trust $1,995 Sole applicant
    2017-2018

    AS Pearson, SJ Roy

    		 Development of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance South Australian Grains Industry Trust (SAGIT) $66,762 Lead Investigator
    2018-2019

    AS Pearson, SJ Roy

    		 Phenotypic evaluation of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance SAGIT $110,652 Lead Investigator
    2018 AS Pearson Development of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance - conference SAGIT - Travel Award $5,450 Sole applicant

    2018

    		 AS Pearson Travel Award CASS Foundation $4,000 Sole applicant
    2018-2019 AS Pearson Improving the salinity tolerance of wheat for increased yield in Australian soils Yitpi Foundation $15,000 Sole applicant
  • Position: Research Fellow
  • Phone: 83131532
  • Email: allison.pearson@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: Waite
  • Building: Plant Research Centre, floor 1
  • Room: 1 84
  • Org Unit: School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Connect With Me
External Profiles