Dr Darren Plett
Darren's research goal is to improve the yield of cereal crops to provide more food for an expanding world population. He is using agricultural biotechnology techniques to discover the genes which regulate plant tolerance to abiotic stress. He then alters these genes to improve the tolerance of crop plants to stresses such as low soil nutrients, drought and salinity.
Darren obtained his BSc and MSc degrees at the University of Manitoba, Canada. In his MSc thesis he investigated the potential effects of climate change on leaf lipid and seed oil quality in canola. He then moved to Australia and completed a PhD project with the goal of improving salinity tolerance in rice through cell type-specific expression of genes encoding sodium transporters. Since 2008 he has been employed by ACPFG to improve abiotic stress tolerance in cereal crops.
Currently, Darren is leading a group investigating the system regulating nitrogen uptake in maize and wheat with the goal of altering the system to improve nitrogen uptake efficiency. The second group Darren manages is developing wheat and rice varieties with improved drought and salinity tolerance for release in developing countries. Darren also manages a plant transformation group which develops genetically modified wheat, barley and rice varieties.
Appointments
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ARC Senior Research Associate | University of Adelaide |
| 2008 - 2012 | Postdoctoral Research Associate | University of Adelaide |
Education
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 - 2007 | University of Adelaide, Adelaide | Australia | PhD |
| 2001 - 2003 | University of Manitoba, Winnipeg | Canada | MSc |
| 1998 - 2001 | University of Manitoba, Winnipeg | Canada | BSc |
Keywords
Agricultural Biotechnology, Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, Plant Physiology
Journals
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Schilling,R, Tester,M, Marschner,P, Plett,D, Roy,S, 2017, AVP1: One Protein, Many Roles, Trends in Plant Science, 22, 2, 154-162 10.1016/j.tplants.2016.11.012 |
| 2017 | Sabermanesh,K, Holtham,L, George,J, Roessner,U, Boughton,B, Heuer,S, Tester,M, Plett,D, Garnett,T, 2017, Transition from a maternal to external nitrogen source in maize seedlings, Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, 59, 4, 261-274 10.1111/jipb.12525 |
| 2016 | Plett,D, Baumann,U, Schreiber,A, Holtham,L, Kalashyan,E, Toubia,J, Nau,J, Beatty,M, Rafalski,A, Dhugga,K et al, 2016, Maize maintains growth in response to decreased nitrate supply through a highly dynamic and developmental stage-specific transcriptional response, Plant Biotechnology Journal, 14, 1, 342-353 10.1111/pbi.12388 |
| 2016 | Plett,D, Holtham,L, Baumann,U, Kalashyan,E, Francis,K, Enju,A, Toubia,J, Roessner,U, Bacic,A, Rafalski,A et al, 2016, Nitrogen assimilation system in maize is regulated by developmental and tissue-specific mechanisms, Plant Molecular Biology, 92, 3, 293-312 10.1007/s11103-016-0512-5 |
| 2016 | George,J, Holtham,L, Sabermanesh,K, Heuer,S, Tester,M, Plett,D, Garnett,T, 2016, Small amounts of ammonium (NH⁺₄) can increase growth of maize (Zea mays), Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 179, 6, 717-725 10.1002/jpln.201500625 |
| 2015 | Adem,G, Roy,S, Plett,D, Zhou,M, Bowman,J, Shabala,S, 2015, Expressing AtNHX1 in barley (Hordium vulgare L.) does not improve plant performance under saline conditions, Plant Growth Regulation, 77, 3, 289-297 10.1007/s10725-015-0063-9 |
| 2015 | Garnett,T, Plett,D, Conn,V, Conn,S, Rabie,H, Rafalski,J, Dhugga,K, Tester,M, Kaiser,B, 2015, Variation for N uptake system in maize: genotypic response to N supply, Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, Nov, 936-1-936-13 10.3389/fpls.2015.00936 |
| 2015 | Garnett,T, Plett,D, Heuer,S, Okamoto,M, 2015, Genetic approaches to enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) in cereals: challenges and future directions, Functional Plant Biology, 42, 10, 921-941 10.1071/FP15025 |
| 2014 | Schilling,R, Marschner,P, Shavrukov,Y, Berger,B, Tester,M, Roy,S, Plett,D, 2014, Expression of the Arabidopsis vacuolar H⁺-pyrophosphatase gene (AVP1) improves the shoot biomass of transgenic barley and increases grain yield in a saline field, Plant Biotechnology Journal, 12, 3, 378-386 10.1111/pbi.12145 |
| 2014 | Byrt,C, Xu,B, Krishnan,M, Lightfoot,D, Athman,A, Jacobs,A, Watson-Haigh,N, Plett,D, Munns,R, Tester,M et al, 2014, The Na⁺ transporter, TaHKT1;5-D, limits shoot Na⁺ accumulation in bread wheat, The Plant Journal, 80, 3, 516-526 10.1111/tpj.12651 |
| 2013 | Garnett,T, Conn,V, Plett,D, Conn,S, Zanghellini,J, MacKenzie,N, Enju,A, Francis,K, Holtham,L, Roessner,U et al, 2013, The response of the maize nitrate transport system to nitrogen demand and supply across the lifecycle, New Phytologist, 198, 1, 82-94 10.1111/nph.12166 |
| 2012 | Cotsaftis,O, Plett,D, Shirley,N, Tester,M, Hrmova,M, 2012, A two-staged model of Na+ exclusion in rice explained by 3D modeling of HKT transporters and alternative splicing, PLoS One, 7, 7, 1-10 10.1371/journal.pone.0039865 |
| 2012 | Munns,R, James,R, Xu,B, Athman,A, Conn,S, Jordans,C, Byrt,C, Hare,R, Tyerman,S, Tester,M et al, 2012, Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na+ transporter gene, Nature Biotechnology, 30, 4, 360-364 10.1038/nbt.2120 |
| 2011 | Cotsaftis,O, Plett,D, Johnson,AAT, Walia,H, Wilson,C, Ismail,AM, Close,TJ, Tester,M, Baumann,U, 2011, Root-specific transcript profiling of contrasting rice genotypes in response to salinity stress, Molecular Plant, 4, 1, 25-41 10.1093/mp/ssq056 |
| 2010 | Plett,D, Toubia,J, Garnett,T, Tester,M, Kaiser,B, Baumann,U, 2010, Dichotomy in the NRT gene families of dicots and grass species, PLoS One, 5, 12, 1-10 10.1371/journal.pone.0015289 |
| 2010 | Plett,DC, Moller,IS, 2010, Na+ transport in glycophytic plants: what we know and would like to know (vol 33, pg 612, 2010), PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT, 33, 11, 2000-2000 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2010.02216.x |
| 2010 | Plett,D, Safwat El Hussieny,G, Gilliham,M, Moller,I, Roy,S, Shirley,N, Jacobs,A, Johnson,A, Tester,M, 2010, Improved salinity tolerance of rice through cell type-specific expression of AtHKT1;1, PLoS One, 5, 9, 1-8 10.1371/journal.pone.0012571 |
| 2010 | Plett,D, Johnson,A, Jacobs,A, Tester,M, 2010, Cell type-specific expression of sodium transporters improves salinity tolerance of rice, GM crops, 1, 5, 273-275 10.4161/gmcr.1.5.14200 |
| 2010 | Plett,D, Moller,I, 2010, Na⁺ transport in glycophytic plants: what we known and would like to know, Plant Cell and Environment, 33, 4, 612-626 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02086.x |
Book Chapters
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Plett,D, Berger,B, Tester,M, 2010, Genetic determinants of salinity tolerance in crop plants, Blackwell Publishers Inc, USA, pp. 83-111 10.1002/9780813809380 |
| 2009 | Plett,D, Berger,B, Tester,M, 2009, Genetic Determinants of Salinity Tolerance in Crop Plants, pp. 81-111 10.1002/9780813809380.ch4 |
Conference Papers
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Jacobs,A, Lunde,C, Juttner,J, Comis,A, Drew,D, Plett,D, Tester,M, 2006, Functional Analysis Of A Sodium Transport Gene Expressed In Model And Crop Species, Plant & Animal Genomes Conference, San Diego, CA |
Patents
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Tester,M, Jacobs,A, Plett,D, Johnson,A; 2006; Cell specific, inducible or repressible, expression system |
Committee Memberships
| Date | Role | Committee | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 - 2014 | Member | PhD student Advisory Committee | ACPFG | Australia |
Position
ARC Senior Research Associate
Phone
83131499
Fax
8313 7102
Campus
Waite
Building
Plant Genomics Centre
Room Number
2 27
Org Unit
Plant Science