Dr Darren Plett

Darren Plett
ARC Senior Research Associate
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Faculty of Sciences

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.

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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

Research Interests

Agricultural Biotechnology, Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, Plant Physiology

Journals

Year Citation
2017 Sabermanesh, K., Holtham, L., George, J., Roessner, U., Boughton, B., Heuer, S. ... 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
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 Plett, D. C., Holtham, L. R., Okamoto, M. & Garnett, T. P. (2017). Nitrate uptake and its regulation in relation to improving nitrogen use efficiency in cereals.. Seminars in cell & developmental biology, -.
10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.08.027
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
2016 Plett, D., Baumann, U., Schreiber, A., Holtham, L., Kalashyan, E., Toubia, J. ... Kaiser, B. (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. ... Kaiser, B. (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
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
2015 Garnett, T., Plett, D., Conn, V., Conn, S., Rabie, H., Rafalski, J. ... 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 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
2014 Byrt, C., Xu, B., Krishnan, M., Lightfoot, D., Athman, A., Jacobs, A. ... Gilliham, M. (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
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
2013 Garnett, T., Conn, V., Plett, D., Conn, S., Zanghellini, J., MacKenzie, N. ... Kaiser, B. (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 Munns, R., James, R., Xu, B., Athman, A., Conn, S., Jordans, C. ... Gilliham, M. (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
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
2011 Cotsaftis, O., Plett, D., Johnson, A. A. T., Walia, H., Wilson, C., Ismail, A. 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, 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., Safwat El Hussieny, G., Gilliham, M., Moller, I., Roy, S., Shirley, N. ... 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. C. & Moller, I. S. (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. & 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

Year Citation
2017 Plett, D., Garnett, T. & Okamoto, M. (2017). Molecular genetics to discover and improve nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants. In M. Hossain, T. Kamiya, D. Burritt, L. -. S. Tran & T. Fujiwara (Eds.), Plant Macronutrient Use Efficiency: Molecular and Genomic Perspectives in Crop Plants (pp. 93-122). Cambridge: Elsevier.
10.1016/B978-0-12-811308-0.00006-5
2010 Plett, D., Berger, B. & Tester, M. (2010). Genetic determinants of salinity tolerance in crop plants. In M. Jenks & A. Wood (Eds.), Genes for Plant Abiotic Stress (pp. 83-111). USA: Blackwell Publishers Inc.
10.1002/9780813809380
2009 Plett, D., Berger, B. & Tester, M. (2009). Genetic Determinants of Salinity Tolerance in Crop Plants. In Genes for Plant Abiotic Stress (pp. 81-111).
10.1002/9780813809380.ch4

Conference Papers

Year 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

Year 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
Email
darren.plett@adelaide.edu.au
Fax
8313 7102
Campus
Waite
Building
Plant Genomics Centre
Room Number
2 27
Org Unit
Plant Science

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