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BioMarka is a Molecular Plant Genetics and Germplasm Development Group located in the Melbourne School of Land and Environment at The University of Melbourne's Parkville campus. BioMarka is focused on the training of postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students in the applications of biotechnology to improve crop production in southern Australia.
BioMarka objectives are to develop and apply molecular marker technologies to improve the breeding and selection of elite accessions of temperate legume (chickpea, lentil, field pea, grasspea and vetch), horticultural (carrot, celery, potato) and vegetable and oilseed Brassica crop species. The specific aims are to;
- Study the diversity and evolution of breeding germplasm and associated important pathogens
- Identify, characterise and employ specific disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance genes
- Develop DNA probes for efficient and strategic marker-assisted selection of key agronomic and economically important crop traits
- Develop and validate DNA probes for the accurate diagnosis of high risk endemic and exotic pathogen genomes, and
- Develop efficient transgenic technologies for genetic manipulation and regeneration to enhance elite accessions
Lead Academics
Associate Professor Paul Taylor
 +61 3 83445021
 paulwjt@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Rebecca Ford
+61 3 83449753
rebeccaf@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Marc Nicolas
+61 3 83445034
marcen@unimelb.edu.au
Outputs
Research Outputs
BioMarka projects have a proven track record in providing tangible outputs to the pulse (lentil, field pea, chickpea, grass pea, vetch) industries. Recent outputs have included:
- Validated markers for marker-assisted selection of Ascochyta blight resistance in lentil and chickpea
- The first true intra specific genome linkage maps of chickpea and lentil
- A molecular genotype database of the key Australian field pea and lentil cultivars
- A diagnostic molecular test for Ascochyta blight of chickpea
- A diagnostic molecular test for Anthracnose of lentil
- A detailed understanding of the population diversity and mating type status of Ascochyta blight of chickpea in Australia
- A reliable transformation and in vitro regeneration system for vetch
- Virus-silenced carrot lines
- A detailed understanding of the population structure of Botrytis Grey mould of chickpea in Bangladesh
- An understanding of the tolerance mechanism to Boron in Brassica sp.
- An understanding of the genetics and genes governing seed quality traits (shape, colour) in chickpea and lentil
- Candidate functional genes for resistance to ascochyta blight in lentil and chickpea
Expertise and Background IP
- 9 book chapter and 19 international journal articles in the past 24 months
- Extensive capability in genome mapping in chickpea and lentil
- Genotype specific unilocus and multi allelic molecular markers developed and/or characterised for elite Australian chickpea and lentil breeding lines
- Expertise in foliar disease assessment bioassays in the glasshouse and field
- Expertise in abiotic stress assessment bioassays in the glasshouse and field
- Development of near-isogenic, recombinant inbred line populations for genetic analysis of several desirable biotic and abiotic traits
- Development of expressed sequenced tag libraries and sequence arrays for gene function analyses
- Development and delivery of specialised workshops and training programs on applications of molecular markers to crop breeding
Alliances
University of Hong Kong
China |
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Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
China
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Kasetsart University
Thailand |
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Washington State University
USA |
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University of Saskatchewan
Canada |
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National Maize Research Institute
Vietnam |
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