Reduction of Wheat Endosperm Starch Phosphate Content Alters Grain and Growth Characteristics

256 Pages·2015·12.16 MB·English

Reduction of Wheat Endosperm Starch Phosphate
Content Alters Grain and Growth Characteristics
Author: Supervisors:
Andrew Francis BOWERMAN Professor Barry POGSON
Dr Jean-Philippe RAL
Dr Frank GUBLER
AthesissubmittedforthedegreeofDoctorofPhilosophyofTheAustralianNational
University.
SubmittedJuly2014
RevisedFebruary2015
This thesis was typeset using the LATEX typesetting system originally developed
byLeslieLamport,basedonTEXcreatedbyDonaldKnuth.
ii
Declaration
This thesis is an original work. None of the work has previously been submit-
ted by me for the purpose of obtaining a degree or diploma in any university or
othertertiaryinstitution. Tothebestofmyknowledgethisthesisdoesnotcontain
material previously published by another person, except where due reference is
madeinthetext.
................................
AndrewF.Bowerman
iii

Drippingwaterhollowsoutstone,notthroughforcebutthroughpersistence.
Ovid(43BC-17AD),Romanpoetandphilosopher
Wisdomcomesfromexperience. Experienceisoftenaresultoflackofwisdom.
TerryPratchett(b. 1948),Author
v

ForFernandaandJames.
vii

Acknowledgements
Tothankallthatdeserveitfortheirassistance,inspirationand,attimes,deserved
kicks in the bum would probably fill another chapter of this work. Rather than
doing so, I would like to thank everyone who has assisted me in the delivery of
thisworkbothatCSIROandANUasagroup,andbrieflythankbelowthosewho
havehadthegreatestimpactonmytimeasaPhDstudent.
Firstly, I wish to thank my supervisors, Dr Jean-Philippe Ral, Dr Frank Gubler
and Prof. Barry Pogson. To JP, thank you for your faith in my ability and your
understanding of my faults; for always helping when I needed it and steering
when I didn’t know the way. To Frank, your always helpful insights and ad-
vice were invaluable to my success; you were always ready to drop everything
when I came to you for help. To Barry, thank you for your patience with a stu-
dentbasedatCSIROwhosimplycouldn’tfindawaytocrossCluniesRossStreet
for regular meetings; your assistance, support and encouragement were greatly
appreciated.
IwouldliketothankDrCrispinHowitt,myformersupervisorwhenIwasgain-
fullyemployedatCSIROasatechnicalofficer. Youhavealwayshelpedmetodo
and think more with my work, and gave me the confidence to throw it all in to
begin this project. There were several times I wished I had remained your assis-
tant through the last few years, and you could always be relied upon to say “I
toldyouso...” ifIhappenedtomentionit.
ToDrAnne-SophieDielen,thankyouforyouradvice,beliefandencouragement.
Our regular tea breaks were an opportunity to forget some of the stresses for a
while,andyourfriendshipwillneverbeforgotten.
Dr Marcus Newberry and Dr Alex Whan deserve many thanks for their light-
hearted discussion and advice, especially with respect to analysis and commu-
nication of data. Without their help, I would never have attempted to learn R
ix
processing, or learnt that data is only one aspect of science - how you commu-
nicate and display it is just as important. Long days spent staring at a computer
screenincompleteandutterincomprehensioncanbeblameduponthem.
Dr Oscar Larroque, thank you for your help and advice with the wonderful and
incredibly confusing world of HPLC and capillary electrophoresis. Combined
with talk of football, this was an area I needed much assistance with. Dr Donna
Glassop,thankyouforyourhelpandtrainingforHPLCmeasurementofsugars,
and hosting me for my stay in St Lucia. You went out of your way to help a
studentyouhadnevermet,andprovidedinvaluablesupport.
To the GWD team of Jeni Pritchard, Marianne Bloemsma, Dr Jos Mieog, Fred-
die Loyman, Geoff Ellacott and Jun Yang, I enjoyed working with you all and
I thank you for your help and advice with the many things that make a project
worthwhile.
Hannah Robinson, Zoe Campbell, Andrew Pedler and Jenny Thistleton, thank
you for your assistance, and for helping me to keep a sense of humour and dis-
tractingmewhenIneededit.
To my parents and my family, the Australians and the Portuguese, thank you for
your belief that I could and should complete my studies. I hope I have in some
waymadeyouproud.
And to Fernanda, my wife and financial crutch, thank you for all you have done
over these years. We have placed our life on hold while I went back to “school”,
and I hope to repay you in some way in the time to come (yes, we can take a
holiday now). Sorry for the practice talks and forced reading of this document
that always left you looking slightly bewildered and completely uninterested in
a career in science. Now we can look forward to the next chapter of our life
together. Thankyouforbeingyou.
Gratitudeisoneoftheleastarticulateoftheemotions,especiallywhenitisdeep.
FelixFrankfurter(1882-1965),AmericanSupremeCourtJustice
x