{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260101870"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260101870","attributes":{"code":"DE260101870","administering-organisation":"The University of Western Australia","announcement-administering-organisation":"The University of Western Australia","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-05-01","anticipated-end-date":"2029-04-30","grant-summary":"Decoding Pyruvate Dynamics: Enhancing Respiration Efficiency in Plants. Plant respiration increases with global warming, leading to the loss of nearly half of the fixed carbon back into the environment. This not only reduces potential yield but also negatively impacts the ecosystem. This project aims to uncover how pyruvate, the key fuel for respiration, is transported to mitochondria, what factors regulate this process, and how it can be manipulated to minimise carbon loss from unnecessary respiration. By advancing our understanding of the mitochondrial pyruvate transporter, this project will open new avenues for enhancing the energy efficiency of respiration. Through genetic engineering, I will develop a wheat line with adjusted pyruvate transport to improve yield resilience under rising global temperatures.","funding-current":533915.00,"funding-at-announcement":529679,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Ha Xuyen","familyName":"Le","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0002-2392-3292 "}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Ha Xuyen","familyName":"Le","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0002-2392-3292 "}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"The University of Western Australia","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"WA"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"The University of Western Australia","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"WA"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":true,"code":"3108","name":"Plant Biology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310802","name":"Plant Biochemistry","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310803","name":"Plant Cell and Molecular Biology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310806","name":"Plant Physiology","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"190507","name":"Global Effects of Climate Change (Excl. Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the South Pacific) (Excl. Social Impacts)","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"260312","name":"Wheat","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"280102","name":"Expanding Knowledge In the Biological Sciences","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":["Germany"],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"Nearly half of the carbon plants absorb through photosynthesis is lost back into the atmosphere through respiration. This means less carbon goes into producing food, and more is released as emissions from agriculture. This project aims to make plant respiration more efficient, helping crops grow better while reducing unnecessary carbon loss. By identifying key transporters and how they action in respiration, we can engineer crops to slow down wasteful respiration and improve crop productivity. This project can pinpoint engineering opportunities that is actionable to minimize carbon loss without hindering plant growth. These discoveries can be used by plant breeders to develop new crop varieties with smarter, more efficient energy use. With Australian agricultural exports valued at over $10 billion, even small improvements in crop efficiency can significantly increase export dollars and boost the economy. Reducing carbon loss from crops not only benefit Australia economically but also reduce the environmental impact of agriculture which is the major contributor to global CO2 emissions. Socially, as global demand for food rises, Australia has a major opportunity to lead in developing high-yield, low-emission crops to feed the world. "}}}