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Professor Peter J. Sharp

Research interests

I am interested in molecular plant breeding to improve not only quality of the crops, but also to increase adaptation of the varieties. My research is focused wheat genetics and is in two main areas: the identification and use of molecular markers in wheat breeding, and the identification of useful genetic variation in wheat. The molecular marker work is largely on identification of molecular markers linked to quality and disease resistances. My work to identify sources of variation has been concentrated on starch properties, but has expanded to other traits. In addition to molecular marker technology, I use the tools of TILLING (mutagenesis coupled with high through-put SNP screening), and proteomics as tools in finding and following genetic variation.

Background

Peter Sharp’s career began with completing a BAgSc(Hons), majoring in Plant Breeding and Genetics at the University of Adelaide, and doing a PhD in genetics at the same university. He was employed at the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge (UK) for 6 years and joined the University of Sydney in 1989. Peter Sharp was appointed as a Professor of Molecular Plant Breeding in 2003. Professor Sharp has gained recognition as a world leader in plant and molecular genetics and plant biotechnology, particularly in the application of the latest advances in basic research for the improvement of commercial crops.

He is the Director of the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute, that has two sites, at Cobbitty near Sydney, and at Narrabri, in the north-west of NSW.

Recent publications

  • Akbari, Mona, Peter Wenzl, Vanessa Caig, Jason Carling, Ling Xia, Shiying Yang, Grzegorz Uszynski, et al. 2006. Diversity arrays technology (DArT) for high-throughput profiling of the hexaploid wheat genome. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 113:1409–1420. doi:10.1007/s00122-006-0365-4.
  • Cane, Karen, P J Sharp, H A Eagles, R F Eastwood, G J Hollamby, Haydn Kuchel, Meiqin Lu, and P J Martin. 2008. The effects on grain quality traits of a grain serpin protein and the VPM1 segment in southern Australian wheat breeding. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59: 883. doi:10.1071/AR08114.
  • Dong, Chongmei, Peter Beetham, Kate Vincent, and Peter Sharp. 2006. Oligonucleotide-directed gene repair in wheat using a transient plasmid gene repair assay system. Plant Cell Reports 25: 457–465. doi:10.1007/s00299-005-0098-x.
  • Dong, Chongmei, Jessica Dalton-Morgan, Kate Vincent, and Peter Sharp. 2009. A Modified TILLING Method for Wheat Breeding. The Plant Genome 2: 39. doi:10.3835/plantgenome2008.10.0012.
  • Dong, Chongmei, Kate Vincent, and Peter Sharp. 2009. Simultaneous mutation detection of three homoeologous genes in wheat by High Resolution Melting analysis and Mutation Surveyor®. BMC Plant Biology 9: 143. doi:10.1186/1471-2229-9-143.
  • Hayden, M J, P Stephenson, A M Logojan, D Khatkar, C Rogers, J Elsden, R M D Koebner, J W Snape, and P J Sharp. 2006. Development and genetic mapping of sequence-tagged microsatellites (STMs) in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 113: 1271–1281. doi:10.1007/s00122-006-0381-4.
  • Mak, Yunxian, Daniel J Skylas, Robert Willows, Angela Connolly, Stuart J Cordwell, Colin W. Wrigley, Peter J. Sharp, and Les Copeland. 2006. A proteomic approach to the identification and characterisation of protein composition in wheat germ. Functional & Integrative Genomics 6: 322–337. doi:10.1007/s10142-005-0018-8.
  • Mak, Yunxian, Robert D WIllows, Thomas H. Roberts, Colin W. Wrigley, Peter J. Sharp, and Les Copeland. 2006. Black Point is associated with reduced levels of stress, disease- and defence-related proteins in wheat grain. Molecular Plant Pathology 7: 177–189. doi:10.1111/j.1364-3703.2006.00330.x.
  • Regina, Ahmed, Behjat Kosar-Hashemi, Zhongyi Li, Andrew Pedler, Yasuhiko Mukai, Maki Yamamoto, Kevin Gale, Peter J. Sharp, Matthew K Morell, and Sadequr Rahman. 2005. Starch branching enzyme IIb in wheat is expressed at low levels in the endosperm compared to other cereals and encoded at a non-syntenic locus. Planta 222: 899–909. doi:10.1007/s00425-005-0032-z.
  • Wang, Shujun, Peter Sharp, and Les Copeland. 2011. Structural and functional properties of starches from field peas. Food Chemistry 126: 1546–1552. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.11.154.

Contact

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