ProfessorAndrew Merchant

An enormous array of tools exists for the study in the plant sciences. I enjoy employing advanced, multidisciplinary approaches to advancing our understanding of plant function in a changing environment. Plants are extremely complex and only through an understanding of this complexity can we fully utilise their capacity to adapt to changing conditions. The challenges of climate change, agricultural production and conservation require an in depth understanding of how plants work.

At the metabolic level I am interested in the processes of resource flux and energy balance. I use a range of techniques to measure the flux and regulation of energy through plant systems and the partitioning of resources such as carbon, water and nutrients. This work produces tools for use at a range of scales from molecular markers for plant improvement to more broad tools for field based monitoring of leaf to landscape scale processes. My research is relevant to both conservation efforts as well as many industry applications in the production of nutritious food, sustainable biofuels and maintenance of ecosystem services.

I am fascinated with how metabolic processes at the cellular scale determine plant and ecosystem health and productivity. Using new technologies in analytical sciences that span molecular, chemical and physiological disciplines, my work seeks to develop an understanding of the dynamics of plant responses to resource availability. Strong, ongoing national and international collaborative links are a valuable component of my research including partners in Austria, Germany, France, Colombia, the USA, Canada and China. To date, this work has characterised distinct geographical and evolutionary patterns in metabolism of Australian native plants and unique chemical and molecular traits for stress mitigation in crop plants, both of which have broad implications for ecological, chemical, physiological and evolutionary studies.

My research group is currently optimising mass spectrometry (GC-TSQ, LCqTOF, LC-MS) and imaging techniques (MRI, FTIR) for the quantification of flux through primary metabolism, the function of phytohormones, the nutritional quality of food and the function of antioxidant systems in plant stress responses. Combined with quantitative assessments of gene expression (RNAseq, qPCR) we are also able to assess the dynamics of metabolic reactions and their regulation at the molecular level. With a focus on the processes of how plant systems work, our research provides powerful tools for sustainable food production and conservation land management.

My research aligns with the Faculty of Science Research Strengths - Understanding Life on Earth, Fundamental Laws of Nature, Understanding Our Planet, Food Security, Sustainability, Healthy Ecosystems, Climate and Environmental Change, Biosecurity, Future Foods, Net Zero Technologies.