PhD candidates receive APPN access for wheat heat tolerance projects

University of Sydney PhD candidates Edward Chaplin and Md Shamsuzzaman will both be augmenting their research projects with access to APPN phenotyping infrastructure and expertise following the November round of Postgraduate Internship Awards (PIA).

The Award scheme provides each successful applicant with up to $10,000 worth of facility usage to grow and study crop traits of interest, while working alongside APPN experts to gain career-building knowledge and experience. 

Md Shamsuzzaman (‘Zaman’) will use his internship to further his research into the genetic basis of stress tolerance in wheat, particularly heat and drought tolerance at anthesis and the flow-on effect on yields.  

He has grown 50 wheat genotypes including heat-tolerant, heat-sensitive genotypes and benchmark Australian commercial varieties in the field at the University of Sydney’s IA Watson Grains Research Centre at Narrabri, NSW. 

Based on the first year of field evaluations, he will bring the 12 most promising lines to the DroughtSpotter controlled environment and automated-irrigation rooms at APPN’s University of Adelaide Node, The Plant Accelerator®. There, he is planning to conduct experiments under heat + drought conditions, to complement his glasshouse study of heat + elevated CO2 responses at Narrabri. Leaf samples will be collected at the anthesis stage for RNA analysis to identify desirable tolerance traits.  

The research will provide valuable insights for wheat productivity in a changing climate,” Zaman says. 

“This will be important everywhere – but will be especially valuable for supporting wheat yields and food security for my home nation of Bangladesh.”

Ed Chaplin is also based at the University of Sydney’s Narrabri campus and will use the APPN DroughtSpotter facility at The Plant Accelerator® to expand his research project studying the physiology, anatomy and dynamic responses of wheat stomata under hot and dry conditions. 

He says it is a largely unstudied aspect of wheat physiology that may have significant potential for drought tolerance and water use efficiency in wheat grown under challenging environmental conditions. 

“There is limited literature covering research on dynamic stomatal responses, particularly under abiotic stress conditions,” says Ed.

“Gaining access to the DroughtSpotter rooms through the PIA will allow me to investigate this critical aspect of stomatal biology under precisely controlled conditions. It just wouldn’t have been possible without the PIA program.”

Ed is hoping to explore how the stomatal anatomy of wheat (pore size and density) is linked to the speed with which stomata can dynamically respond to changing environmental conditions. He is also seeking to understand how stomatal kinetics are impacted by heat and drought stress. His aim is to unlock new insights which will elevate stomatal traits to be high value targets in plant breeding programs.

Having developed a custom 3D-printed leaf clip to use for portable microscopy, as well as a dedicated app which employs deep learning computer vision to automate stomatal analysis of microscopy images, he is well equipped to make some valuable discoveries as part of his internship. 

About the APPN Postgraduate Internship Award program

APPN Postgraduate Internship Awards (PIA) provide postgraduate students with up to $10,000 worth of access to our sophisticated plant phenomics infrastructure – as well as a valuable opportunity to work alongside APPN staff to learn more about the potential applications and benefits of our phenotyping technologies.

Internships are awarded twice per year, with applications closing on 30 May and 31 October.

Applicants can choose to work with the APPN team across our network and PIA awards may include assistance with travel and accommodation costs if required.

Postgraduate students at any Australian university are encouraged to learn more, consult with their supervisors and the APPN team, and submit an application.

See our website for more details.

2 May 2025