Harnessing the power of multi-omics: A deep dive into plant biology

Title : Harnessing the power of multi-omics: A deep dive into plant biology

Abstract:

The intricate interplay of genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic processes governs plant growth, development and response to environmental stimuli. In recent years, multi-omics technologies have emerged as powerful tools to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying complex agricultural traits. Multi-omics approaches enable simultaneous analysis of multiple layers of biological information, giving researchers a comprehensive understanding of plant physiology and metabolism. This talk will delve into the principles and applications of multi-omics approaches in plant science with examples of various crops and inclusion of technologies like genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, thus emphasising on the synergistic power of integrating these data types to generate a holistic view for trait improvement in crops. The integration of multi-omics data enables the identification of novel genes, regulatory pathways and metabolic networks involved in various plant processes, such as photosynthesis, stress response, and secondary metabolism. By correlating changes in gene expression, protein abundance and metabolite levels, researchers can elucidate the causal relationships between these molecular components and desired phenotypes. Moreover, multi-omics analysis facilitates the discovery of biomarkers for plant health, disease resistance and yield potential. I will also highlight the challenges and limitations associated with multi-omics research, including data generation, analysis and interpretation. I will discuss the importance of robust experimental design, high-quality data acquisition and advanced bioinformatics/statistics tools for extracting meaningful insights from complex datasets. In conclusion, multi-omics approaches have revolutionised crop science by providing a systems-level understanding of plant biology. Integration of multi-omics analysis can help plant biologists to address fundamental questions in plant biology and develop innovative strategies for crop improvement and sustainable agriculture.

Biography:

Dr Niharika Sharma is a Bioinformatics Research Scientist at NSW DPIRD with a research focus on leveraging omics data to steer crop breeding approaches/outcomes. She has obtained her PhD degree in 2014 at the University of Melbourne, Australia and since then, she has worked exclusively in the Agricultural research sector with past positions at the University of Adelaide (Australia) and the University of Delhi (India). She has >15 years of experience in the field, applying high-throughput omics approaches for crop breeding using novel algorithms and advanced statistical approaches. She has published more than 25 research articles in reputed peer-reviewed journals.