Abstract: The present invention relates generally to the use of plants as bioreactors for the production of molecules having useful properties such as inter alia polymers, metabolites, proteins, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. More particularly, the present invention contemplates the use of grasses, and even more particularly C4 grasses, such as sugar-cane, for the production of a range of compounds such as, for example, polyhydroxyalkanoates, pHBA, vanillin, indigo, adipic acid, 2-phenylethanol, 1,3-propane-diol, sorbitol, fructan polymers and lactic acid as well as other products including, inter alia, other plastics, silks, carbohydrates, therapeutic and nutraceutic proteins and antibodies. The present invention further extends to transgenic plants and, in particular, transgenic C4 grass plants, capable of producing the compounds noted above and other products, and to methods for generating such plants.

Abstract: A new family of antimicrobial proteins is described. Prototype proteins can be isolated from Macadamia integrifolia as well as other plant species. DNA encoding the protein is also described as well as DNA constructs which can be used to express the antimicrobial protein or to introduce the antimicrobial protein into a plant. Compositions comprising the antimicrobial protein or the antimicrobial protein per se can be administered to plants or mammalian animals to combat microbial infestation.

Abstract: The subject invention relates to DNA encoding an anti-microbial protein from Macadamia integrifolia and variants of the protein that are less sensitive to Ca++. The invention further relates to constructs comprising the DNA, and host cells, plants and plant material comprising such constructs.

Abstract: A method of producing a transgenic monocotyledonous plant includes culturing a thin section explant from a monocotyledonous plant, such as sugarcane, wheat or sorghum, in the presence of an auxin and, optionally, a cytokinin, prior to transformation. Optimally, the thin section is oriented during this pre-transformation culture period of 1-6 days so that a basal surface is substantially not in contact with the culture medium. The cultured explant is then transformed followed by a rest period of 4-15 days in a culture medium without selection agent but comprising an auxin and, optionally, a cytokinin. After this rest period, transgenic plants are selectively propagated from the transformed plant tissue in the presence of a selection agent such as paromomycin sulphate or geneticin. This system provides rapid, efficient generation of transgenic monocotyledonous plants from transformed, non-callus tissue and thereby reduces the likelihood of somaclonal variation among transgenic progeny.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for the on-line measurement of a parameter in a processing stream. The system comprises a scanning head mounted adjacent a continuous stream of processed material, the scanning head comprising a remote light source and reflected light gathering and transmission apparatus; a near infrared spectrophotometer which includes a monochromator for resolving the reflected light into light of a discrete wavelength; a database containing a reference calibration equation linking absorption characteristics by wavelength and the quantified presence of the parameter of interest; and a computer for measuring the parameter by application of the calibration equation to the obtained spectrum for a sample and managing said system. The invention also comprises a method of on-line measurement of a parameter in a processing stream by NIR spectroscopy and networks comprising systems according to the invention.