Professor Jimmy Botella

Professor

School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Faculty of Science
j.botella@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 51128

Overview

Dr Botella's research interests are in genetic engineering, molecular biology and signal transduction in plants.

Dr. Jimmy Botella is Professor of Plant Biotechnology at the University of Queensland. He obtained a degree in Quantum Chemistry from the University of Madrid (Spain) and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Malaga (Spain). After postdoctoral positions at Michigan State University and Pennsylvania State University he joined the University of Queensland in 1995. At UQ he founded the Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory (PGEL) specialising in the fields of tropical and subtropical agricultural biotechnology for almost 15 years. J. Botella has eleven international patents in the field of Plant Biotechnology and is a founding member of two biotechnology companies (Coridon Ltd. and Origo Biotech).

Dr Botella is a member of the Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology research group.

Some highlights of the Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory’s research:

  • Production and field trial of the world’s first genetically modified pineapples with genetic constructs to control flowering time. These pineapples will allow farmer control over harvesting times.
  • Development of a new technology to confer protection against nematode infestation.
  • Discovery of a gene that can confer resistance to the devastating fungus Fusarium oxysporum in plants.
  • Development of a new technology to confer protection against pathogenic fungi in plants.

Research interests

Dr. Botella’s research has two major foci: basic cell biology and applied biotechnology. In cell biology he is interested in studying the function of the Heterotrimeric G proteins in plants. This family of proteins is extremely important in humans but their role in pant systems is still largely unknown. Dr. Botella’s research has strongly contributed to the current body of knowledge available in plants with critical contributions such as the discovery and characterization of the first plant gamma subunits and the establishment of these subunits as the critical element conferring function specificity to all plant G proteins. Dr. Botella’s team has also discovered the important role that these proteins play in defense against pathogens. New and unpublished data has now revealed that G proteins are important yield enhancing factors in crops such as rice. Another research interest resides in the communication between plants and insects. There is plenty of knowledge of how important smell, volatiles emitted by the plant, is for foraging insects in order to determine their host preferences. Nevertheless, most of the available studies have been performed using synthetic chemicals in artificial experimental settings. Dr. Botella’s team and collaborators have genetically engineered plants to produce different volatile mixes in the flowers in order to perform in vivo behavioral studies in insects.

Biotechnology research at the Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory mostly arises from discoveries made in basic research. The PGEL focuses in tropical and subtropical crops. These crops have attracted little attention in terms of biotechnology but are essential sources of food and energy for a large part of the world’s population, especially in Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The PGEL has developed a number of platform technologies that can be applied to multiple crops in order to confer resistance to pathogens, modify plant architecture and control flowering time.

Current research projects include:

  • Plant heterotrimeric G proteins: New roles in defence, stomatal control and ABA perception.
  • Putting smells into context: using in vivo technologies to understand plant-insect odour communication.
  • Use of host-derived RNA interference technology to control plant pathogens (especially pathogenic fungi and nematodes).
  • Control of Fusarium wilt disease.
  • Genetic improvement of grain crops.
  • Genetic engineering research projects

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy of Biochemistry
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
  • Bachelor of Quantum Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Publications

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • The advent of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) has had a profound impact on plant biology, and crop improvement. Nevertheless, CRISPR technology is still in its infancy and a number of important problems need to be solved before it can be widely used in multiple crops. Projects are available to explore new CRISPR systems and develop more efficient approaches to improve genome editing applications in crops.

  • Heterotrimeric G-proteins (G-proteins) play a vital role in the defence against many important crop pathogens. Our group has been a pioneer in establishing the importance of these proteins in plant immunity and has recently produced a series of CRISPR mutants to further analyse the molecular mechanisms controlling disease resistance in crops. Projects are available to study the defence response in a number of transgenic CRISPR tomato lines.

  • Early detection of pests and pathogens is of paramount importance in reducing agricultural losses. One approach to early detection is point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, which can provide early warning and therefore allow fast deployment of preventive measures to slow down the establishment of crop diseases. Among the available diagnostic technologies, nucleic acid amplification–based diagnostics provide the highest sensitivity and specificity, and those technologies that forego the requirement for thermocycling show the most potential for use at POC.

    Projects are available in the design and evelopment of POC diagnostic applications for multiple diseases in crops.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Botella, Jose R. and Botella, Miguel A. (2016). Preface. Plant Signal Transduction Methods and Protocols. (pp. VII-X) New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3115-6

  • Trusov, Yuri, Dietzgen, Ralf G., Maruta, Natsumi and Botella, Jose R. (2016). Simplified assays for evaluation of resistance to Alternaria brassicicola and Turnip Mosaic Virus. In Botella, JR and Botella, MA (Ed.), Plant Signal Transduction (pp. 219-228) New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3115-6_18

  • Maruta, Natsumi, Trusov, Yuri and Botella, Jose R. (2016). Yeast three-hybrid system for the detection of protein-protein interactions. In Jose R. Botella and Miguel A. Botella (Ed.), Plant signal transduction Second edition ed. (pp. 145-154) New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3115-6_12

  • Trusov, Yuri, Chakravorty, David and Botella, Jose Ramon (2013). Fusarium oxysporum infection assays in Arabidopsis. G protein-coupled receptor signaling in plants: methods and protocols. (pp. 67-72) edited by Mark P. Running. New York, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-532-3_7

  • Trusov, Yuri, Jorda, Lucia, Molina, Antonio and Botella, Jose Ramon (2010). G Proteins and Plant Innate Immunity. Integrated G Proteins Signaling in Plants. (pp. 221-250) edited by Shaul Yalovsky, Frantisek Baluska and Alan Jones. Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-03524-1

  • Botella, J.R. and Smith, M. (2008). Genomics of Pineapple, Crowning the King of Tropical Fruits. Plant Genetics/Genomics: Genomics of Tropical Crop Plants. (pp. 441-451) edited by Moore, P.H. and Ming, R.. United States: Springer.

  • Brosnan, C.A., McCallum,E.J., Botella, J.R. and Carroll, B.J. (2008). RNA Interference. The Handbook of Plant Functional Genomics: Concepts and Protocols. (pp. 209-225) edited by Kahl, G. and Meksem, K.. Germany: Wiley - Blackwell. doi: 10.1002/9783527622542.ch10

  • Smith, M. K., Ko, H. L., Sanewski, G. M. and Botella, J. R. (2005). Bromeliaceae. Biotechnology of Fruit and Nut Crops. (pp. 157-172) edited by R. E. Litz. Cambridge, USA: CABI Publishing.

  • Botella, J. R. (2003). Biotechnology and reduced spoilage. Food Preservation Techniques. (pp. 243-262) edited by Peter Zeuthen and Leif Bogh-Sorensen. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing Limited. doi: 10.1016/B978-1-85573-530-9.50017-6

  • Botella, J. R. (2002). Genes selected for their role in modifying post-harvest life. Fruit and Vegetable Biotechnology. (pp. 136-151) edited by Victoriano Valpuesta. Cambridge, England: Woodhead Publishing Ltd. doi: 10.1533/9781855736412.1.136

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • The advent of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) has had a profound impact on plant biology, and crop improvement. Nevertheless, CRISPR technology is still in its infancy and a number of important problems need to be solved before it can be widely used in multiple crops. Projects are available to explore new CRISPR systems and develop more efficient approaches to improve genome editing applications in crops.

  • Heterotrimeric G-proteins (G-proteins) play a vital role in the defence against many important crop pathogens. Our group has been a pioneer in establishing the importance of these proteins in plant immunity and has recently produced a series of CRISPR mutants to further analyse the molecular mechanisms controlling disease resistance in crops. Projects are available to study the defence response in a number of transgenic CRISPR tomato lines.

  • Early detection of pests and pathogens is of paramount importance in reducing agricultural losses. One approach to early detection is point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, which can provide early warning and therefore allow fast deployment of preventive measures to slow down the establishment of crop diseases. Among the available diagnostic technologies, nucleic acid amplification–based diagnostics provide the highest sensitivity and specificity, and those technologies that forego the requirement for thermocycling show the most potential for use at POC.

    Projects are available in the design and evelopment of POC diagnostic applications for multiple diseases in crops.