Professor Bernard Carroll
Primary research interest
Molecular genetics of gene expression and development
About me
I was a Postdoctoral Fellow and a Research Fellow at ANU, and then a Higher Scientific Officer in The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK. I was appointed to a senior lectureship at the University of Queensland in 1993, initially in School of Land & Food Sciences, and then relocated my lab to School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences in 1997.
Research focus and collaborations
My laboratory focuses on using plants as model genetic organisms. The research theme of my laboratory is the role of RNA interference and epigenetics in regulation of gene expression, and response of genomes to the environment. Genetic and molecular approaches are being used to identify and clone key plant genes involved in gene silencing. We are particularly interested in genes involved in intercellular RNA signaling, and how these affect plant development and plant defence against viruses and transposons. We are also investigating in the role of intron splicing in regulation of gene silencing and gene expression, and the role of epigenetics in pollen development.
Projects and patents
Funded projects
- ARC Discovery Project 2015-2017, Systematic gene silencing in arabdiposis and relevance to plant biology, B Carroll, K Kazan, D Jackson, Total value of grant: $355,100
- Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2013-2017, Transforming subtropical/tropical tree crop productivity, J Wilkie et al., Total value of grant: $1,570,656
- DIISR AISRF Grand Challenge Program 2012-2016, Crop plants which remove their own major biotic constraints, P Bhalla, D Russell, M Singh, C Robin, J Golz, O Edwards, B Carroll, Total value of grant: $2,930,000
- ARC- Linkage Project 2013-2015, Strength in uniformity - novel clonal technologies for a more productive avocado industry, N Mitter, C Beveridge, B Carroll, Total value of grant: $626,370
- ARC Discovery Project 2002-2014, Intron splicing regulates gene silencing in Arabidopsis, B Carroll S Sureshkumar, Total value of grant: $340,000
- DIISR AISRF Bio-technology Fund 2011-2014, Discovery and manipulation of microRNAs involved in high temperature tolerance in crop plants, B. Carroll, S. Balasubramanian, N. Mitter, Total value of grant: $300,000
- ARC Discovery Project 2009-2011, Genetic and molecular analysis of long-distance gene silencing in Arabidopsis, B Carroll, Total value of grant: $240,000
- ARC Linkage Project 2008-2010, Understanding and avoiding transgene silencing in sugarcane, R Birch, M Graham, B Carroll, D Schlebs, P Collins, Total value of Grant: $900,000
Patents
- Carroll, B., Harrison, D. and Aung, H. (2003) Detection of DNA methylation
- World patent no. WO 03/025215
- Kragler, F., Kadam, U. and Carroll B. (2021) CircRNAs for gene silencing. European patent EP21175600.
Student supervision
- PhD: Principal Advisor 3; Associate Advisor 4
- MPhil: Principal Advisor 1
Teaching interests
- Molecular Genetics, Molecular Technologies and Biotechnology
- joint convenor of Genetics major
Achievements and awards
- Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1998)
Featured publications
- Yong, Jiaxi, Wu, Miaomiao, Zhang, Run, Bi, Shengnan, Mann, Christopher W. G., Mitter, Neena, Carroll, Bernard J. (joint corresponding author) and Xu, Zhi Ping (2022). Clay nanoparticles efficiently deliver small interfering RNA to intact plant leaf cells. Plant Physiology, 190 (4), 2187-2202.
- Yong, Jiaxi, Zhang, Run, Bi, Shengnan, Li, Peng, Sun, Luyao, Mitter, Neena, Carroll, Bernard J (joint senior author) and Xu, Zhi Ping (2021). Sheet-like clay nanoparticles deliver RNA into developing pollen to efficiently silence a target gene. Plant Physiology, 187 (2), 1-14.
- Butel, Nicolas, Yu, Agnès, Le Masson, Ivan, Borges, Filipe, Elmayan, Taline, Taochy, Christelle, Gursanscky, Nial R., Cao, Jiangling, Bi, Shengnan, Sawyer, Anne, Carroll, Bernard J. (joint corresponding author) and Vaucheret, Hervé (2021) Contrasting epigenetic control of transgenes and endogenous genes promotes post-transcriptional transgene silencing in Arabidopsis. Nature Communications, 12, 2787
- Lee, Chin Hong, Hawker, Nathaniel P., Peters, Jonathan R., Lonhienne, Thierry G. A., Gursanscky, Nial R., Matthew, Louisa, Brosnan, Christopher A., Mann, Christopher G, Cromer, Laurence, Taochy, Christelle, Ngo, Quy A., Sundaresan, Venkatesan, Schenk, Peer M., Kobe, Bostjan, Borges, Filipe, Mercier, Raphael, Bowman, John L. and Carroll, Bernard J. (2021) Defective embryo and meristems genes are required for cell division and gamete viability in Arabidopsis. PLOS Genetics, 17(5): e1009561.
- Eimer, Hannes, Sureshkumar, Sridevi, Singh Yadav, Avilash, Kraupner-Taylor, Calvin, Bandaranayake, Champa, Seleznev, Andrei, Thomason, Tamblyn, Fletcher, Stephen J., Gordon, Stephanie Frances, Carroll, Bernard J. and Balasubramanian, Sureshkumar (2018) RNA-dependent epigenetic silencing directs transcriptional downregulation caused by intronic repeat expansions. Cell, . doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.044
- Fletcher, Stephen J., Boden, Mikael, Mitter, Neena and Carroll, Bernard J. (2018) SCRAM: a pipeline for fast index-free small RNA read alignment and visualization. Bioinformatics, . doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/bty161
- Taochy, Christelle, Gursanscky, Nial R., Cao, Jiangling, Fletcher, Stephen J., Dressel, Uwe, Mitter, Neena, Tucker, Matthew R., Koltunow, Anna M G., Bowman, John L., Vaucheret, Hervé and Carroll, Bernard J. (2017) A Genetic Screen for Impaired Systemic RNAi Highlights the Crucial Role of DICER-LIKE 2. Plant Physiology, 175 3: 1424-1437. doi:10.1104/pp.17.01181
- Mitter, Neena , Worrall, Elizabeth A., Robinson, Karl E., Xu, Zhi Ping and Carroll, Bernard J. (2017) Induction of virus resistance by exogenous application of double-stranded RNA. Current Opinion in Virology, 26 49-55. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2017.07.009
- Mitter, Neena, Worrall, Elizabeth A., Robinson, Karl E., Li, Peng, Jain, Ritesh G., Taochy, Christelle, Fletcher, Stephen J., Carroll, Bernard J., Lu, G. Q. (Max) and Xu, Zhi Ping (2017) Clay nanosheets for topical delivery of RNAi for sustained protection against plant viruses. Nature Plants, 3 2: 16207.1-16207.10. doi:10.1038/nplants.2016.207
- Searle, Iain R., Men, Artem E., Laniya, Titeki S., Buzas, Diana M., Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Inaki, Carroll, Bernard J. (corresponding author) and Gresshoff, Peter M (2003) Long-distance signaling in nodulation directed by a CLAVATA1-like receptor kinas Science,. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1077937