The cultured tissues and organs of Duboisia myoporoides, an endemic medicinal plant of Australia, were investigated with the aim of establishing a relationship between organogenesis, differentiation and alkaloid localization. Histological analyses explained the relationship between cell arrangement in the cultured tissues and organs and the cytokinin/auxin combinations used at the callus induction stage. The cultured tissues and organs were analysed histochemically to localize alkaloids in different types of cells by using selected alkaloid colour reagents i.e., platinic chloride (5%) and iodoplatinate. The presence or absence of nicotine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine in the cultured tissues and organs was then confirmed by GC-MS analysis. This is the first work to show that tropane alkaloid formation in the separated cultured organs is related to xylem differentiation and tropane alkaloid formation in the calli cultured in suspension may allow commercial tropane alkaloid production without regenerating the organs. The roots of the D. myoporoides field-grown trees were colonized by the AM fungi and the mycorrhizal infection was ranged from 0-30% which indicates that the secondary metabolite atropine and scopolamine did not prevent AM fungal colonization. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Plant functional traits (plant height, aboveground biomass, R/S ratio, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, specific root length and arbuscular mycorrhizal infection) were measured for several grassland plant species growing under different soil fertility conditions in a greenhouse and a field experiments. Traits` response to nutrient addition and the differences in traits among species and between forbs and grasses were studied. Results from the greenhouse and the field experiment were compared.