Meetings programme

Schedule of upcoming meetings

The Society's meetings are open to Fellows, guests and members of the public.
Entry is free, but fellows and guests are reminded that if they wish to partake of refreshments before the meeting, there is a $4.00 charge to cover this.

Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month, March to November inclusive. Meeting commence at 6.30 pm and are preceded by wine and nibbles at 6.00 pm. 

An invited lecture is normally arranged for each meeting. For ordinary meetings, the reading of papers and the presentation of exhibits of scientific interest.  

These meetings are usually held in the Society's Rooms. Meetings are occasionally organised jointly with other kindred societies and may be held elsewhere. Occasional Symposia on topical issues are also organised by the Society.

April:Jayakumar Bose Targeting chloroplasts to improve salt tolerance in plants.
Yield losses in crop plants are attributed largely to the detrimental effects of salinity on plant photosynthetic machinery and, specifically, chloroplast performance. A comparison between naturally salt-loving plants (halophytes) and salt-sensitive (glycophytes) revealed that halophytes are superior in regulating sodium and potassium concentration inside chloroplasts during salt stress. However, the molecular identity of ion transport systems involved in sodium and potassium homeostasis in chloroplasts during salt stress are not fully understood. A pyruvate (BASS2- bile acid: sodium symporter2) transporter and a sodium-proton exchanger (NHD1) have been suggested to move sodium in and out of chloroplasts.
Studies continue on sodium, potassium and proton transport across isolated chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana BASS2 and NHD1 knockout mutants using ion-selective micro-electrode (MIFE) technique under salt stress. Chloroplasts from the bass2 mutant had reduced sodium entry and potassium loss. The opposite was the case for the ndh1 mutant. The implications of altered sodium and potassium transport in chloroplasts of these mutants on photosynthetic performance and growth under salinity will be presented and discussed.

May – Zoe Double-Day (marine ecology)
June – John Long (Ralph Tate Memorial Lecture, palaeontology))

Further topics to be advised.