Dr Stephen Trueman
BSc(Hons) Qld., PhD Qld.
Position: Senior Lecturer in Plant Science
Office: I1.13A
Tel: +61 7 5456 5033
Fax: +61 7 5456 5010
Email: strueman@usc.edu.au
Teaching areas
- Cell Biology
- Ecological Principles of Land and Water Management
- Production Systems Research
Research areas
- Plant propagation for forestry, horticulture and pharmaceuticals
- Plant tissue culture
- Plant reproductive biology
Profile
Dr Stephen Trueman has extensive experience in plant propagation and reproductive biology, specialising in tree species used for forestry or horticulture. He holds a joint appointment with the Horticulture and Forestry Science unit of the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, where he is the Senior Scientist, Propagation. He has previously held positions at the University of Missouri, La Trobe University and the University of Queensland.
Dr Trueman has managed several large projects in eucalypt, exotic pine and Wollemi pine propagation, attracting more than A$2 million in research funding since 2001. He employs tissue culture (organogenesis, shoot culture, cool storage, somatic embryogenesis and cryopreservation) and rooted cuttings systems to multiply and store valuable plant varieties. The Wollemi pine project allowed worldwide horticultural release of a very valuable and endangered Australian plant, while the eucalypt and exotic pine projects underpin plantation establishment by large forestry companies in tropical and subtropical Australia. Other projects are focussing on propagation of valuable pharmaceutical and koala food trees.
Publications
- Trueman SJ, Pegg GS, King J. 2007. Domestication for conservation of an endangered species: The case of the Wollemi pine, Tree and Forestry Science and Biotechnology, 1, 1-10.
- Trueman SJ. Richardson DM. 2007. In vitro propagation of Corymbia torelliana × C. citriodora (Myrtaceae) via cytokinin-free node culture, Australian Journal of Botany, 55, 471-481.
- Trueman SJ. Peters RF. 2006. Propagation of Wollemi pine from tip cuttings and lower segment cuttings does not require rooting hormones, Scientia Horticulturae, 109, 394-397.
- Trueman SJ. 2006. Clonal propagation and storage of subtropical pines in Queensland, Australia, Southern African Forestry Journal, 208, 49-52.
- Pohio KE, Wallace HM, Peters RF, Smith TE, Trueman SJ. 2005. Wollemi pine cuttings tolerate moderate photoinhibition and remain highly capable of root formation, Trees: Structure and Function, 19, 587-595.
Research grants
- Growing Xi Shu and extracting an anti-cancer drug (camptothecin), Dr Craig Davis, Dr Stephen Trueman, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, 2007-2010, The Xi Shu tree produces a valuable anti-cancer compound (camptothecin). The tree is rare in its native China, and camptothecin availability is limited by the small number of trees in cultivation. This project is developing advanced technologies for rapid plant multiplication, plantation establishment, and pharmaceutical extraction.
- Designing food and habitat trees for urban koalas, Dr Stephen Trueman, Associate Professor Helen Wallace, Dr David Lee, Pine Rivers Shire Council, 2007-2008, Koala populations in urban areas are under threat because of land clearing for development. Many eucalypt species are used by koalas for food, but most species are not favoured for urban plantings because of their large size. This project is developing smaller eucalypts that provide food and shelter for koalas but are also suitable for urban plantings.
- Potential of Corymbia torelliana hybrids for hardwood forestry, and investigation of their seed dispersal by Trigona bees, Dr Rhonda Stokoe, Associate Professor Helen Wallace, Dr David Lee, Dr Stephen Trueman, Australian Research Council, 2002-2005, One of the most exciting discoveries for subtropical forestry has been the hybrid between Corymbia torelliana and spotted gums (eg C. citriodora), which possesses frost and disease tolerance, fast growth and excellent timber. However, C. torelliana is regarded as a weed, dispersed by bees. The project team found that its hybrids are not dispersed by bees, at least in small amenity plantings. Further research will assess the thousands of hybrids that are now reaching reproductive age in large plantations.
- Wollemi pine commercialisation, Dr Stephen Trueman, Dr Judy King, Mr Geoff Pegg, Dr Tim Smith, Forestry Plantations Queensland, 2001-2005, The Wollemi pine made international headlines when it was discovered in a deep rainforest canyon in 1994. Less than 100 adult trees were alive in the wild. Project scientists developed tissue culture and rooted cuttings methods to produce over one million plants for worldwide horticultural release.
- Exotic pine micropropagation and storage, Dr Stephen Trueman, Forestry Plantations Queensland, 2001-2005, Pine trees in tropical and subtropical Australia are planted as rooted cuttings, produced from hedged stock plants of elite clones. This project developed shoot culture, organogenesis, cool storage, somatic embryogenesis and cryopreservation methods to maintain juvenility of clones during and after clonal selection.
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