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An evolutionary landscape to better predict our future climate. Soil microbial communities are the most complicated and difficult to study on Earth, but their effects on our climate are profound. This project will examine the evolution of microorganisms and their viruses in soil using novel methods. It will uncover how the evolution of one microbial species influences the evolution of other community members. It will also apply a new model of evolution to the viruses that infect these microorgan ....An evolutionary landscape to better predict our future climate. Soil microbial communities are the most complicated and difficult to study on Earth, but their effects on our climate are profound. This project will examine the evolution of microorganisms and their viruses in soil using novel methods. It will uncover how the evolution of one microbial species influences the evolution of other community members. It will also apply a new model of evolution to the viruses that infect these microorganisms, constructing a viral ‘tree of life’. This improved fundamental understanding of soil communities will be used to study climate feedback from permafrost wetlands, a key and poorly constrained input of global climate models, improving predictions of our future climate.Read moreRead less
Illuminating the microbial world using genome-based fluorescence microscopy. Our understanding of microbial diversity on Earth has been fundamentally changed by metagenomic characterisation of natural ecosystems. Traditional approaches for visualising microbial communities are time-consuming and provide limited information about the identity of specific microorganisms. The proposed research aims to combine single cell genomics and super resolution microscopy for novel, high-throughput, genome-b ....Illuminating the microbial world using genome-based fluorescence microscopy. Our understanding of microbial diversity on Earth has been fundamentally changed by metagenomic characterisation of natural ecosystems. Traditional approaches for visualising microbial communities are time-consuming and provide limited information about the identity of specific microorganisms. The proposed research aims to combine single cell genomics and super resolution microscopy for novel, high-throughput, genome-based techniques to visualise microorganisms, plasmids and viruses, with strain level specificity. The application of these highly scalable approaches will provide comprehensive and unprecedented insight into the fine-scale dynamics and evolution of environmentally and biotechnologically important microbial communities.Read moreRead less
The adaptive evolution of key methane-utilising microorganisms. This project aims to characterise the evolutionary adaptations of a group of microorganisms with a key role in mitigating the release of methane into the atmosphere. Innovative molecular and visualisation-based approaches will be applied to uncover their metabolic diversity and evolutionary history. An important outcome of this study will be the comprehensive understanding of the contribution and impact these microorganisms have on ....The adaptive evolution of key methane-utilising microorganisms. This project aims to characterise the evolutionary adaptations of a group of microorganisms with a key role in mitigating the release of methane into the atmosphere. Innovative molecular and visualisation-based approaches will be applied to uncover their metabolic diversity and evolutionary history. An important outcome of this study will be the comprehensive understanding of the contribution and impact these microorganisms have on the global carbon cycle, which will importantly inform accurate climate change models. This has clear benefits for society, given the precision of such models is essential in our ability to minimise the impact and associated cost of global warming.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants. Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bio ....Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants. Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental methodologies to establish how bacteriophage influence Acinetobacter capsules. Outcomes include the development of an innovative genomics pipeline to detect capsule change, improving the use of living bacteria for bioremediation and sustainable rehabilitation of natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100842
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,057.00
Summary
Roles of emerging pollutants in spreading antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global challenge, yet the impact of environmental agents on the spread of antimicrobial resistance is poorly understood. Drawing on my recent findings and a tight integration of a model microbial ecology system, this project aims to investigate the impact of environmental pollutants on the colonisation and spread of antimicrobial resistance in situ ecological communities. This project expect ....Roles of emerging pollutants in spreading antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global challenge, yet the impact of environmental agents on the spread of antimicrobial resistance is poorly understood. Drawing on my recent findings and a tight integration of a model microbial ecology system, this project aims to investigate the impact of environmental pollutants on the colonisation and spread of antimicrobial resistance in situ ecological communities. This project expects to generate new knowledge at the forefront of research into antimicrobial resistance in a complex ecosystem. The outcomes should provide a deep mechanistic understanding of environmental factors associated with antimicrobial resistance, with applications to antimicrobial resistance risk management for One Health.Read moreRead less
From shape to function: how structured RNA defines insect flaviviruses. The goal of this project is to obtain an understanding of how insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) utilise viral noncoding RNAs to enable their replication in mosquitoes. These viruses only replicate in mosquitoes, and not in humans or animals. They can be employed as the biocontrol agents for mosquito-borne diseases as they make mosquitoes incapable of disease transmission. However, it is currently unknown how exactly insect ....From shape to function: how structured RNA defines insect flaviviruses. The goal of this project is to obtain an understanding of how insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) utilise viral noncoding RNAs to enable their replication in mosquitoes. These viruses only replicate in mosquitoes, and not in humans or animals. They can be employed as the biocontrol agents for mosquito-borne diseases as they make mosquitoes incapable of disease transmission. However, it is currently unknown how exactly insect-specific flaviviruses affect mosquitoes and this information is vital for informed design of ISF-based interventions. The project will generate new knowledge on functions of noncoding RNAs in ISFs that are hypothesised to have immunomodulatory role in mosquitoes. It will also train students and ECRs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101284
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$397,003.00
Summary
Insect-specific virus host restriction. Mosquito-borne viruses are a topic of intense research due to their complex biology, ecology and evolution, and their potential to produce unpredictable outbreaks of disease in both humans and animals. Insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are viruses that replicate solely in mosquito cell and are unable to infect vertebrate tissues. This project aims to assess the biodiversity of ISVs in the Australian mosquito population and identify key factors behind their re ....Insect-specific virus host restriction. Mosquito-borne viruses are a topic of intense research due to their complex biology, ecology and evolution, and their potential to produce unpredictable outbreaks of disease in both humans and animals. Insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are viruses that replicate solely in mosquito cell and are unable to infect vertebrate tissues. This project aims to assess the biodiversity of ISVs in the Australian mosquito population and identify key factors behind their restriction in vertebrates. The objectives of the studies proposed will answer clearly defined important biological questions about ISVs, while also delivering technological advances, novel reagents and potential commercial outcomes for the control and prevention of arboviral disease. Read moreRead less
Exploring the Black Box of Archaeal Methane Metabolism. This project aims to build on new discoveries about how ancient microorganisms belonging to the Archaea that process methane, a significant greenhouse gas. This project expects to generate new data about how these novel Archaea are able to generate/digest methane and other non-methane carbon substrates through metabolic pathways using an interdisciplinary approach. Expected outcomes of this Project include improved techniques to grow these ....Exploring the Black Box of Archaeal Methane Metabolism. This project aims to build on new discoveries about how ancient microorganisms belonging to the Archaea that process methane, a significant greenhouse gas. This project expects to generate new data about how these novel Archaea are able to generate/digest methane and other non-methane carbon substrates through metabolic pathways using an interdisciplinary approach. Expected outcomes of this Project include improved techniques to grow these ancient microorganisms, investigate how they process methane, and understand how they contribute to the global carbon cycle. This will provide significant benefits, such as understanding the how the cycling of methane and non-methane compounds by novel Archaea can be manipulated in anaerobic environments.Read moreRead less
Changing the classification status quo with a global genome-based taxonomy. A grand challenge in biology is the reconstruction of the complete evolutionary history of life on our planet. A major hurdle to this goal has been the inability to culture most microbial species which comprise the bulk of evolutionary diversity. However, new molecular techniques have removed this hurdle and >1,000 new microbial species are being revealed each month through sequencing of environmental samples. This proje ....Changing the classification status quo with a global genome-based taxonomy. A grand challenge in biology is the reconstruction of the complete evolutionary history of life on our planet. A major hurdle to this goal has been the inability to culture most microbial species which comprise the bulk of evolutionary diversity. However, new molecular techniques have removed this hurdle and >1,000 new microbial species are being revealed each month through sequencing of environmental samples. This project aims to organise both cultured and uncultured microbial diversity into a systematic evolutionary framework to replace the current highly flawed and incomplete classification of microorganisms. The systematic classification of the microbial world is timely and will enable fundamental insights into ecology and evolution.Read moreRead less
Global integration of microbial community and climate data. Microbial communities in the environment control the cycling of carbon and nutrients on Earth, but climate models do not directly incorporate microbial inputs. This interdisciplinary project will link planetary-scale climate modelling data with novel large-scale microbial community analysis, using climate information to provide insight into the fantastic diversity of microbial processes on our planet. The interdisciplinary approach will ....Global integration of microbial community and climate data. Microbial communities in the environment control the cycling of carbon and nutrients on Earth, but climate models do not directly incorporate microbial inputs. This interdisciplinary project will link planetary-scale climate modelling data with novel large-scale microbial community analysis, using climate information to provide insight into the fantastic diversity of microbial processes on our planet. The interdisciplinary approach will inform the next generation of climate models and better predict our future climate’s feedbacks. Conversely, it will make progress on the grand challenge of understanding microbial community function by enabling microbial ecology to be treated as a data-intensive machine learning problem.Read moreRead less