Living on air: how do bacteria scavenge atmospheric trace gases? This project aims to determine the molecular and cellular basis of atmospheric trace gas oxidation by bacteria. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to adapt to resource limitation and environmental change by entering dormant states. Our research has shown they survive in this state by using atmospheric hydrogen and carbon monoxide as energy sources. This interdisciplinary project will determine how bacteria achieve this by elucidati ....Living on air: how do bacteria scavenge atmospheric trace gases? This project aims to determine the molecular and cellular basis of atmospheric trace gas oxidation by bacteria. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to adapt to resource limitation and environmental change by entering dormant states. Our research has shown they survive in this state by using atmospheric hydrogen and carbon monoxide as energy sources. This interdisciplinary project will determine how bacteria achieve this by elucidating the regulation, mechanism, and integration of the three uncharacterised enzymes that mediate this process. Outcomes and benefits include understanding of the processes that facilitate bacterial persistence, regulate atmospheric composition, and in turn support resilience of natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100700
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$429,449.00
Summary
A novel bacterial secretion system for applications in nanobiotechnology. This project aims to characterise a new molecular machine, called the S-Pump. Molecular machines drive the complex biology in all cells and are an exciting area of translational research, with broad potential for industrial applications. This project expects to provide fundamental insights into how bacterial S-Pumps contribute to antimicrobial resistance and enhancing food production. Expected outcomes include new tools fo ....A novel bacterial secretion system for applications in nanobiotechnology. This project aims to characterise a new molecular machine, called the S-Pump. Molecular machines drive the complex biology in all cells and are an exciting area of translational research, with broad potential for industrial applications. This project expects to provide fundamental insights into how bacterial S-Pumps contribute to antimicrobial resistance and enhancing food production. Expected outcomes include new tools for molecular machine discovery and identification of ways to adapt molecular machines for biotechnological applications. This work should enhance Australia-UK ties through collaboration, provide benefits toward nanobiotechnology and economic benefits through more efficient food production.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100356
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,241.00
Summary
Bacterial membrane remodelling and the interaction with peptides. This project aims to elucidate the fundamental mechanism of lipid remodelling in Gram-negative outer membrane, which is critical both in preventing noxious compounds and evading host immune defence. For the first time, the complex interplays between bacterial cellular metabolism and membrane remodelling will be defined through systems pharmacology, and the precise membrane-peptide interaction will be examined by computational and ....Bacterial membrane remodelling and the interaction with peptides. This project aims to elucidate the fundamental mechanism of lipid remodelling in Gram-negative outer membrane, which is critical both in preventing noxious compounds and evading host immune defence. For the first time, the complex interplays between bacterial cellular metabolism and membrane remodelling will be defined through systems pharmacology, and the precise membrane-peptide interaction will be examined by computational and biophysical approaches. Novel knowledge will be generated to improve our understanding on how bacteria remodel their outer membrane in response to environmental stress. This will benefit the future design of much-needed antimicrobial strategies including products and technologies to target bacterial membrane. Read moreRead less
Antibacterial Material Design via Mechanism-Based Mathematical Modelling. This Project aims to provide new rules for the design of novel polymer materials with antibacterial properties by employing mechanism-based mathematical modelling.
This Project expects to generate new understanding of those mechanisms which underpin the antibacterial activity of these materials, how bacteria respond to these through metabolic changes and emergence of resistance.These rules will govern material design to yi ....Antibacterial Material Design via Mechanism-Based Mathematical Modelling. This Project aims to provide new rules for the design of novel polymer materials with antibacterial properties by employing mechanism-based mathematical modelling.
This Project expects to generate new understanding of those mechanisms which underpin the antibacterial activity of these materials, how bacteria respond to these through metabolic changes and emergence of resistance.These rules will govern material design to yield new antibacterial materials with improved properties.
Expected outcomes of this project may be a novel mechanism-based mathematical model that will enable the next-generation of antibacterial materials.
This outcome will help address the increasing economic and social burden of antibiotic drug resistance in Australia.
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Characterising O-linked glycosylation across Burkholderia. Protein glycosylation, the chemical addition of sugars to proteins, enables the augmentation of protein properties. Across the Burkholderia genus we have shown O-linked glycosylation is both conserved as well as essential for bacterial fitness. Yet, we have little understanding of how glycosylation modulates the proteome of this genus. This project aims to characterise the glycoproteomes of Burkholderia species and track the impact of gl ....Characterising O-linked glycosylation across Burkholderia. Protein glycosylation, the chemical addition of sugars to proteins, enables the augmentation of protein properties. Across the Burkholderia genus we have shown O-linked glycosylation is both conserved as well as essential for bacterial fitness. Yet, we have little understanding of how glycosylation modulates the proteome of this genus. This project aims to characterise the glycoproteomes of Burkholderia species and track the impact of glycosylation on both the proteome and protein stability. By understanding how glycosylation shapes the proteome we will gain a greater understanding of the role of bacterial glycosylation in Burkholderia physiology as well as how we may better utilise microbial glycosylation for glycoprotein production.Read moreRead less
Biogenesis and functions of bacterial membrane vesicles. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the production of bacterial membrane vesicles and how this determines their bacterial cargo and subsequent biological functions. Bacterial membrane vesicles are naturally produced nanoparticles released by all bacteria as part of their normal growth. These vesicles contain a range of bacterial cargo and function to promote bacterial survival and growth. This project will advance ....Biogenesis and functions of bacterial membrane vesicles. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the production of bacterial membrane vesicles and how this determines their bacterial cargo and subsequent biological functions. Bacterial membrane vesicles are naturally produced nanoparticles released by all bacteria as part of their normal growth. These vesicles contain a range of bacterial cargo and function to promote bacterial survival and growth. This project will advance our knowledge regarding the regulation of bacterial membrane vesicle biogenesis, their composition and biological functions. Collectively, these findings will facilitate the development and refinement of membrane vesicle-based biotechnologies with broad applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery of Novel Bacteriophage with the Capacity to Modulate Gut Bacteria. This project aims to experimentally validate the largest ever collection of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) within the gut microbiome. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of bacteriophage biology and genomics by using the innovative approaches of wet-lab and bioinformatic genome analyses. Expect outcomes of this project include the discovery of novel phages using bioinformatics, wet-lab validat ....Discovery of Novel Bacteriophage with the Capacity to Modulate Gut Bacteria. This project aims to experimentally validate the largest ever collection of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) within the gut microbiome. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of bacteriophage biology and genomics by using the innovative approaches of wet-lab and bioinformatic genome analyses. Expect outcomes of this project include the discovery of novel phages using bioinformatics, wet-lab validation of their activity and characterisation of their potential to contribute new bacterial host metabolism. This should provide benefits, such as advancement to our understanding of bacteriophages, improved bioinformatic software, and a characterised collection of commercially valuable bacterial strains and phages.Read moreRead less
Bacterial vesicles transport their bioactive cargo to the host nucleus. This project aims to investigate how bacterial membrane vesicles transport their cargo to the nucleus of cells and its impact on host cell functions. Bacteria use membrane vesicles as a means of communication with the host, but the full extent of their effects on host cells has yet to be fully elucidated. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field using cutting-edge imaging and molecular biology approaches. ....Bacterial vesicles transport their bioactive cargo to the host nucleus. This project aims to investigate how bacterial membrane vesicles transport their cargo to the nucleus of cells and its impact on host cell functions. Bacteria use membrane vesicles as a means of communication with the host, but the full extent of their effects on host cells has yet to be fully elucidated. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field using cutting-edge imaging and molecular biology approaches. The work should provide significant benefits, particularly towards the development of membrane vesicles in gene therapy, gene editing and other applications. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101524
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,325.00
Summary
Taking Control: Understanding regulation of bacterial iron acquisition. This project aims to uncover the bacterial regulatory networks acting on a family of iron-stealing molecules called siderophores. Bacteria use siderophores to acquire iron from their hosts, the environment, and each other – as such, they have a central role in microbial life. Despite their importance, we have an incomplete knowledge of how these iron-stealing weapons are deployed. This project will develop a new genomics-bas ....Taking Control: Understanding regulation of bacterial iron acquisition. This project aims to uncover the bacterial regulatory networks acting on a family of iron-stealing molecules called siderophores. Bacteria use siderophores to acquire iron from their hosts, the environment, and each other – as such, they have a central role in microbial life. Despite their importance, we have an incomplete knowledge of how these iron-stealing weapons are deployed. This project will develop a new genomics-based, high-throughput technology for defining bacterial gene regulation networks, and use it to understand siderophore control. This will provide new knowledge of siderophore function, enhance understanding of bacterial community and host interactions, and establish leadership in a new genomics technology in Australia.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL210100258
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,331,707.00
Summary
Understanding how bacteria adapt and function in the complex gut ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the role of the gut ecosystem in defining the structure and function of microbes. Given that one of the current challenges in microbiology is our inability to study individual microbes directly from complex, multi-microbial niches, this project aims to develop multidisciplinary methods to study microbes in their native state, to understand how they adapt to live in the gut. This understan ....Understanding how bacteria adapt and function in the complex gut ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the role of the gut ecosystem in defining the structure and function of microbes. Given that one of the current challenges in microbiology is our inability to study individual microbes directly from complex, multi-microbial niches, this project aims to develop multidisciplinary methods to study microbes in their native state, to understand how they adapt to live in the gut. This understanding should provide fundamental insights into adaptation mechanisms that lead to bacterial proliferation, disease and antibiotic resistance. As well as enhancing interdisciplinary collaborations, this work should provide economic benefits by contributing to improved gut health of animals, and more efficient food production.Read moreRead less