Testing the free radical theory of aging: do indicators of oxidative damage predict lifespan? Because of the Free Radical Theory of Aging, many millions of dollars are spent around the world on dietary antioxidants of unproven efficacy. Many millions of research dollars are spent providing support for this theory but few studies test it rigorously. The first major benefit of this research is worldwide; to refute, or to substantially enhance and focus the current support for the Free Radical Theo ....Testing the free radical theory of aging: do indicators of oxidative damage predict lifespan? Because of the Free Radical Theory of Aging, many millions of dollars are spent around the world on dietary antioxidants of unproven efficacy. Many millions of research dollars are spent providing support for this theory but few studies test it rigorously. The first major benefit of this research is worldwide; to refute, or to substantially enhance and focus the current support for the Free Radical Theory. This should help to rationalise and direct funding supplied to these areas. The second benefit is for Australia: aging is a fruitful area for research because of the high general public interest and for training because of its multidisciplinary nature, and funding in Australia is very low by international standards. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775587
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,000.00
Summary
Correlating Genomics and Proteomics for Systems Biology: integrating the '-omics'. Acquisition of the infrastructure requested will maintain and extend the expertise developed by researchers in NSW and will allow retention and attraction of leading researchers who can contribute to understanding how genes and proteins interact in the development of the organism - the central focus of systems biology. The enhancement of the facility will allow a better understanding of biomolecular interactions ....Correlating Genomics and Proteomics for Systems Biology: integrating the '-omics'. Acquisition of the infrastructure requested will maintain and extend the expertise developed by researchers in NSW and will allow retention and attraction of leading researchers who can contribute to understanding how genes and proteins interact in the development of the organism - the central focus of systems biology. The enhancement of the facility will allow a better understanding of biomolecular interactions in health and disease, providing both community and national benefits. The focus of this LIEF application is to provide infrastructure platforms for the study of the systems biology of organisms and additional capacity by the facility for the expected increased demand for this technology in this new area. Read moreRead less
Epigenetic integration of genomic and environmental information in honey bees. Environmental factors such as nutrition, drugs or childhood neglect alter gene activity without a change to the DNA code and may result in a range of conditions such as cancer, obesity and mental illness. Such epigenetic phenomena are driven by subtle and poorly understood modifications of the genome known as DNA methylation. Our aim is to study the link between DNA methylation and environmental influences. We aspire ....Epigenetic integration of genomic and environmental information in honey bees. Environmental factors such as nutrition, drugs or childhood neglect alter gene activity without a change to the DNA code and may result in a range of conditions such as cancer, obesity and mental illness. Such epigenetic phenomena are driven by subtle and poorly understood modifications of the genome known as DNA methylation. Our aim is to study the link between DNA methylation and environmental influences. We aspire to understand how environmental signals trigger the reprogramming of transcriptional control of genetic networks that lead to contrasting phenotypic and behavioural outcomes using the honey bee modelRead moreRead less
Characterisation of heavy metal transport genes in the plant Arabidopsis: potential roles in metal detoxification and accumulation. Plants have considerable potential for the bioremediation ("phytoremediation") of contaminated soils, including soils polluted with heavy metals. Progress has been made in understanding the physiological and biochemical mechanisms by which plants accumulate and detoxify heavy metals. One important aspect of metal detoxification is the transport of metals across cell ....Characterisation of heavy metal transport genes in the plant Arabidopsis: potential roles in metal detoxification and accumulation. Plants have considerable potential for the bioremediation ("phytoremediation") of contaminated soils, including soils polluted with heavy metals. Progress has been made in understanding the physiological and biochemical mechanisms by which plants accumulate and detoxify heavy metals. One important aspect of metal detoxification is the transport of metals across cell membranes. The recently completed genome project for the model plant Arabidopsis has identified a family of genes encoding heavy metal transport proteins. This project aims to investigate the roles of these genes in metal detoxification. In the longer term this knowledge can be applied to the improvement of phytoremediation processes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668440
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$850,000.00
Summary
Advanced technology for transcriptomics, genomics and gene mapping. Acquistion of the equipment requested in this application will maintain the expertise developed by researchers within New South Wales and attract and retain exceptional individuals who can contribute to our understanding of how genes interact with one another. The benefit of such an enhances facility will be the delivery of a better functional understanding of health and disease which will provide both community and national be ....Advanced technology for transcriptomics, genomics and gene mapping. Acquistion of the equipment requested in this application will maintain the expertise developed by researchers within New South Wales and attract and retain exceptional individuals who can contribute to our understanding of how genes interact with one another. The benefit of such an enhances facility will be the delivery of a better functional understanding of health and disease which will provide both community and national benefits. The primary purpose of this LIEF application is to standardize approaches to the study of genome function across the nodes of the Ramaciotti facility and to expand the capacities of the facility to cope with the increased demand in this technology. Read moreRead less
Genetic variation of transcriptional control. Genetic variation is a key cause phenotype differences in humans, animals, and plants and so of great economic importance. Despite its proven importance to human diseases, ?quantitative? variation in the amount of gene expression rather than ?qualitative? protein sequence changes, has not been systematically studied. We have developed a powerful method to identify genetic causes of quantitative variation using crosses of inbred mice in conjunction wi ....Genetic variation of transcriptional control. Genetic variation is a key cause phenotype differences in humans, animals, and plants and so of great economic importance. Despite its proven importance to human diseases, ?quantitative? variation in the amount of gene expression rather than ?qualitative? protein sequence changes, has not been systematically studied. We have developed a powerful method to identify genetic causes of quantitative variation using crosses of inbred mice in conjunction with microarray techniques to analyse expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. These studies will be extended to humans and be significant to wide areas of biological and commercial activity.Read moreRead less
A comparative genomics approach to understanding host-endosymbiont interactions. Australia's unique ecosystems are vulnerable to invasion by exotic pests that threaten agriculture and human health. The bacterial symbiont Wolbachia is found in many major pests of agricultural and medical importance. Our results will give insights into how Wolbachia spreads into host populations and improve its use as a tool to impair insect transmission of disease, e.g. as an agent to carry genes into an insect p ....A comparative genomics approach to understanding host-endosymbiont interactions. Australia's unique ecosystems are vulnerable to invasion by exotic pests that threaten agriculture and human health. The bacterial symbiont Wolbachia is found in many major pests of agricultural and medical importance. Our results will give insights into how Wolbachia spreads into host populations and improve its use as a tool to impair insect transmission of disease, e.g. as an agent to carry genes into an insect population that limit disease transmission. Our results will also make fundamental contributions to understanding host-parasite evolution, host-parasite communication, and insect developmental processes, and will be of interest to a large international community of researchers in this field. Read moreRead less
The evolution of caste determination systems in termites. Termites cause around a billion dollars of damage in Australia each year. To date, all this damage is from native species, but there is the constant threat of invasion by voracious exotics. This project will provide fundamental knowledge on the mechanism termites use to produce the distinctive worker and royal castes, and on the way colony budding arises via juvenile reproduction. This will provide the basis for novel and highly specific ....The evolution of caste determination systems in termites. Termites cause around a billion dollars of damage in Australia each year. To date, all this damage is from native species, but there is the constant threat of invasion by voracious exotics. This project will provide fundamental knowledge on the mechanism termites use to produce the distinctive worker and royal castes, and on the way colony budding arises via juvenile reproduction. This will provide the basis for novel and highly specific termite control methods that target caste determination. The existence of sterile, altruistic castes famously posed a conundrum for Darwin. This project is ground-breaking because it will provide the critical link between the theory that explains the puzzle (kin selection) and molecular biology.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354500
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network in Microarray Technology. The primary aim of this proposal is to transform the premier genomic technology into a standard research tool; microarrays are now a priority for anyone studying the genetics underlying key biological processes. A principal challenge for the Australian research community is to capture all aspects of microarray technology and make them readily available. We will address these needs by developing a network to:
-establish regular research meetings,
- ....ARC Research Network in Microarray Technology. The primary aim of this proposal is to transform the premier genomic technology into a standard research tool; microarrays are now a priority for anyone studying the genetics underlying key biological processes. A principal challenge for the Australian research community is to capture all aspects of microarray technology and make them readily available. We will address these needs by developing a network to:
-establish regular research meetings,
-facilitate training in array methodologies and bioinformatics,
-co-ordinate innovation of technologies,-provide centralised data warehousing,
-provide access to automated high-level gene annotation,
-provide data mining tools,
-set standards for data management and exchangeRead moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989589
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
A massively parallel genome analysis facility for the ACT region. Maintaining a healthy environment, supporting a sustainable agriculture industry and providing excellent healthcare are three key requirements for the future of Australia and Australians. Modern biological research has a major role to play in all three areas. The success and application of this research requires a serious investment in the new technologies that enable a systems-wide high throughput approach to biological questions ....A massively parallel genome analysis facility for the ACT region. Maintaining a healthy environment, supporting a sustainable agriculture industry and providing excellent healthcare are three key requirements for the future of Australia and Australians. Modern biological research has a major role to play in all three areas. The success and application of this research requires a serious investment in the new technologies that enable a systems-wide high throughput approach to biological questions. Co-investing in a massively parallel genome analysis facility to underpin cutting edge environmental, agricultural and biomedical research in the ACT region, will facilitate progress in areas of the utmost importance to the community and future of the nation.Read moreRead less