Sociogenomics of honeybees. From genes to society. This project will show how complex social behaviour of honeybees like dance communication and thermoregulation is genetically controlled. The complete sequence of the honeybee genome will be published in 2003, and a gene chip based on it will be created shortly afterwards. These new technologies will make our project technically feasible. By backcrossing, workers with different genetic tendencies to do a task can be generated within an otherwi ....Sociogenomics of honeybees. From genes to society. This project will show how complex social behaviour of honeybees like dance communication and thermoregulation is genetically controlled. The complete sequence of the honeybee genome will be published in 2003, and a gene chip based on it will be created shortly afterwards. These new technologies will make our project technically feasible. By backcrossing, workers with different genetic tendencies to do a task can be generated within an otherwise uniform background. Age-matched workers that perform a behaviour like thermoregulation can be compared to sisters that do not, and the genes that are switched on in the two groups compared.Read moreRead less
Epigenetic silencing in vertebrates: evolution and function from the bottom-up. The primary benefits are contribution to Australia's knowledge base and raising the profile of functional genomics in Australia, with the research priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries and priority goals in Breakthrough Science and Frontier Technologies. This project focuses on important biological questions surrounding gene regulation and sex chromosome evolution. Inte ....Epigenetic silencing in vertebrates: evolution and function from the bottom-up. The primary benefits are contribution to Australia's knowledge base and raising the profile of functional genomics in Australia, with the research priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries and priority goals in Breakthrough Science and Frontier Technologies. This project focuses on important biological questions surrounding gene regulation and sex chromosome evolution. International attention has already resulted in genome characterization of Australian icons (wallaby, Tasmanian devil and platypus), more research on these, and other Australian animals, will further highlight the importance of Australian fauna and impact positively on our scientific profile.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
Origin and evolution of genes on the human X chromosome. Two groups of functionally related genes are found on the human X chromosome in disproportionately high numbers. I will test whether an uneven distribution of genes is common in mammalian genomes, or whether the human X is special. I will test hypotheses of how the gene groups arose on the human X by comparing their location and expression patterns in other mammals, and other vertebrates. It will then be clear whether the ancestral autosom ....Origin and evolution of genes on the human X chromosome. Two groups of functionally related genes are found on the human X chromosome in disproportionately high numbers. I will test whether an uneven distribution of genes is common in mammalian genomes, or whether the human X is special. I will test hypotheses of how the gene groups arose on the human X by comparing their location and expression patterns in other mammals, and other vertebrates. It will then be clear whether the ancestral autosome was ?chosen?, whether it ?selfishly? accumulated these genes, or whether the function of genes changed in response to selective pressures.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$255,000.00
Summary
Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement p ....Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement programs such as are based at the Waite Campus. The outputs will include crops with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, a reduced dependence on chemical inputs such as fertilisers and improved food quality, with consequent benefits to the environment and human health and nutrition.Read moreRead less
Regulation of Plant Development by Small RNAs. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a new field of research that is giving, and will continue to give profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The pro ....Regulation of Plant Development by Small RNAs. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a new field of research that is giving, and will continue to give profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The project will yield insights into fundamental biological processes which are expected to engender applications in agriculture and biotechnology. It will maintain and enhance Australia's position in this area.Read moreRead less
Microbial genomics of the southern ocean: monitoring environmental health. This program will derive an integrated understanding of microbial ecology which is essential for determining ways of preserving the health of the World's ecosystems. Through the development of a unique microbial genomics program, Australia will remain a world leader in Antarctic biology, strengthening Australia's reputation in technologically innovative scientific programs of global significance, training local scientists ....Microbial genomics of the southern ocean: monitoring environmental health. This program will derive an integrated understanding of microbial ecology which is essential for determining ways of preserving the health of the World's ecosystems. Through the development of a unique microbial genomics program, Australia will remain a world leader in Antarctic biology, strengthening Australia's reputation in technologically innovative scientific programs of global significance, training local scientists in cutting edge genomic biology and fostering the interests of the international community in sciences ranging from microbial ecology to climate change.Read moreRead less
Small is beautiful: Did gene-rich regions of mammal chromosomes evolve from microchromosomes? Most birds and reptile genomes feature many tiny microchromosomes. These are not junk, as previously thought, but contain most of the genes. Mammals lack microchromosomes, but contain gene-rich regions with similar attributes. We suggest that microchromosomes originated by genome duplication, and evolved into the gene-rich regions of mammalian chromosomes. We will test this hypothesis by comparing seque ....Small is beautiful: Did gene-rich regions of mammal chromosomes evolve from microchromosomes? Most birds and reptile genomes feature many tiny microchromosomes. These are not junk, as previously thought, but contain most of the genes. Mammals lack microchromosomes, but contain gene-rich regions with similar attributes. We suggest that microchromosomes originated by genome duplication, and evolved into the gene-rich regions of mammalian chromosomes. We will test this hypothesis by comparing sequences and genes in microchromosomes of birds, reptiles and monotremes. This will clarify the origin and evolution of the ?microgenome?, establish its suitability as a model for vertebrate genome organisation, and demonstrate whether microchromosomes are the ancestors of the gene-rich regions of mammalian chromosomes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560987
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$156,697.00
Summary
Robust High Resolution Gene and Protein Expression Analysis Facilities in WA. Biological research is playing an increasingly important role in keeping agriculture internationally competitive and helping to unravel the basic mechanisms underpinning plant and animal health. This collaborative research equipment will greatly enhance and extend our existing functional genomic facilities in WA, allowing robust pre-fractionation of samples for directed proteomic analysis within complex systems and al ....Robust High Resolution Gene and Protein Expression Analysis Facilities in WA. Biological research is playing an increasingly important role in keeping agriculture internationally competitive and helping to unravel the basic mechanisms underpinning plant and animal health. This collaborative research equipment will greatly enhance and extend our existing functional genomic facilities in WA, allowing robust pre-fractionation of samples for directed proteomic analysis within complex systems and allowing accurate and sensitive measurement of gene expression. Both of these are critical for analysis of low abundance components involved in signalling and regulatory functions in biological samples.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