Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plan ....Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plants but adapting this approach for animals will have wide relevance in combatting fungi and other pathogens. The specific outcomes of this method will be to increase survival rates in a broad range of frog species to improve the success of captive release programs worldwide and hence save frogs from extinction.Read moreRead less
Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala ....Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala care centres, wildlife hospitals and government departments.Read moreRead less
Development of a safe and immunogenic anti-chlamydia vaccine for the koala. Many koala populations are under threat of extinction from chlamydial disease.The project will develop a chlamydial vaccine and conduct trials in several wild koala populations for safety and effectiveness.
Bacterial and host drivers of chlamydial blindness in koalas. Chlamydial infection of the eyes is a significant cause of disease and death in koalas, contributing to the ongoing decline of this native species. Little is known about what influences the outcome of these infections, challenging efforts to manage and control koala chlamydial blindness. This project aims to evaluate whether differences in the infecting Chlamydia pecorum strains or the koala immune response, are associated with the ou ....Bacterial and host drivers of chlamydial blindness in koalas. Chlamydial infection of the eyes is a significant cause of disease and death in koalas, contributing to the ongoing decline of this native species. Little is known about what influences the outcome of these infections, challenging efforts to manage and control koala chlamydial blindness. This project aims to evaluate whether differences in the infecting Chlamydia pecorum strains or the koala immune response, are associated with the outcome of chlamydial ocular infection. In addition to helping us to understand and prevent blindness in koalas, this project should significantly expand our knowledge of the koala immune system and generate an array of koala immunological assays, outcomes that may benefit all koala conservation efforts.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100390
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Characterisation of collagenous lectins and their roles in ovine infectious diseases. Specific proteins involved in immunity against infections will be studied in sheep to enhance their immune response against specific infections, such as ovine Johne's disease and footrot. This may lead to selective breeding of sheep that are more resistant to disease, minimising production losses and use of medications.
Increasing amphibian immunity to combat disease causing mass extinction. This project aims to increase amphibian survival to combat the devastating chytrid fungus by identifying resistance genes and increasing their frequency in the host population. The project is interdisciplinary and uses targeted genetic manipulation techniques developed for agriculture to improve disease resistance in wildlife for the first time. Expected outcomes include 1) enhanced international collaborations in comparati ....Increasing amphibian immunity to combat disease causing mass extinction. This project aims to increase amphibian survival to combat the devastating chytrid fungus by identifying resistance genes and increasing their frequency in the host population. The project is interdisciplinary and uses targeted genetic manipulation techniques developed for agriculture to improve disease resistance in wildlife for the first time. Expected outcomes include 1) enhanced international collaborations in comparative immunology, 2) a comprehensive understanding of immunity to chytridiomycosis, and 3) disease resistant amphibians. The anticipated benefit is ability to apply the optimal method to improve conservation of wildlife threatened by emerging disease, such as marker assisted selective breeding or genetic engineering.Read moreRead less
Development of an immune enhancing vaccine to protect Tasmanian devils against a contagious cancer. The iconic Tasmanian devil is threatened with extinction from a uniformly fatal transmissible facial cancer. Our team has shown in proof of concept that the cancer cells can be recognised by the devil immune system. This project will develop and test a vaccine against the tumour, which will ultimately protect devils in the wild.
Using adaptive and innate immunity to chytridiomycosis to save amphibians from extinction. Chytridiomycosis has been implicated in the decline or extinction of hundreds of frog species worldwide since its emergence in the 1970s. The goal of this project is to identify immune frogs for captive breeding and successful reintroduction, screen populations to predict their risk of decline and develop targeted vaccines.
Linking immunomodulation and latency in alphaherpesvirus infection. Herpesviruses cause major diseases in humans and all domestic animal species. Latency forms a significant part of the evolutionary success of herpesviruses, by enabling transmission of the virus throughout the lifetime of the host. Our work has shown that an alphaherpesvirus protein can divert the host’s immune response to become more antibody-mediated and less T cell-mediated. This study explores the consequences of this immune ....Linking immunomodulation and latency in alphaherpesvirus infection. Herpesviruses cause major diseases in humans and all domestic animal species. Latency forms a significant part of the evolutionary success of herpesviruses, by enabling transmission of the virus throughout the lifetime of the host. Our work has shown that an alphaherpesvirus protein can divert the host’s immune response to become more antibody-mediated and less T cell-mediated. This study explores the consequences of this immune diversion, and examines whether this reduced T cell response enables the development of latent infections. Disrupting the virus-host balance by alterations to this conserved viral protein will enable novel approaches to controlling these economically significant viruses.Read moreRead less
Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in ....Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in the wild, leaving vaccination as the only realistic option. This is valuable for both wild and captive koalas; zoos report high animal losses due to KoRV-associated lymphoma. The main outcome will be a KoRV vaccine which can be combined with a Chlamydia vaccine which is being developed in parallel.Read moreRead less