Tracking the molecular dynamics of adaptation with horizontal gene transfer. This project aims to track the dynamics of adaptation with gene exchange by building the first experimental evolution model that can directly observe this process. The acquisition of genes from other strains and species (horizontal gene transfer) frequently underlies bacterial adaptation, but it is unknown how this occurs. This project aims to shift understanding of how microbial populations respond to environmental cha ....Tracking the molecular dynamics of adaptation with horizontal gene transfer. This project aims to track the dynamics of adaptation with gene exchange by building the first experimental evolution model that can directly observe this process. The acquisition of genes from other strains and species (horizontal gene transfer) frequently underlies bacterial adaptation, but it is unknown how this occurs. This project aims to shift understanding of how microbial populations respond to environmental challenges. There are significant benefits to be gained from understanding how microbes adapt in response to climate change and the widespread application of antibiotics, given that microbial populations form intimate associations with humans and sustain all of the world’s ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary Response Of Dengue And Chikungunya Viruses To A Novel Biocontrol Method
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,681.00
Summary
Dengue and chikungunya are mosquito-transmitted viruses that present significant public health threats to Australia and the Asia-Pacific. This project will investigate whether dengue and chikungunya can adapt in response to a bacterium that limits replication of the viruses in the mosquito. The research will provide critical data to inform new mosquito control methods aimed at breaking the virus transmission cycle. More broadly, the research will allow us to understand how viruses adapt to strat ....Dengue and chikungunya are mosquito-transmitted viruses that present significant public health threats to Australia and the Asia-Pacific. This project will investigate whether dengue and chikungunya can adapt in response to a bacterium that limits replication of the viruses in the mosquito. The research will provide critical data to inform new mosquito control methods aimed at breaking the virus transmission cycle. More broadly, the research will allow us to understand how viruses adapt to strategies aimed at limiting their replication.Read moreRead less
Do hotter and drier regions harbour adaptive variation for climate change? This project aims to improve our understanding of the capacity of trees to respond to climate change. This is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity, forest health and productivity. In south-west Australia, climate variation has increased the frequency and intensity of droughts, which has resulted in tree death and negatively affected essential ecosystem services. Adaptive land management is urgently needed to miti ....Do hotter and drier regions harbour adaptive variation for climate change? This project aims to improve our understanding of the capacity of trees to respond to climate change. This is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity, forest health and productivity. In south-west Australia, climate variation has increased the frequency and intensity of droughts, which has resulted in tree death and negatively affected essential ecosystem services. Adaptive land management is urgently needed to mitigate the risk of large-scale drought mortality in a rapidly changing climate. This project seeks to deliver a scientific basis for the adoption of assisted gene migration in south-west forests, through a detailed understanding of genetic adaptation and physiological tolerance, to improve drought-resilience under future hotter and drier climates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,331.00
Summary
Mechanisms determining ecological resilience to climate change. This project aims to improve our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms by which organisms adapt to climate change, and how this may lead to ecological resilience. It will test how rapid adaptation can occur in response to stressful environments predicted under climate change scenarios. By understanding the genetic mechanisms by which organisms adapt to environmental stresses, we can better forecast the effects of climate cha ....Mechanisms determining ecological resilience to climate change. This project aims to improve our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms by which organisms adapt to climate change, and how this may lead to ecological resilience. It will test how rapid adaptation can occur in response to stressful environments predicted under climate change scenarios. By understanding the genetic mechanisms by which organisms adapt to environmental stresses, we can better forecast the effects of climate change on natural systems. Expected outcomes include an improved ability to make informed conservation and management decisions, with resulting benefits including the protection of human health, agricultural industries, and our iconic flora and fauna. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100483
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,176.00
Summary
The effect of apparent stabilising selection on genetic architecture. This project aims to improve our understanding of the cause of evolutionary limits. It will test the prediction that trait combinations with high genetic variation are highly correlated with other traits, and therefore are more evolutionary limited than they appear. This project will develop and implement novel evolutionary and statistical manipulations and methods to test this prediction, and is expected to provide new method ....The effect of apparent stabilising selection on genetic architecture. This project aims to improve our understanding of the cause of evolutionary limits. It will test the prediction that trait combinations with high genetic variation are highly correlated with other traits, and therefore are more evolutionary limited than they appear. This project will develop and implement novel evolutionary and statistical manipulations and methods to test this prediction, and is expected to provide new methods for the study of selection. A better understanding of evolutionary limits will provide a significant benefit, enabling better predictions of how natural populations will evolve over short and long time-scales, and their risks of extinction.Read moreRead less
Identifying the genes and population histories that drive rapid adaptive change and speciation. This project will uncover the genetic variation and demographic histories that allow rapid adaptation and speciation in natural populations. It will leverage the powerful framework provided by Indo-Australian sea snakes, and new gene sequencing technologies, to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of genes, populations and species. Using this data, it will address inter-related key questions that ar ....Identifying the genes and population histories that drive rapid adaptive change and speciation. This project will uncover the genetic variation and demographic histories that allow rapid adaptation and speciation in natural populations. It will leverage the powerful framework provided by Indo-Australian sea snakes, and new gene sequencing technologies, to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of genes, populations and species. Using this data, it will address inter-related key questions that are critical to effective biodiversity conservation but have rarely been evaluated in the same taxon. It will address what genetic changes are involved in adaptive shifts and speciation, whether these originate de novo or from pre-existing variation and how gene flow and changes in population size promote or constrain adaptation and speciation.Read moreRead less
Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding intern ....Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding international knowledge on the eucalypt genome to the evolutionary dynamics of wild populations in Australia to provide unprecedented insights into the nature of species and processes which have shaped their evolution. These insights may inform their breeding as well as their conservation and management in Australia.Read moreRead less
Does dynamic ecological change cause rapid evolution? This project aims to increase understanding of how Australia’s native biota responds to rapid environmental changes. Abrupt environmental change has the potential to drive rapid evolution, which may facilitate species persistence in the face of novel challenges. This project will use long-term genomic data to quantify rates of evolutionary change in species living in arid environments, whose populations fluctuate markedly in response to rainf ....Does dynamic ecological change cause rapid evolution? This project aims to increase understanding of how Australia’s native biota responds to rapid environmental changes. Abrupt environmental change has the potential to drive rapid evolution, which may facilitate species persistence in the face of novel challenges. This project will use long-term genomic data to quantify rates of evolutionary change in species living in arid environments, whose populations fluctuate markedly in response to rainfall variation. By measuring the pace of genomic change in these species, and the evolutionary processes driving that change, this project will reveal species’ evolutionary responses to major environmental fluctuations.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary impacts of gene interactions in a rapidly changing world. This project aims to understand how gene interactions impact evolution in our warming marine environments. The role of gene interactions is controversial because they are assumed to have little effect on genetic variation for fitness in natural populations. Yet new data show that this effect can be substantial and is enhanced by heat stress, explaining most of the genetic variation available for evolution under stressful cond ....Evolutionary impacts of gene interactions in a rapidly changing world. This project aims to understand how gene interactions impact evolution in our warming marine environments. The role of gene interactions is controversial because they are assumed to have little effect on genetic variation for fitness in natural populations. Yet new data show that this effect can be substantial and is enhanced by heat stress, explaining most of the genetic variation available for evolution under stressful conditions. The project aims to use quantitative genetics, genomics, and theory to determine the evolutionary impacts on marine populations facing rapid ocean warming in southeast Australia. The outcomes could change how we view gene interactions, and help us to better predict biological responses to environmental change.Read moreRead less
Origin and evolution of plant functional traits in relation to fire. This project addresses the fundamental question as to what extent the Australian flora is adapted to fire by tracing the evolutionary history of the iconic family Proteaceae over the last 100 million years. The answer to this question has significant implications for informing Australia’s fire management and nature conservation policies.