Bringing Archaeal biodiversity to life from native Australian herbivores . The aim of this project is to provide deep functional understanding of our recent discovery of novel microbes from the Domain Archaea that inhabit the digestive tracts of native Australian herbivores. These animals are unique natural resources of great cultural, environmental, and economic significance, but increasingly susceptible to habitat change and degradation. Very little is currently known about the microbes that h ....Bringing Archaeal biodiversity to life from native Australian herbivores . The aim of this project is to provide deep functional understanding of our recent discovery of novel microbes from the Domain Archaea that inhabit the digestive tracts of native Australian herbivores. These animals are unique natural resources of great cultural, environmental, and economic significance, but increasingly susceptible to habitat change and degradation. Very little is currently known about the microbes that have co-evolved with these animals, to support their nutrition and health. The project will address these knowledge gaps, and the ensuing discoveries are expected to deliver products and services relevant to environmental health assessment and sustaining the "low methane carbon economy" attributed to these iconic species.Read moreRead less
Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project wi ....Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project will provide a new, yet crucial, perspective on how and why diseases spread. Our discoveries will help understand and manage the burden of infectious diseases from parasites in and beyond our cities and across the human-wildlife interface; essential for improving human and wildlife health in an increasingly urbanised Australia.Read moreRead less
Can ecological theory help to unravel microbial regulation of soil functions? Much attention has been paid to relationships between ecosystem health and biodiversity in above-ground communities, yet little notice is taken of the vast below-ground soil microbial communities. This project will reveal if soil microbial diversity is similarly important for ecosystem function in the face of future environmental challenges.
Genome-level insight into the dynamics of a model coral microbiome. The aim of the project is to examine structural and functional microbiome dynamics in an ecologically important coral on the Great Barrier Reef along a natural temperature gradient. Microorganisms form an intimate symbiotic relationship with corals and are critical to their health. However, the microbiome can be disrupted by environmental perturbations, including higher-than-normal ocean temperatures, leaving the coral susceptib ....Genome-level insight into the dynamics of a model coral microbiome. The aim of the project is to examine structural and functional microbiome dynamics in an ecologically important coral on the Great Barrier Reef along a natural temperature gradient. Microorganisms form an intimate symbiotic relationship with corals and are critical to their health. However, the microbiome can be disrupted by environmental perturbations, including higher-than-normal ocean temperatures, leaving the coral susceptible to disease and bleaching. Currently, our understanding of how the microbiome composition and metabolic function change in response to seasonal temperature variation and disease is limited. This project is designed to provide insight into the role the microbiome plays in maintaining coral health and may aid in the long-term preservation of the reefs.Read moreRead less
Australia's ocean microbiome: how the diversity and functionality of microbes influence key oceanographic provinces. Every millilitre of seawater contains millions of microbes that maintain the health of our planet, but their identity and function in Australian waters is undefined. This project will identify the microbes inhabiting Australian marine systems, elucidate the services they provide, and predict how they will be affected by future environmental changes
Functional complexity of modern marine stromatolites. This research has the potential for providing the most detailed data regarding these ancient ecosystems, and will provide information for the environmental management of the famous modern stromatolites of Western Australia. Australia needs scientists applying their research to interactions of microorganisms with earth materials, and the synergy between biology and geology undertaken here has the potential to solve many outstanding problems in ....Functional complexity of modern marine stromatolites. This research has the potential for providing the most detailed data regarding these ancient ecosystems, and will provide information for the environmental management of the famous modern stromatolites of Western Australia. Australia needs scientists applying their research to interactions of microorganisms with earth materials, and the synergy between biology and geology undertaken here has the potential to solve many outstanding problems in the interpretation of stromatolites. In addition, this project has the potential for contributing to improvements in water quality, Australia's growing salinity problem, and in the development of new pharmaceuticals.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the impacts of environmental stress on marine microorganisms. Microorganisms underpin marine ecosystem health, yet there is limited understanding of how they will respond to different environmental pressures. This project will resolve this critical knowledge gap by developing a unique molecular platform for deriving quantitative stress thresholds for microbial communities inhabiting key reef habitats (seawater, sediments, invertebrates). Quantifying how reef microorganisms respond to ....Quantifying the impacts of environmental stress on marine microorganisms. Microorganisms underpin marine ecosystem health, yet there is limited understanding of how they will respond to different environmental pressures. This project will resolve this critical knowledge gap by developing a unique molecular platform for deriving quantitative stress thresholds for microbial communities inhabiting key reef habitats (seawater, sediments, invertebrates). Quantifying how reef microorganisms respond to a broad suite of environmental perturbations (temperature, nutrients, contaminants), will generate stress-response data that can be incorporated alongside eukaryotic data in environmental assessments, greatly improving the ecological relevance and reliability of risk and vulnerability assessments.Read moreRead less
Deciphering the coral minimal microbiome. This project aims to decipher the functions of coral-associated bacteria by taking advantage of low-diversity microbiomes that are naturally found in some coral species. A further aim is to unveil the importance of bacterial genome evolution in coral adaptation to climate change. Climate warming is the biggest threat to coral reefs with half of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) corals dead due to recent summer heat waves. Expected outcomes are an incr ....Deciphering the coral minimal microbiome. This project aims to decipher the functions of coral-associated bacteria by taking advantage of low-diversity microbiomes that are naturally found in some coral species. A further aim is to unveil the importance of bacterial genome evolution in coral adaptation to climate change. Climate warming is the biggest threat to coral reefs with half of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) corals dead due to recent summer heat waves. Expected outcomes are an increased understanding of how bacteria contribute to coral heat tolerance, and new knowledge to assist in the development of bacterial probiotics for enhancing coral thermal tolerance. This should provide significant benefits to the protection of the GBR and Australia’s economy.Read moreRead less
The rare biosphere; discovering how soil bacteria live on air. In Antarctic deserts where photosynthetic potential is low, we discovered that soil microbiomes sustain their energy and carbon budgets through a novel process reliant on trace gases we coined 'atmospheric chemosynthesis'. But how do soil bacteria literally live on air? This project aims to reveal functional chemoautotrophic pathways in cultured soil bacteria that use trace gases as a source of energy and carbon acquisition. We will ....The rare biosphere; discovering how soil bacteria live on air. In Antarctic deserts where photosynthetic potential is low, we discovered that soil microbiomes sustain their energy and carbon budgets through a novel process reliant on trace gases we coined 'atmospheric chemosynthesis'. But how do soil bacteria literally live on air? This project aims to reveal functional chemoautotrophic pathways in cultured soil bacteria that use trace gases as a source of energy and carbon acquisition. We will perform biogeochamistry, transcriptomics and proteomics on the first model bacterial strains genetically capable of this overlooked process. Outcomes will advance knowledge on microbial metabolism, extending the repertoire of hydrogen-oxidising bacteria to soil ecosystem services, primarily primary production.Read moreRead less
To eat or not to eat? How symbiotic bacteria manipulate the phagocytic behaviour of their eukaryotic host. Bacteria often live in close association with eukaryotic cells, ranging from simple amoeba to humans. This project will identify key factors that control their interactions and will yield important information on the evolution of beneficial or harmful relationships.