Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of dual function transporter/channels. This project aims to understand how a membrane protein that transports chemical messengers in the brain functions and how it is influenced by the membrane in which it is embedded. Cells from all life forms have a lipid membrane that separates them from their external environment. These membranes contain proteins that control the movements of molecules into and out of cells and are vital for a plethora of physiological pr ....Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of dual function transporter/channels. This project aims to understand how a membrane protein that transports chemical messengers in the brain functions and how it is influenced by the membrane in which it is embedded. Cells from all life forms have a lipid membrane that separates them from their external environment. These membranes contain proteins that control the movements of molecules into and out of cells and are vital for a plethora of physiological processes including cell-to-cell communication. The outcomes of this study will include new knowledge of this process and chemical modifiers of this transport protein. This project will benefit structural biology and biophysics training and may lead to the development of novel compounds that can be used to explore function. Read moreRead less
Targeting chloroplasts to enhance crop salt tolerance. Yield losses in crop plants due to increasingly saline soils are linked to the effects of salt on chloroplasts. By comparing chloroplast water- and salt-transport mechanisms of closely related salt-loving and salt-sensitive plants, this Fellowships aims to discover how chloroplasts maintain function in saline conditions. Novel biophysics and molecular techniques will be used to characterise transporters in model plants, and proof-of-concept ....Targeting chloroplasts to enhance crop salt tolerance. Yield losses in crop plants due to increasingly saline soils are linked to the effects of salt on chloroplasts. By comparing chloroplast water- and salt-transport mechanisms of closely related salt-loving and salt-sensitive plants, this Fellowships aims to discover how chloroplasts maintain function in saline conditions. Novel biophysics and molecular techniques will be used to characterise transporters in model plants, and proof-of-concept complementation experiments aim to confer salt tolerance on sensitive plants. These fundamental insights are likely to lead to rapid, step-change improvements in salt tolerance, especially in agriculturally relevant crops, to benefit Australia’s agri-industry and ensure food security in the future.Read moreRead less
Sensing biomechanical forces in the heart. Mechanosensitive ion channels are key molecules that define how each heart cell interacts with their physical environment. Yet how they enable cells to decode biomechanical cues remains poorly understood. At the heart of this problem is a lack of tools to quantify the force required for activation. This project aims to develop novel technologies to record the activity of these essential channels in a critical cell type within the heart, and use this inf ....Sensing biomechanical forces in the heart. Mechanosensitive ion channels are key molecules that define how each heart cell interacts with their physical environment. Yet how they enable cells to decode biomechanical cues remains poorly understood. At the heart of this problem is a lack of tools to quantify the force required for activation. This project aims to develop novel technologies to record the activity of these essential channels in a critical cell type within the heart, and use this information in addition to micro-engineering approaches to fully understand the role of these channels in force sensing and generation, at both the single cell and micro-tissue levels. This knowledge and technology has broad utility that extends far beyond cardiac biology into multiple fields.Read moreRead less
Nuclear and chromatin architecture in the replication stress response. DNA replication is an essential biological activity required for the transmittance of genomic material across cell divisions. If errors occur during DNA replication, this results in dangerous outcomes including mutation, genome instability, and cell death. Cells cope with challenges to DNA replication through a process called the replication stress response. This fellowship explores a newly discovered pathway in the replicati ....Nuclear and chromatin architecture in the replication stress response. DNA replication is an essential biological activity required for the transmittance of genomic material across cell divisions. If errors occur during DNA replication, this results in dangerous outcomes including mutation, genome instability, and cell death. Cells cope with challenges to DNA replication through a process called the replication stress response. This fellowship explores a newly discovered pathway in the replication stress response where changes to the architecture of a cell nucleus, and movement of the genomic material inside, promotes repair of genomic damage that occurs during replication. The result of this project will be an understanding of fundamental biological processes that protect human genomes.Read moreRead less
Microbial junk food: developing synthetic platforms for plastic degradation. This project aims to establish the genetic basis of polyethelene biodegradation (PED) by microbes from the gut microbiome of plastic-eating caterpillars. It will transform the active microbial PED genes into carefully designed synthetic microbes for efficient, safe and large-scale PED. The project will combine innovative functional microbial genetic tools and synthetic biology techniques with solid biochemistry and bioi ....Microbial junk food: developing synthetic platforms for plastic degradation. This project aims to establish the genetic basis of polyethelene biodegradation (PED) by microbes from the gut microbiome of plastic-eating caterpillars. It will transform the active microbial PED genes into carefully designed synthetic microbes for efficient, safe and large-scale PED. The project will combine innovative functional microbial genetic tools and synthetic biology techniques with solid biochemistry and bioinformatics to produce translatable synthetic platforms containing key genes optimised for efficient PE waste removal. The outcomes will have the potential to transform the relative ineffective and expensive current methods for PE disposal into flexible, cost-effective and sustainable solutions applicable to multiple sectors.Read moreRead less
Untangling environmental effects on bee health in the face of Varroa . This project aims to assess bee health, disease and evolution in European honeybees and bumblebees. Bee viruses transmitted by the destructive Varroa mite cause worldwide pollinator declines. Factors determining bee health will be identified across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, which differ in Varroa impact and bee introduction histories. Harnessing Australia’s currently threatened Varroa-free status, the bum ....Untangling environmental effects on bee health in the face of Varroa . This project aims to assess bee health, disease and evolution in European honeybees and bumblebees. Bee viruses transmitted by the destructive Varroa mite cause worldwide pollinator declines. Factors determining bee health will be identified across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, which differ in Varroa impact and bee introduction histories. Harnessing Australia’s currently threatened Varroa-free status, the bumblebee invasion in Tasmania, and cutting-edge multi-omics techniques (for microbiomes, viruses and genomes), predictors of disease dynamics will be identified for two globally important bee pollinators. The project outcomes will boost Australia's capacity to manage threats to pollination services at landscape scales.Read moreRead less
Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others a ....Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others are used in biotechnology for biosynthetic chemical production or bioremediation. This project expects to help the future development of new antibiotics and assist in the design of strains to be used in biotechnological applications.Read moreRead less
A Varied Diet, Ageing, and the Evolution of Life Histories. This research aims to understand how nutritional environments affect lifespan and its evolution. The expected outcomes are improved knowledge around the biology of ageing including the identification of diet-responsive genes and biological pathways. These elements will comprise targets for future applied studies on ageing, metabolic dysfunction and personalised nutrition. This study will also inform as to how lifespans evolve. Because l ....A Varied Diet, Ageing, and the Evolution of Life Histories. This research aims to understand how nutritional environments affect lifespan and its evolution. The expected outcomes are improved knowledge around the biology of ageing including the identification of diet-responsive genes and biological pathways. These elements will comprise targets for future applied studies on ageing, metabolic dysfunction and personalised nutrition. This study will also inform as to how lifespans evolve. Because lifespan is a fundamental demographic trait, this knowledge will improve ability to predict how populations adapt to environmental change. Lastly, through methodological innovation this project will also provide new statistical tools for studying how treatments affect the risk of death age specifically.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the impact of phenotypic plasticity on population persistence. This project aims to understand how environmental sensitivity in growth, survival and reproduction of individuals in a population influence population dynamics using terrestrial ectotherms. It will provide significant new insights into whether phenotypic plasticity promotes population persistence in the face of environmental change. Expected outcomes include approaches for incorporating environmental effects in population ....Quantifying the impact of phenotypic plasticity on population persistence. This project aims to understand how environmental sensitivity in growth, survival and reproduction of individuals in a population influence population dynamics using terrestrial ectotherms. It will provide significant new insights into whether phenotypic plasticity promotes population persistence in the face of environmental change. Expected outcomes include approaches for incorporating environmental effects in population models for threatened species, open databases that can be used to estimate demographic information for species lacking data, and an assessment of what characteristics make some species more sensitive to the environment than others. Benefits include quantitative training and tools for managing Australia's rich biodiversity.Read moreRead less
How does the noncoding genome regulate gene expression in the human brain? The non-coding genome is recognized as a major player in orchestrating gene expression in higher eukaryotes. This project aims to identify regions of the human genome that are important for gene expression during neuronal differentiation and depolarisation (i.e. neural enhancers), and to investigate their evolutionary properties. The roles of non-coding DNA in regulating the dynamic gene expression patterns underlying com ....How does the noncoding genome regulate gene expression in the human brain? The non-coding genome is recognized as a major player in orchestrating gene expression in higher eukaryotes. This project aims to identify regions of the human genome that are important for gene expression during neuronal differentiation and depolarisation (i.e. neural enhancers), and to investigate their evolutionary properties. The roles of non-coding DNA in regulating the dynamic gene expression patterns underlying complex human brain functions remains to be elucidated. By combining transcriptome quantification and bioinformatics methods, this project will close an important knowledge gap in our understanding of transcriptional regulation underlying human brain function. This will provide benefits such as the potential to influence public health policy including in cognitive functions and aging.Read moreRead less