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
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
A Changing Climate on the Great Barrier Reef: Present and Future Implications. The Great Barrier Reef is fundamental to the economy of Australia. This national and international icon needs to be preserved in the face of a changing world to ensure on-going sustainability of our marine resources. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures, increased freshwater disrupt the sensitive symbiotic association of corals the major structure building organisms of reefs. Understanding how these enviro ....A Changing Climate on the Great Barrier Reef: Present and Future Implications. The Great Barrier Reef is fundamental to the economy of Australia. This national and international icon needs to be preserved in the face of a changing world to ensure on-going sustainability of our marine resources. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures, increased freshwater disrupt the sensitive symbiotic association of corals the major structure building organisms of reefs. Understanding how these environmental stressors result in the decrease in coral health is fundamental to prevent loss of our coral reefs and an important step towards preserving them for future generations.Read moreRead less
Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidenc ....Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidence of these keystones’ cellular level biogeochemical and metabolic capacity. Ultimately, this knowledge is expected to predict the resilience of ocean ecosystems and their response to change. The capacity to predict their dynamics will help provide investment clarity and increase healthy outcomes from activities involving human-ocean interactions such as recreation, food production and tourism.Read moreRead less
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
An evolutionary landscape to better predict our future climate. Soil microbial communities are the most complicated and difficult to study on Earth, but their effects on our climate are profound. This project will examine the evolution of microorganisms and their viruses in soil using novel methods. It will uncover how the evolution of one microbial species influences the evolution of other community members. It will also apply a new model of evolution to the viruses that infect these microorgan ....An evolutionary landscape to better predict our future climate. Soil microbial communities are the most complicated and difficult to study on Earth, but their effects on our climate are profound. This project will examine the evolution of microorganisms and their viruses in soil using novel methods. It will uncover how the evolution of one microbial species influences the evolution of other community members. It will also apply a new model of evolution to the viruses that infect these microorganisms, constructing a viral ‘tree of life’. This improved fundamental understanding of soil communities will be used to study climate feedback from permafrost wetlands, a key and poorly constrained input of global climate models, improving predictions of our future climate.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100248
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,600.00
Summary
Annotating unknown microbial gene functions with organic matter change. This project intends to develop a new method for determining the function of microbial genomes. Microbes are all pervasive on Earth. It is now possible to routinely sequence microbial genomes. However, the function of most genes encoded on these genomes remains elusive, severely limiting our understanding of most ecosystems. This project seeks to develop new methods to assign function to uncharacterised genes, by correlating ....Annotating unknown microbial gene functions with organic matter change. This project intends to develop a new method for determining the function of microbial genomes. Microbes are all pervasive on Earth. It is now possible to routinely sequence microbial genomes. However, the function of most genes encoded on these genomes remains elusive, severely limiting our understanding of most ecosystems. This project seeks to develop new methods to assign function to uncharacterised genes, by correlating changes in metabolite abundance with gene expression in a model permafrost thaw peatland. Determining the function of uncharacterised genes has widespread implications for microbial ecology and its numerous real-world applications, from determining soil greenhouse gas emissions to understanding human intestinal flora.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL180100036
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,011,916.00
Summary
Engineering microbes that increase coral climate resilience. This project aims to develop microbes which are able to enhance the climate resilience of corals. Coral reefs around the world are being lost at an alarming rate. Developing microbial symbionts to enhance coral climate resilience will give Australian and other coral reef ecosystems an increased chance of surviving the impact of climate change. The project will also enhance understanding of the functional roles of microbial symbionts of ....Engineering microbes that increase coral climate resilience. This project aims to develop microbes which are able to enhance the climate resilience of corals. Coral reefs around the world are being lost at an alarming rate. Developing microbial symbionts to enhance coral climate resilience will give Australian and other coral reef ecosystems an increased chance of surviving the impact of climate change. The project will also enhance understanding of the functional roles of microbial symbionts of corals, and advance the microbial symbiosis discipline globally. Expected outcomes include healthier coral reefs through the use of more climate resilient coral stock in reef conservation and restoration initiatives.Read moreRead less
Enhanced coral stress tolerance via manipulation of prokaryotic symbionts. The project aims to develop a novel approach to improve environmental stress tolerance in corals. Coral reefs are under threat from a range of stressors that have led to massive declines in coral cover and health worldwide. There is now great concern that the rate of environmental change is outpacing the natural capacity of corals to acclimatise, adapt and survive. Although it is important to address the root causes of cl ....Enhanced coral stress tolerance via manipulation of prokaryotic symbionts. The project aims to develop a novel approach to improve environmental stress tolerance in corals. Coral reefs are under threat from a range of stressors that have led to massive declines in coral cover and health worldwide. There is now great concern that the rate of environmental change is outpacing the natural capacity of corals to acclimatise, adapt and survive. Although it is important to address the root causes of climate change, a focus on strategies to mitigate its impacts is also required. This project explores the potential to augment the capacity of corals to tolerate stress through the manipulation of their associated prokaryotic communities. This project may result in novel coral reef restoration approaches.Read moreRead less
Revealing the structure, evolution and sensitivity of symbioses in basal metazoa. This project will explore the complex interactions between each component of the sponge holobiont (virus, bacteria, sponge) during thermal stress. This will also provide the first molecular assessment of sponge viruses and provide insights into how sponges may adapt to a changing climate.