Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A b ....Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A better understanding of gene regulation in malaria parasites will help us to better combat the tricks utilised by this and other organisms to elude our immune systems.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of Genes involved in Secondary Metabolism in the Blackleg Pathogen of Canola. Blackleg caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans is the major disease of canola. In spite of the economic importance of this fungus, little is known about its metabolic pathways, its genes and how they are organised. We have sequenced a large piece of L. maculans DNA comprising eight genes, including a regulatory gene and one that may be may be involved in producing secondary metabolites such as ....Characterisation of Genes involved in Secondary Metabolism in the Blackleg Pathogen of Canola. Blackleg caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans is the major disease of canola. In spite of the economic importance of this fungus, little is known about its metabolic pathways, its genes and how they are organised. We have sequenced a large piece of L. maculans DNA comprising eight genes, including a regulatory gene and one that may be may be involved in producing secondary metabolites such as phytotoxins. We will determine the role of these genes in metabolism and the disease process, thus providing insights into secondary metabolism and gene regulation in this important plant pathogen.Read moreRead less
A high-through-put method for unlocking the mitochondrial genomes of significant pathogens. The national/community benefits of this research are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to ....A high-through-put method for unlocking the mitochondrial genomes of significant pathogens. The national/community benefits of this research are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by promoting collaborative research, resulting in a more efficient use of resources in a national and international context; (4) to enhance the skills-base in biology and biotechnology; and (5) to substantially increase global visibility through quality research, leading to an increased investment in Australian science.Read moreRead less
A Genomic analysis of macrophage differentiation: Epigenetic factors that determine transcriptional choices in a lineage dependant manner. Our genetic information is fundamental to who we are, how we develop, & how we age. This project will build the research capacity of Australia's genome sciences, providing an analytical framework to describe & study the many products expressed from any single gene and to assess the function of genetic variation & test genome regulatory events. An immediate ou ....A Genomic analysis of macrophage differentiation: Epigenetic factors that determine transcriptional choices in a lineage dependant manner. Our genetic information is fundamental to who we are, how we develop, & how we age. This project will build the research capacity of Australia's genome sciences, providing an analytical framework to describe & study the many products expressed from any single gene and to assess the function of genetic variation & test genome regulatory events. An immediate outcome is a better understanding of the regulation of our immune system. This approach will fuel the discovery of new signalling molecules & their effects on a population of cells, & likewise provides a novel approach to study the dysregulation of cell signalling pathways.Read moreRead less
microRNAs: discovery and analysis in mouse development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of regulatory molecule, recently found to be abundant and strongly conserved in several eukaryotic species, encoded by genes that are transcribed into short stem-loop structures and then processed into ~22nt single-stranded RNAs by the RNAi pathway. We have cloned novel miRNAs, and obtained the first evidence for regulation of a miRNA in a mammal. We propose to continue cloning novel miRNAs by the tried m ....microRNAs: discovery and analysis in mouse development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of regulatory molecule, recently found to be abundant and strongly conserved in several eukaryotic species, encoded by genes that are transcribed into short stem-loop structures and then processed into ~22nt single-stranded RNAs by the RNAi pathway. We have cloned novel miRNAs, and obtained the first evidence for regulation of a miRNA in a mammal. We propose to continue cloning novel miRNAs by the tried method, and to explore bioinformatics-based methods of identification. We will also study the expression of miRNAs in mouse embryos at successive stages, and develop a microarray assay for miRNA expression.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347245
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,000.00
Summary
Functional Genomics Analysis - linking a multicentred facility. The aim of this project is to enhance and network the functions and activities of the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis (CGRCGFA), a joint venture that services five major universities in the Sydney-Newcastle area. This application is for equipment that will improve the speed of DNA analyses, and for a laboratory information management system that will standardise the handling of data and sample information ....Functional Genomics Analysis - linking a multicentred facility. The aim of this project is to enhance and network the functions and activities of the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis (CGRCGFA), a joint venture that services five major universities in the Sydney-Newcastle area. This application is for equipment that will improve the speed of DNA analyses, and for a laboratory information management system that will standardise the handling of data and sample information at all nodes of the CVRCGFA.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0232455
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$545,000.00
Summary
The Molecular Analysis of Variation and Gene Function. The aim of this project is to establish the nodes of the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis (CVRCGFA) which is a joint venture that serves the five major universities and three Institutes in the Sydney-Newcastle region. The primary focus of this application is to create new facilities at the hubs of CVRCFGA that are integral to the analysis of molecular variation in a range of organisms. The study of molecular vari ....The Molecular Analysis of Variation and Gene Function. The aim of this project is to establish the nodes of the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis (CVRCGFA) which is a joint venture that serves the five major universities and three Institutes in the Sydney-Newcastle region. The primary focus of this application is to create new facilities at the hubs of CVRCFGA that are integral to the analysis of molecular variation in a range of organisms. The study of molecular variation will enable researchers to understand better how organisms interact with each other, how they respond to environmental stress and aid in the identification of complez traits.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453724
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,824.00
Summary
Functional Genomics - Linking Genomics and Proteomics. This application is to enhance the capacity of the Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analaysis (RCFGA) and its Nodes to support research in Functional Genomics by expanding its ability to link genomic analysis (including transcriptomics) with proteomic and cell biological analysis. It will provide access to novel methods for analysing interactions of proteins with other molecules by enabling the manufacture of protein arrays as well as DN ....Functional Genomics - Linking Genomics and Proteomics. This application is to enhance the capacity of the Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analaysis (RCFGA) and its Nodes to support research in Functional Genomics by expanding its ability to link genomic analysis (including transcriptomics) with proteomic and cell biological analysis. It will provide access to novel methods for analysing interactions of proteins with other molecules by enabling the manufacture of protein arrays as well as DNA microarrays and to analyse the data obtained from them. This is a vital component to maintain gene function analysis at the cutting edge of current technology.Read moreRead less
MitoGenomics of Key Pathogens - An International Research Co-operative. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by pr ....MitoGenomics of Key Pathogens - An International Research Co-operative. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by promoting collaborative research, resulting in a more efficient use of resources in a national and international context; (4) to enhance the skills-base in biology and biotechnology; (5) to substantially increase global visibility through quality research, leading to an increased investment in Australian science.Read moreRead less
Gene regulatory networks in heart development. In humans, structural and functional malformations of the heart are very common and are associated with a high economic and emotional burden. In this project, we will study how genetic networks initiate and control heart development at a molecular level. We will establish and employ state-of-the-art technologies and bioinformatics tools to explore the function of cardiac regulatory genes in detail. Our work will contribute both to discover new cardi ....Gene regulatory networks in heart development. In humans, structural and functional malformations of the heart are very common and are associated with a high economic and emotional burden. In this project, we will study how genetic networks initiate and control heart development at a molecular level. We will establish and employ state-of-the-art technologies and bioinformatics tools to explore the function of cardiac regulatory genes in detail. Our work will contribute both to discover new cardiac pathways for a better understanding of heart formation and disease, and to develop advanced techniques that will contribute to strengthen Australian basic and strategic research.Read moreRead less