Diet influences the selective advantage of mitochondrial DNA mutations. This project aims to examine critical mechanisms that affect mitochondrial DNA variation within species. It aims to test the hypothesis that mitochondrial DNA haplotypes have the potential to be under nutritionally induced balancing selection as a consequence of cellular signalling and/or Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production by mitochondria. Diet can vary both seasonally and geographically and is a key environmental param ....Diet influences the selective advantage of mitochondrial DNA mutations. This project aims to examine critical mechanisms that affect mitochondrial DNA variation within species. It aims to test the hypothesis that mitochondrial DNA haplotypes have the potential to be under nutritionally induced balancing selection as a consequence of cellular signalling and/or Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production by mitochondria. Diet can vary both seasonally and geographically and is a key environmental parameter that influences the ability of a species to colonise new habitats. The project plans to characterise the functional links between specific mitochondrial DNA haplotypes, mitochondrial functions and organismal traits. The expected outcome is a more precise grasp of the processes influencing genetic variation within and among species, which would inform current issues in ecology and genetics.Read moreRead less
Trafficking of DNA between chloroplast and nucleus in higher plants. Reliably high levels of diverse proteins can be produced in plant chloroplasts. Environmental risks are considered low for chloroplast genes because they are not transmitted by pollen. However, we recently discovered that DNA escapes from the tobacco chloroplast to the nucleus with unexpectedly high frequency. The associated environmental risks require immediate investigation. This project will determine the fate of chloroplast ....Trafficking of DNA between chloroplast and nucleus in higher plants. Reliably high levels of diverse proteins can be produced in plant chloroplasts. Environmental risks are considered low for chloroplast genes because they are not transmitted by pollen. However, we recently discovered that DNA escapes from the tobacco chloroplast to the nucleus with unexpectedly high frequency. The associated environmental risks require immediate investigation. This project will determine the fate of chloroplast DNA that has moved to the nuclear genome and gain insight into the evolutionary and environmental consequences of chloroplast DNA escape. The ubiquity of DNA escape also will be studied in an edible crop with a small genome, tomato.Read moreRead less
Analysis of interorganellar transposition of DNA. The movement of DNA between organelles is a major driving force in the eukaryotic evolution. In yeast about 75% of all nuclear genes may derive from protomitochondria. Though DNA transfer per se continues in all higher cells, including mammals, in most species the functional transfer of genes has stopped. It continues at a high rate in plants, giving them unique potential in evolutionary studies of the genome. We established experimentally that D ....Analysis of interorganellar transposition of DNA. The movement of DNA between organelles is a major driving force in the eukaryotic evolution. In yeast about 75% of all nuclear genes may derive from protomitochondria. Though DNA transfer per se continues in all higher cells, including mammals, in most species the functional transfer of genes has stopped. It continues at a high rate in plants, giving them unique potential in evolutionary studies of the genome. We established experimentally that DNA moves frequently from the plastid (chloroplast) to the nucleus. We now aim to measure the frequency of DNA transposition from the plastid to the mitochondrion. If transposition is sufficiently frequent, the approach can be used to transformation the mitochondrial genome.Read moreRead less
The molecular basis of endosymbiotic evolution. First: Timmis has a 20 year, pioneering reputation in this research area which has recently emerged as a major focus in evolutionary genetics, genomics and GM crop technology. Four years of recent ARC funding has enabled us to remain internationally competitive and significant papers and collaborative reviews in high-impact journals have resulted, to the benefit of Australia's reputation in biolological science. Second: our recent results have caus ....The molecular basis of endosymbiotic evolution. First: Timmis has a 20 year, pioneering reputation in this research area which has recently emerged as a major focus in evolutionary genetics, genomics and GM crop technology. Four years of recent ARC funding has enabled us to remain internationally competitive and significant papers and collaborative reviews in high-impact journals have resulted, to the benefit of Australia's reputation in biolological science. Second: our recent results have caused major debate about containment of GM crops. The knowledge gained from this research will provide essential information to ensure against environmental and human problems associated with transgene escape from GM crops into wild species.Read moreRead less
Molecular and genetic analysis of epigenetic components in a model plant. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. Food crops unfortunately have large, complex genomes that are not sequenced and a generation time of months that makes research outcomes slow to achieve. This project proposes to utilise a model plant that has a small completely sequenced genome and a short generation tim ....Molecular and genetic analysis of epigenetic components in a model plant. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural food crops thus producers must maintain their competitive advantage in order to compete on the world stage. Food crops unfortunately have large, complex genomes that are not sequenced and a generation time of months that makes research outcomes slow to achieve. This project proposes to utilise a model plant that has a small completely sequenced genome and a short generation time making it ideal to study the fundamental biological process of RNA silencing. Discoveries and outcomes from this project may have the potential to benefit Australian crops, ecosystems and human health.Read moreRead less
Establishing genetic guidelines for the effective ecological restoration of seagrass meadows. Industry and coastal development in Australia are of national importance for economic growth and prosperity, but they threaten benthic habitats, like seagrasses. Loss of seagrass meadows without mitigation results in greater coastal impacts from damaging storms and waves and a reduction in the health and productivity of marine environments globally. Thus the ecological restoration of seagrass meadows is ....Establishing genetic guidelines for the effective ecological restoration of seagrass meadows. Industry and coastal development in Australia are of national importance for economic growth and prosperity, but they threaten benthic habitats, like seagrasses. Loss of seagrass meadows without mitigation results in greater coastal impacts from damaging storms and waves and a reduction in the health and productivity of marine environments globally. Thus the ecological restoration of seagrass meadows is an urgent national priority action that involves industry, government and the community. Through the detailed assessment of population genetic variation and key population processes in seagrasses, this project will establish genetic guidelines for a more effective seagrass restoration industry.Read moreRead less
Non-coding RNAs in mammalian reproduction. This project aims to investigate the role of non-coding RNAs in mammalian sex chromosome biology and reproduction. Non-protein coding RNAs are a major regulatory mechanism in eukaryotic genomes; they can bind other RNAs or chromatin modifying complexes. However, the evolutionary trajectory and function of non-coding RNAs in sex chromosome biology and sexual development is largely unknown. This project will study non-coding RNAs in Australian mammals to ....Non-coding RNAs in mammalian reproduction. This project aims to investigate the role of non-coding RNAs in mammalian sex chromosome biology and reproduction. Non-protein coding RNAs are a major regulatory mechanism in eukaryotic genomes; they can bind other RNAs or chromatin modifying complexes. However, the evolutionary trajectory and function of non-coding RNAs in sex chromosome biology and sexual development is largely unknown. This project will study non-coding RNAs in Australian mammals to try to answer fundamental questions about how non-coding RNAs function in mammalian sexual development.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100065
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Next generation enhancement of the South Australian regional facility for molecular ecology and evolution. The new equipment will enhance opportunities for innovative research in basic biology, archaeological, agricultural, biomedical, forensic and environmental sciences. This research is critical for monitoring the nature and extent of environmental change and developing strategies to promote adaptation by species to future climate change.
Subterranean invertebrate communities of arid zone Western Australia: diversity, assessment and food-web structure. The diverse and unique subterranean fauna associated with aquifers of the Western Australia arid zone is potentially threatened by water extraction, mining and other human impacts. This project aims to apply a powerful combination of molecular genetic analyses and compound specific isotope analyses to study, for the first time, the food web structure and source of energy of these g ....Subterranean invertebrate communities of arid zone Western Australia: diversity, assessment and food-web structure. The diverse and unique subterranean fauna associated with aquifers of the Western Australia arid zone is potentially threatened by water extraction, mining and other human impacts. This project aims to apply a powerful combination of molecular genetic analyses and compound specific isotope analyses to study, for the first time, the food web structure and source of energy of these groundwater ecosystems. The project aims to also develop novel procedures for monitoring their biodiversity using environmental DNA within the groundwater. The results will provide crucial information for the management of groundwater, and conservation of their associated ecosystems, and significantly improve the rigour of long-term environmental monitoring.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100234
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Enhancement of South Australian high-performance computing facilities. These facilities will enable the efficient use of high-performance computing and will more than double the capability provided by eResearch SA for South Australian researchers. They will support large-scale applications, running over many processors in parallel (high-performance computing) or large numbers of single processors (high-throughput computing).