Discovering And Targeting Genes Regulating Skeletal Muscle Function, Metabolism, And Adaptations To Exercise Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,000.00
Summary
Muscle wasting and decreased in mitochondrial function due to ageing or lack of physical activity are associated with reduced quality of life. The overarching aim is to develop a unique research program focusing on targeting specific genes, and to discover novel genes regulating muscle wasting and mitochondrial (dis)function. I anticipate this approach to assist in the development of targeted and personalised prevention and therapy for diseases associated with muscle (dis)function.
Improving determinants of Australian sports talent identification and development: a multi-disciplinary approach. Sport is important to many Australians. Our sport successes enhance our national identity, generate community pride and attract mega sport events. Currently our sport talent identification and development (TID) systems have been surpassed by our international rivals who borrowed from and improved our knowledge. This project will help regain Australia's international advantage and aga ....Improving determinants of Australian sports talent identification and development: a multi-disciplinary approach. Sport is important to many Australians. Our sport successes enhance our national identity, generate community pride and attract mega sport events. Currently our sport talent identification and development (TID) systems have been surpassed by our international rivals who borrowed from and improved our knowledge. This project will help regain Australia's international advantage and again make Australian TID the international benchmark. Results will highlight the role of TID practices in improving recreational participation and maximising, attracting, developing and retaining sport talent. This will result in improved use of sports limited TID funding by providing greater understanding of factors that influence elite selection and sport development.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100864
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,334.00
Summary
Discovering The Effect of alpha-actinin-3 Deficiency on Muscle Adaptations to Exercise Training in Humans. The protein alpha-actinin-3 is expressed in fast muscle fibres. A common gene variant results in complete deficiency in alpha-actinin-3 that has been shown to influence athletic performance. A mouse model has been previously generated to demonstrate that alpha-actinin-3 deficiency results in a significant shift in fast muscle fibres, towards the slow, more efficient muscle fibres. This proj ....Discovering The Effect of alpha-actinin-3 Deficiency on Muscle Adaptations to Exercise Training in Humans. The protein alpha-actinin-3 is expressed in fast muscle fibres. A common gene variant results in complete deficiency in alpha-actinin-3 that has been shown to influence athletic performance. A mouse model has been previously generated to demonstrate that alpha-actinin-3 deficiency results in a significant shift in fast muscle fibres, towards the slow, more efficient muscle fibres. This project will demonstrate the effects of alpha-actinin-3 deficiency on the characteristics of human muscle pre and post exercise training. Outcomes will include major applications for personalising health recommendations and in designing preventative programs for ageing.Read moreRead less
Involvement of cell coupling in vascular function: Development of a computational model. Gap junctions are intercellular channels which enable the production of coordinated responses in multicellular tissues and organs. Blood vessels are comprised of endothelial cells surrounded by smooth muscle cells and gap junctions exist within and between these layers. The present proposal will determine the fundamental role of gap junctions in regulating blood flow and blood pressure. Our data will enable ....Involvement of cell coupling in vascular function: Development of a computational model. Gap junctions are intercellular channels which enable the production of coordinated responses in multicellular tissues and organs. Blood vessels are comprised of endothelial cells surrounded by smooth muscle cells and gap junctions exist within and between these layers. The present proposal will determine the fundamental role of gap junctions in regulating blood flow and blood pressure. Our data will enable us to develop a computational model of the vascular wall and so predict how changes in electrical properties, as occur during pressure changes, can influence blood flow. Since ageing is accompanied by an increase in blood pressure, our results will contribute to a better understanding of blood flow regulation in our ageing population.Read moreRead less
Structural Determinants of an Intracellular Calcium Store. Understanding the molecular interactions between key proteins in calcium signalling in muscle and the heart will allow calcium signalling to be used as a platform for a variety of purposes. These include reducing the debilitating effects of changes in calcium signalling and muscle performance in aging and in genetically- or drug-induced disorders. The project will have benefits for Australian biotechnology since it will facilitate the de ....Structural Determinants of an Intracellular Calcium Store. Understanding the molecular interactions between key proteins in calcium signalling in muscle and the heart will allow calcium signalling to be used as a platform for a variety of purposes. These include reducing the debilitating effects of changes in calcium signalling and muscle performance in aging and in genetically- or drug-induced disorders. The project will have benefits for Australian biotechnology since it will facilitate the design of novel compounds for treating muscle disorders in animals and humans, for improving meat quality and for use as insecticides. The project will facilitate graduate and undergraduate training in basic science with exposure to biotechnology, through our commercial partner Biotron.Read moreRead less
How triadin and junctin communicate with ryanodine receptors deep within a calcium store to determine skeletal muscle contraction. The project results will provide a platform for muscle relaxants and other drugs that will specifically target either the heart or skeletal muscle and will have applications in the livestock, veterinary and pharmaceutical Industries. The project falls within the National Research Priorities of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Frontier Technologies for Buil ....How triadin and junctin communicate with ryanodine receptors deep within a calcium store to determine skeletal muscle contraction. The project results will provide a platform for muscle relaxants and other drugs that will specifically target either the heart or skeletal muscle and will have applications in the livestock, veterinary and pharmaceutical Industries. The project falls within the National Research Priorities of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries, as well as the national priority goal of Ageing well, Ageing Productively. The project will be of national benefit in training undergraduate students, PhD students and a postdoctoral fellow in state-of-the-art techniques in an internationally competitive research field.Read moreRead less
REGULATION OF RYANODINE RECEPTOR CALCIUM CHANNELS BY THE CALCIUM BINDING PROTEIN CALSEQUESTRIN. The project is to examine the functional interaction between two proteins in skeletal muscle that are essential for Ca2+ regulation and hence contraction, respiration and movement in all vertebrate species. One protein, the ryanodine receptor, releases calcium from stores inside the muscle cell. The other protein, calsequestrin, binds and sequesters calcium ions. We have recently discovered that th ....REGULATION OF RYANODINE RECEPTOR CALCIUM CHANNELS BY THE CALCIUM BINDING PROTEIN CALSEQUESTRIN. The project is to examine the functional interaction between two proteins in skeletal muscle that are essential for Ca2+ regulation and hence contraction, respiration and movement in all vertebrate species. One protein, the ryanodine receptor, releases calcium from stores inside the muscle cell. The other protein, calsequestrin, binds and sequesters calcium ions. We have recently discovered that the proteins also bind to each other and that calsequestrin regulates Ca2+ release from the stores through the ryanodine receptor ion channel. This regulation is likely to be important in conserving store calcium during stress or fatigue.Read moreRead less
Seafood CRC: Maximising Value By Reducing Stress-related Mortality In Wild Harvested Abalone
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$190,987.19
Summary
The Abalone Council of Australia (ACA) has clearly identified in their Strategic Plan (2007-2017) goals to have an Australian national wild abalone brand driven by a national Quality Assurance and Product Integrity Program, and to increase the industry GVP (in real terms) by 25% to $268 million in 2012 and by 50% to $321 million by 2017.
This project supports these goals, particularly a desire to increase the value of the abalone, by ensuring that animals in the best possible physiologi ....The Abalone Council of Australia (ACA) has clearly identified in their Strategic Plan (2007-2017) goals to have an Australian national wild abalone brand driven by a national Quality Assurance and Product Integrity Program, and to increase the industry GVP (in real terms) by 25% to $268 million in 2012 and by 50% to $321 million by 2017.
This project supports these goals, particularly a desire to increase the value of the abalone, by ensuring that animals in the best possible physiological condition are provided to the processor for live export. This project also encompasses the development of practices that ensure marine environmental sustainability, because animals that are not suitable or which cannot be transported to maintain optimal physiological status will not be harvested. The development of handling and transport protocols delivers into the desire for the industry to develop uniform Codes of Practice and product standards. Ultimately this will be about effectively managing harvest and the integrity of product going to market. This project will supporting ACA’s vision to work with fishers, processors and value adders to establish a whole-of-chain approach to creating premium Australian products and servicing consumers
Objectives: 1. Quantify changes in stress levels in abalone from the time that they are removed from the reef to the point of export from the processors, including the live-holding period 2. Quantify how the magnitude of stress and the capacity to recover from stress is affected by the different natural factors time spent on the deck prior to packing in crates post-harvest, the extent and use of seawater immersion on the boat, the timing and frequency of water changes during transport, the influence of reproductive condition, and season of harvest. Read moreRead less
SCRC: Tackling Microbial Related Issues In Cultured Shellfish Via Integrated Molecular And Water Chemistry Approaches
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Over the last few years, the shellfish industry has experienced an increase in unpredictable hatchery and settlement rates of abalone and oyster larvae – batches crash for no apparent reason despite successful spawning and fertilisation. Additionally, farms experience unexplained stock losses during grow-out periods in both land and sea based culture facilities. Recently, the Australian abalone aquaculture industry ranked the ‘investigation into the causes of summer mortality and development of ....Over the last few years, the shellfish industry has experienced an increase in unpredictable hatchery and settlement rates of abalone and oyster larvae – batches crash for no apparent reason despite successful spawning and fertilisation. Additionally, farms experience unexplained stock losses during grow-out periods in both land and sea based culture facilities. Recently, the Australian abalone aquaculture industry ranked the ‘investigation into the causes of summer mortality and development of management protocols to minimize or prevent losses’ as one of the top three priorities for the industry (J. Fromm, pers.comm.). In oysters, farmers are looking for indicators of potential culture problems (i.e. hatchery failures) (M. Bermudes, pers.comm.).
Our ability to manage such events would be strengthened if we could determine and subsequently monitor the causative agent. There is evidence from the international literature to suggest that the cause of these events may be microbial in nature and, anecdotally, farmers believe the mortality of shellfish experienced across seasons may be a product of hydrochemistry interactions with bacteria.
Recently, CSIRO developed and adapted a suite of new cost-effective molecular tools that enable complex microbial communities in water, sediment or soil samples to be rapidly described without the need for physical culturing of the microorganisms. The identification of both commensal and harmful microorganisms which are responsive to changes in abiotic environmental parameters, as well as low abundant microbes that represent a reservoir for infection, can now be undertaken using highly sensitive and high throughput genomics techniques. Furthermore, we have developed multivariate statistical approaches capable of describing links between microbial community profiles and causative factors. We are confident that this burgeoning area of research, metagenomics, will have direct uptake and application in a wide range of aquaculture industries (including food protection and human health aspects) particularly given the increasingly cost-effectiveness of next generation sequencing.Read moreRead less
The effect of physical activity and a structured exercise program on the psychological and physical development of Australian primary school children. This study will explore the effects of early childhood physical activity on development. Our study will assess quantitatively the beneficial effects of exercise on personal and physical growth in young children in a non-intimidating way using a specifically designed exercise program.