Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors w ....Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors will be used to devise a simple portable colorimetric test that can be performed in the vineyard or the winery. The ability to rapidly determine the level of grape contamination with phenolic glucosides would give Australian wine growers and wine makers a powerful tool to mitigate the effects of bushfires.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100190
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
Electrophysiology Platform for Ion-channel Characterisation. Ion channels are ubiquitous pore-forming membrane proteins, with the human genome encoding >300 ion channels. The diverse roles of ion channels include action potential generation, control of ion flow across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulation of cell volume, motility and proliferation. Pharmacological modulators are powerful tools for probing ion channel function, but for most channels these tools are lacking. Thus, this p .... Electrophysiology Platform for Ion-channel Characterisation. Ion channels are ubiquitous pore-forming membrane proteins, with the human genome encoding >300 ion channels. The diverse roles of ion channels include action potential generation, control of ion flow across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulation of cell volume, motility and proliferation. Pharmacological modulators are powerful tools for probing ion channel function, but for most channels these tools are lacking. Thus, this project aims to develop the first comprehensive toolbox of ion channel modulators using an integrated in vitro/in vivo electrophysiology platform. These pharmacological tools will be made freely available to the Australian research community for probing the mechanism and physiological function of ion channels.Read moreRead less
Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, chan ....Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, changing environments and declining numbers reduce these species’ ability to adapt. Benefits include better information to support improved conservation decisions and identification of genes underlying the evolution of marsupial skull diversity.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresour ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresources to capitalise upon emergent and rapidly expanding domestic and global markets. Anticipated outcomes include industry uptake of innovative plant forms, foods, technologies, and commodities; and an ambitious education and international co-ordination agenda to position Australia as a global leader in research supporting Space habitation.Read moreRead less
Safer gene editing tools for Australian livestock and biotech industries. Editing the genome of an organism in an efficient and safe fashion is critical for the livestock and biotechnology industries. While CRISPR-Cas9 has become the method of choice for genome editing, it is known to introduce unwanted "on-target" and "off-target" mutations, limiting its utility. To address this the CI team created a novel genome editing platform technology termed Crackling-CAST that is almost 100% accurate, w ....Safer gene editing tools for Australian livestock and biotech industries. Editing the genome of an organism in an efficient and safe fashion is critical for the livestock and biotechnology industries. While CRISPR-Cas9 has become the method of choice for genome editing, it is known to introduce unwanted "on-target" and "off-target" mutations, limiting its utility. To address this the CI team created a novel genome editing platform technology termed Crackling-CAST that is almost 100% accurate, while retaining the efficiency of the classical Cas9 system. This project will exemplify the capabilities of the novel gene targeting platform in cell types used by the biotechnology and livestock sectors, ensuring its global uptake by these industries and delivering significant economic benefits for Australia. Read moreRead less
The role of the immune system in pain is emerging from recent discoveries, and may hold the key to novel pain treatments. Most people experience brief gut infections from food or contagion without long-term consequences. Many others suffer symptoms for years afterwards - probably the best example of immune-based pain. Our project investigates how immune cells communicate with sensory nerves, and how these communications change from both angles after gut infection or inflammation.
Transient Receptor Potential Channels (TRPs) As Transducers And Targets In Primary Visceral Afferents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$669,130.00
Summary
Transient receptor potential, or TRP channels, are involved in generating many of the sensations we perceive, such as heat, cold, touch and pain. Some TRP channels are specialized to signal pain from visceral organs, which we must investigate if we are to find treatments for visceral pain, which are currently lacking.
A molecular/morphological view of animal evolution based on marsupials. This project aims to provide high-accuracy methods of evolutionary inference extendable to nearly all other organisms. It aims to research the evolution of animal diversity and calibrate evolutionary timescales on a case study of marsupial mammals, and differentiate between internal and external factors that govern animals’ ability to adapt and diversify. The project will collate a large, open-source three-dimensional catalo ....A molecular/morphological view of animal evolution based on marsupials. This project aims to provide high-accuracy methods of evolutionary inference extendable to nearly all other organisms. It aims to research the evolution of animal diversity and calibrate evolutionary timescales on a case study of marsupial mammals, and differentiate between internal and external factors that govern animals’ ability to adapt and diversify. The project will collate a large, open-source three-dimensional catalogue of the evolving marsupial skeleton, which could provide a detailed and publicly accessible narrative of the evolutionary past and future adaptability of Australian marsupials. The proposed development of methods to quantify the effect of past and present biodiversity crises (e.g. environmental change) is expected to inform longer-term conservation planning.Read moreRead less
Design of novel nanoporous semiconductor materials for clean environment and energy. This project will develop a low cost nanoporous semiconductor device for the capture and conversion of CO2 into fuels by using water and sunlight. This novel approach will deliver a low cost technology that offers clean energy and will help to mitigate global warming.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,205,137.00
Summary
Founding an Australian Critical Zone Observatory Network. This proposal founds a new network of Australian Critical Zone Observatories. The network will fill essential knowledge gaps about interactions of under- and above-ground environmental processes and their responses to disturbance and change. These interactions determine the sustainability of food, clean water, mineral resources and Australian ecosystems, and cannot be studied with existing environmental infrastructure. The 5 foundation ....Founding an Australian Critical Zone Observatory Network. This proposal founds a new network of Australian Critical Zone Observatories. The network will fill essential knowledge gaps about interactions of under- and above-ground environmental processes and their responses to disturbance and change. These interactions determine the sustainability of food, clean water, mineral resources and Australian ecosystems, and cannot be studied with existing environmental infrastructure. The 5 foundational sites will host integrated monitoring equipment to observe stocks and fluxes of carbon, water, energy and mass across the “Critical Zone” – the vertical span from plant canopies to fresh bedrock. Joining a burgeoning international movement, the network will catalyse Critical Zone science in Australia.Read moreRead less