Optimising plant populations for ecological restoration and resilience. When choosing individual plants for restoration populations, there is potentially a trade-off between maximising genetic diversity (‘adaptability’) and selection for desirable properties (‘adaptation’). This project aims to develop pioneering methods to quantify this trade-off, and facilitate the design of optimised populations, with a focus on two Australian rainforest trees that are being impacted by myrtle rust infection: ....Optimising plant populations for ecological restoration and resilience. When choosing individual plants for restoration populations, there is potentially a trade-off between maximising genetic diversity (‘adaptability’) and selection for desirable properties (‘adaptation’). This project aims to develop pioneering methods to quantify this trade-off, and facilitate the design of optimised populations, with a focus on two Australian rainforest trees that are being impacted by myrtle rust infection: Rhodamnia argentea and Rhodamnia rubescens. By studying the genetic variation in each species, and how this relates to myrtle rust resistance and climate, this project aims to design populations that are genetically diverse, maximally resistant to myrtle rust, and adapted to future climate.Read moreRead less
Targeting the host lipid environment to disrupt malaria transmission. This project aims to characterise host molecules (in particular lipids) that are crucial for the transition of malaria parasites from one host to another. Malaria parasites encounter different environments upon their transition from human to the mosquito host. This project expects to generate new knowledge on physiological changes that are triggered by particular differences in micronutrient abundance that allow the parasites ....Targeting the host lipid environment to disrupt malaria transmission. This project aims to characterise host molecules (in particular lipids) that are crucial for the transition of malaria parasites from one host to another. Malaria parasites encounter different environments upon their transition from human to the mosquito host. This project expects to generate new knowledge on physiological changes that are triggered by particular differences in micronutrient abundance that allow the parasites to survive in the new host. Anticipated outcomes include the identification of new intervention strategies and improved transmission model systems for vector-borne diseases. This gained knowledge could provide benefits to future biomedical applications by informing diagnostics or treatment of lipid associated diseases.Read moreRead less
The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which ....The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which sex genes are targets? Epigenetic enzymes are astonishingly conserved, providing exciting opportunities to draw from human systems to unravel novel signatures of temperature-induced sex switching in reptiles. This project will advance knowledge of developmental programming generally.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH190100022
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,787,259.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection. The Hub aims to develop and commercialise an innovative biological alternative to chemical fungicides targeting economically significant diseases of broadacre and horticultural crops. It addresses industry challenges of fungicide resistance, chemical residues in food, off-target effects and environmental harm. It builds on ground-breaking ‘BioClay’ platform to deliver pathogen targeting RNA using clay particles as non-genetically modified crop pr ....ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection. The Hub aims to develop and commercialise an innovative biological alternative to chemical fungicides targeting economically significant diseases of broadacre and horticultural crops. It addresses industry challenges of fungicide resistance, chemical residues in food, off-target effects and environmental harm. It builds on ground-breaking ‘BioClay’ platform to deliver pathogen targeting RNA using clay particles as non-genetically modified crop protection. An expert multidisciplinary team uniting science, commercial and social licence pathways ensures industry and consumer uptake advancing $60B Australian Agriculture. The Hub translates to increased productivity, market access and enhanced environmental credentials of Australian food.
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Feature Learning for High-dimensional Functional Time Series. This project aims to develop new methods and theories for common features on high-dimensional functional time series observed in empirical applications. The significance includes addressing a key gap in adaptive and efficient feature learning, improving forecasting accuracy and understanding forecasting-driven factors comprehensively for empirical data. Expected outcomes involve advances in big data theory and easy-to-implement algori ....Feature Learning for High-dimensional Functional Time Series. This project aims to develop new methods and theories for common features on high-dimensional functional time series observed in empirical applications. The significance includes addressing a key gap in adaptive and efficient feature learning, improving forecasting accuracy and understanding forecasting-driven factors comprehensively for empirical data. Expected outcomes involve advances in big data theory and easy-to-implement algorithms for applied researchers. This project benefits not only advanced manufacturing by finding optimal stopping time for wood panel compression, but also superior forecasting for mortality in demography, climate data in environmental science, asset returns in finance, and electricity consumption in economics. Read moreRead less
Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes include understanding past global environmental change on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, formation and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. These outcomes are paramount to Australia’s national science and research priorities, and societal and economic prosperity.Read moreRead less
Does dynamic ecological change cause rapid evolution? This project aims to increase understanding of how Australia’s native biota responds to rapid environmental changes. Abrupt environmental change has the potential to drive rapid evolution, which may facilitate species persistence in the face of novel challenges. This project will use long-term genomic data to quantify rates of evolutionary change in species living in arid environments, whose populations fluctuate markedly in response to rainf ....Does dynamic ecological change cause rapid evolution? This project aims to increase understanding of how Australia’s native biota responds to rapid environmental changes. Abrupt environmental change has the potential to drive rapid evolution, which may facilitate species persistence in the face of novel challenges. This project will use long-term genomic data to quantify rates of evolutionary change in species living in arid environments, whose populations fluctuate markedly in response to rainfall variation. By measuring the pace of genomic change in these species, and the evolutionary processes driving that change, this project will reveal species’ evolutionary responses to major environmental fluctuations.Read moreRead less
Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occu ....Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occur naturally via various microbial means and from insects, like Galleria mellonella larvae. The overall aim of this research project is to understand plastic biodegradation and translate nature’s solutions into flexible and efficient synthetic enzyme technologies that can sustainably recycle commonly used PU foams. Read moreRead less