Sex preselection of stallion spermatozoa. This study will develop novel techniques that will maintain and optimise the fertility of sex-sorted stallion semen before and after processing through a flow cytometer. Ultimately, spermatozoa obtained from ejaculation or from the testes sperm storage site (epididymes) at the time of castration will be sorted into X- (female) or Y- (male) populations and used to inseminate mares and thus, enable horse breeders to predetermine the sex of their foal at th ....Sex preselection of stallion spermatozoa. This study will develop novel techniques that will maintain and optimise the fertility of sex-sorted stallion semen before and after processing through a flow cytometer. Ultimately, spermatozoa obtained from ejaculation or from the testes sperm storage site (epididymes) at the time of castration will be sorted into X- (female) or Y- (male) populations and used to inseminate mares and thus, enable horse breeders to predetermine the sex of their foal at the time of insemination. The introduction of sex-sorted semen into the Australian horse industry (worth some $6.2 billion) will ensure that Australia leads the world in equine reproductive technology.Read moreRead less
Marker assisted selection of honey bees. The project will develop new molecular markers for commercially relevant trait of honey bees and ways of using these to implement marker-assisted selection for honey bee genetic improvement. Beekeepers need to use genetically improved stock to remain competitive. Honey production needs to be improved, and new ways of identifying disease resistant bees are needed. Unfortunately, breeding bees is very difficult. This project will use modern molecular gen ....Marker assisted selection of honey bees. The project will develop new molecular markers for commercially relevant trait of honey bees and ways of using these to implement marker-assisted selection for honey bee genetic improvement. Beekeepers need to use genetically improved stock to remain competitive. Honey production needs to be improved, and new ways of identifying disease resistant bees are needed. Unfortunately, breeding bees is very difficult. This project will use modern molecular genetic techniques to help find new efficient ways to breed better bees. The benefits will be a more viable beekeeping sector, a keystone industry that provides pollination services essential to many horticultural industriesRead moreRead less
Breeding for the future - Alpaca genetics. The Australian alpaca industry is recognised as an international leader. Alpaca fleece provides an annual national economic benefit of $1 million and has enormous potential for growth. This project will use a novel molecular mapping approach to generate a genetic test for desirable Suri fleece - the single biggest factor in developing a purebreeding suri line whilst retaining variation in other traits and avoiding inbreeding. This will quickly increase ....Breeding for the future - Alpaca genetics. The Australian alpaca industry is recognised as an international leader. Alpaca fleece provides an annual national economic benefit of $1 million and has enormous potential for growth. This project will use a novel molecular mapping approach to generate a genetic test for desirable Suri fleece - the single biggest factor in developing a purebreeding suri line whilst retaining variation in other traits and avoiding inbreeding. This will quickly increase the industry value, providing opportunity for rural communities to diversify farming enterprises and maximise income, and offering further employment in regional areas. This project will ensure Australian breeders retain a competitive edge in the face of alpaca research beginning in the USA. Read moreRead less
Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry indu ....Structural and functional investigations into a novel chemokine binding protein encoded by evolutionarily diverse alphaherpesviruses. The outcomes of this project will help control disease caused by alphaherpesviruses, including disease in livestock (horses and poultry) and wildlife (kangaroos and wallabies). This will enhance animal health and welfare and will also benefit the associated industries. Livestock industries are critically important to the Australian economy (equine and poultry industries annually contribute approximately $7.7 and $2.6 billion respectively to our GDP). Wildlife species are crucial to Australian ecosystems and feature in the Australian tourism industry. This project is expected to strengthen international research collaborations and further enhance Australia's reputation as a world-class leader in research and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Equine infectious respiratory disease after long distance confined transportation. This project aims to identify the viruses and bacteria that are shed from the respiratory tract of horses after long distance confined transportation (eg, in horse floats and aeroplane stalls). Horses are transported long distances with increasing frequency, but the risk of serious respiratory disease to these horses, and the subsequent risk to other horses at the destination has not been investigated. This projec ....Equine infectious respiratory disease after long distance confined transportation. This project aims to identify the viruses and bacteria that are shed from the respiratory tract of horses after long distance confined transportation (eg, in horse floats and aeroplane stalls). Horses are transported long distances with increasing frequency, but the risk of serious respiratory disease to these horses, and the subsequent risk to other horses at the destination has not been investigated. This project will develop novel, non-invasive diagnostic techniques to facilitate early detection of these micro-organisms and will utilise new molecular genetic methods to identify the virulent strains of these organisms and to increase our understanding of their epidemiology.
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Early life nutrition to improve feed efficiency in commercial dairy goats. This project aims to improve the productivity and welfare and reduce resource waste in commercial dairy goat kids. The Australian dairy goat industry is expanding (~20% per annum) yet there is little research to overcome hurdles to improving milk and meat production. There is also increased societal pressure to improve sustainability, reduce waste and maintain animal welfare. By investigating nutritional methods to improv ....Early life nutrition to improve feed efficiency in commercial dairy goats. This project aims to improve the productivity and welfare and reduce resource waste in commercial dairy goat kids. The Australian dairy goat industry is expanding (~20% per annum) yet there is little research to overcome hurdles to improving milk and meat production. There is also increased societal pressure to improve sustainability, reduce waste and maintain animal welfare. By investigating nutritional methods to improve productivity of male (for meat) and female (for milk) kids, this project will generate new knowledge relevant to Australian and international goat production systems. This project will assist goat producers to make decisions that maximise animal productivity with flow on benefits to manufacturers of goat products. Read moreRead less
The genetics of social regulation of reproduction in honey bees. The aim is to characterise the genes that regulate worker reproduction in honeybees and to understand how the effects of these genes are regulated by the social environment. There is an inherent conflict between the interests of each worker (that can increase its biological fitness by laying eggs) and the collective workers (that are disadvantaged by their half sister's reproduction). How sterility is normally maintained in socia ....The genetics of social regulation of reproduction in honey bees. The aim is to characterise the genes that regulate worker reproduction in honeybees and to understand how the effects of these genes are regulated by the social environment. There is an inherent conflict between the interests of each worker (that can increase its biological fitness by laying eggs) and the collective workers (that are disadvantaged by their half sister's reproduction). How sterility is normally maintained in social insects remains an important unsolved mystery of biology. To solve this mystery we will use genomic techniques characterize the genes that control sterility and show how they are regulated by the social environment.Read moreRead less
A New Recombinant Subunit Vaccine against Equine Herpesviruses 1 and 4. Equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) cause respiratory disease, abortion and myeloencephalitis in horse populations worldwide. Despite extensive use of whole virus vaccines, these two viruses continue to circulate among Australian horses and are a continuing threat to brading, and to racing performance. The current vaccines are expensive and are marked in Australia by an overseas company. The project will assess th ....A New Recombinant Subunit Vaccine against Equine Herpesviruses 1 and 4. Equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) cause respiratory disease, abortion and myeloencephalitis in horse populations worldwide. Despite extensive use of whole virus vaccines, these two viruses continue to circulate among Australian horses and are a continuing threat to brading, and to racing performance. The current vaccines are expensive and are marked in Australia by an overseas company. The project will assess the ability of a new subunit vaccine produced by recombinant DNA technology to 1) provide horses with high levels of protective immune responses and 2) to prevent or limit EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection following experimental challenge.Read moreRead less
Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that c ....Equine rhinitis A virus; molecular pathogenesis and methods for control. The horse industry in Australia is primarily based in rural locations and is a major contributor to the national economy both in terms of direct economic contribution to gross domestic product and as a major employer of people in regional Australia. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of a virus that causes respiratory disease in horses that is related to the virus that causes foot and mouth disease in ruminants and swine. The technology developed during this project would have a global market.Read moreRead less
Pathophysiological mechanisms in equine dyschondroplasia (osteochondrosis). Dyschondroplasia (osteochondrosis) is a developmental orthopaedic disease of horses, which causes significant wastage within the Thoroughbred racing industry. The disease affects growth cartilage beneath joint surfaces in such a way that cartilage fails to be replaced by bone, resulting in defects in the joint surface and lameness. This project will identify differences in gene expression between normal cartilage and ea ....Pathophysiological mechanisms in equine dyschondroplasia (osteochondrosis). Dyschondroplasia (osteochondrosis) is a developmental orthopaedic disease of horses, which causes significant wastage within the Thoroughbred racing industry. The disease affects growth cartilage beneath joint surfaces in such a way that cartilage fails to be replaced by bone, resulting in defects in the joint surface and lameness. This project will identify differences in gene expression between normal cartilage and early dyschondroplastic lesions, in order to identify the sequence of molecular events leading to induction of disease. The basic understanding of joint development obtained from this work will assist in the development of strategies to prevent and diagnose dyschondroplasia in horses.Read moreRead less