Digestive Physiology of Crocodilians: Towards an Improved Diet and Feeding Regime for Use by the Farming Industry. Crocodile farming promotes the sustainable production and consumption of crocodile products without harming natural populations. The industry grosses over $15 million per year in Australia and $200 million worldwide. Costs associated with transporting and storing food are the single largest expense that crocodile farms have. Increases in the efficiency of converting food into growth ....Digestive Physiology of Crocodilians: Towards an Improved Diet and Feeding Regime for Use by the Farming Industry. Crocodile farming promotes the sustainable production and consumption of crocodile products without harming natural populations. The industry grosses over $15 million per year in Australia and $200 million worldwide. Costs associated with transporting and storing food are the single largest expense that crocodile farms have. Increases in the efficiency of converting food into growth will have positive economic benefits to the industry. Efficiencies can be produced by (1) increasing food absorption, (2) decreasing the energetic costs of digestion, and (3) producing a new food that is less expensive to ship and store. This project will directly address the first two of these and will lay the foundation for the development of the third. Read moreRead less
Investigation of the biochemical and physiological functions of the negative regulator of cytokine signalling SOCS-2. Cytokines exert their effects by binding and signalling through specific cell surface receptors to elicit their biological action, and if left unchecked, this signalling can cause significant tissue damage and toxicity. Our aim is to characterise a novel regulator of cytokine signalling, SOCS-2. SOCS-2 is strongly implicated in the regulation of post-natal growth as SOCS-2 defici ....Investigation of the biochemical and physiological functions of the negative regulator of cytokine signalling SOCS-2. Cytokines exert their effects by binding and signalling through specific cell surface receptors to elicit their biological action, and if left unchecked, this signalling can cause significant tissue damage and toxicity. Our aim is to characterise a novel regulator of cytokine signalling, SOCS-2. SOCS-2 is strongly implicated in the regulation of post-natal growth as SOCS-2 deficient animals are 40 percent larger than normal. Consequently, we wish to determine how SOCS-2 acts to limit the size of an animal and whether this involves regulation of growth hormone action.Read moreRead less
The molecular role of ADAM12 in maintenance of skeletal muscle, myogenesis and adipogenesis. An understanding of the molecular control of skeletal muscle growth, maintenance and balance between muscle and fat production is of fundamental importance for a competitive meat industry, for the promotion of strong muscles in the ageing population and for disorders such as muscle diseases, diabetes and obesity. This project will enhance strong international collaborations and expand cutting-edge resear ....The molecular role of ADAM12 in maintenance of skeletal muscle, myogenesis and adipogenesis. An understanding of the molecular control of skeletal muscle growth, maintenance and balance between muscle and fat production is of fundamental importance for a competitive meat industry, for the promotion of strong muscles in the ageing population and for disorders such as muscle diseases, diabetes and obesity. This project will enhance strong international collaborations and expand cutting-edge research within Australia with many potential economic benefits for the meat industry, biotechnology and health. The expertise developed by this pioneering research will ensure that Australia is well placed to harness new technologies and exploit future advances in this fast-moving field of muscle biology.Read moreRead less