Defining the biological boundaries to sustain extant life on Mars. Key challenges for life are access to water & energy, and in cold, arid environments trace gas chemotrophy is used by soil microbiomes to sustain life. Given the cold, hyper-arid conditions on the Martian surface are analogues to ice-free regions of Antarctica, atmospheric chemoautotrophic ecosystems are the most promising ecological model for Martian life in the present or recent past. This project is significant, as it aims to ....Defining the biological boundaries to sustain extant life on Mars. Key challenges for life are access to water & energy, and in cold, arid environments trace gas chemotrophy is used by soil microbiomes to sustain life. Given the cold, hyper-arid conditions on the Martian surface are analogues to ice-free regions of Antarctica, atmospheric chemoautotrophic ecosystems are the most promising ecological model for Martian life in the present or recent past. This project is significant, as it aims to define the limits to energy, water and carbon production via trace gas chemotrophy. We will integrate biology with astrophysics to identify at which point life ceases. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the biological envelope, with benefits to include the identification of Martian regions for exploration.Read moreRead less
Unlocking bacterial shapeshifting and its role in antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to combine advanced imaging with innovative microfluidics to identify how microbial shapeshifting can be exploited as a target for new antimicrobials. Infections that are hard to treat due to increasing antimicrobial resistance not only have an enormous, global impact on mammalian health, including livestock and humans, but also carry a growing economic burden. Advanced understanding of microbial life c ....Unlocking bacterial shapeshifting and its role in antimicrobial resistance. This project aims to combine advanced imaging with innovative microfluidics to identify how microbial shapeshifting can be exploited as a target for new antimicrobials. Infections that are hard to treat due to increasing antimicrobial resistance not only have an enormous, global impact on mammalian health, including livestock and humans, but also carry a growing economic burden. Advanced understanding of microbial life can propel urgently needed progress this area. Specifically, the project outcomes are expected to aid the development of next generation antibiotics. The new fundamental knowledge should also benefit translational prevention, identification and management efforts of a rising national and global health threat.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100111
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,097.00
Summary
Replication and transfer of novel plasmid classes in Acinetobacter. The project aims to reveal basic biology of plasmids found in Acinetobacter baumannii. A. baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, including last-resort antibiotics. In modern strains, acquisition is often mediated by plasmids. On the basis of DNA sequencing data, A. baumannii plasmids are likely to function differently to well-studied plasmids. However, surprisingly little experiment ....Replication and transfer of novel plasmid classes in Acinetobacter. The project aims to reveal basic biology of plasmids found in Acinetobacter baumannii. A. baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, including last-resort antibiotics. In modern strains, acquisition is often mediated by plasmids. On the basis of DNA sequencing data, A. baumannii plasmids are likely to function differently to well-studied plasmids. However, surprisingly little experimental work has been done to evidence this. By combining microbiological and bioinformatics approaches the project expects to generate new knowledge on the mechanisms of replication and transfer of A. baumannii plasmids. This may lead to new targets for strategies to slow and track the spread of antibiotic resistance.Read moreRead less
Microbial community stability dynamics to environmental triggers. This project aims to advance our knowledge of the structural/functional dynamics of complex microbial communities by defining stability in response to environmental influences such as nutrient stress, pathogen invasion and antibiotics/chemicals. Using innovative microbial consortia modelling, to identify communities at risk of homeostatic disruption, we will develop and test pre-emptive microbial manipulation strategies for restor ....Microbial community stability dynamics to environmental triggers. This project aims to advance our knowledge of the structural/functional dynamics of complex microbial communities by defining stability in response to environmental influences such as nutrient stress, pathogen invasion and antibiotics/chemicals. Using innovative microbial consortia modelling, to identify communities at risk of homeostatic disruption, we will develop and test pre-emptive microbial manipulation strategies for restoring community stability. This project will yield significant global impact and economic/health benefit for humans and animals.Read moreRead less
Novel Babesia proteins and their roles in the pathogenesis of tick fever. This project aims at gaining a deep understanding of the biology of Babesia parasites and how they cause tick fever in cattle. The project expects to discover novel parasite proteins involved in the development and persistence of tick fever and identify their functional role in infection. The main expected outcome is the discovery of parasite proteins that are critical for infection and pathogenesis of cattle tick fever. T ....Novel Babesia proteins and their roles in the pathogenesis of tick fever. This project aims at gaining a deep understanding of the biology of Babesia parasites and how they cause tick fever in cattle. The project expects to discover novel parasite proteins involved in the development and persistence of tick fever and identify their functional role in infection. The main expected outcome is the discovery of parasite proteins that are critical for infection and pathogenesis of cattle tick fever. The findings will contribute to the development of future novel vaccines to control tick fever, with significant economic benefits for the beef and dairy industries worldwide.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101524
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,325.00
Summary
Taking Control: Understanding regulation of bacterial iron acquisition. This project aims to uncover the bacterial regulatory networks acting on a family of iron-stealing molecules called siderophores. Bacteria use siderophores to acquire iron from their hosts, the environment, and each other – as such, they have a central role in microbial life. Despite their importance, we have an incomplete knowledge of how these iron-stealing weapons are deployed. This project will develop a new genomics-bas ....Taking Control: Understanding regulation of bacterial iron acquisition. This project aims to uncover the bacterial regulatory networks acting on a family of iron-stealing molecules called siderophores. Bacteria use siderophores to acquire iron from their hosts, the environment, and each other – as such, they have a central role in microbial life. Despite their importance, we have an incomplete knowledge of how these iron-stealing weapons are deployed. This project will develop a new genomics-based, high-throughput technology for defining bacterial gene regulation networks, and use it to understand siderophore control. This will provide new knowledge of siderophore function, enhance understanding of bacterial community and host interactions, and establish leadership in a new genomics technology in Australia.Read moreRead less
Microbe-produced repellents and their roles in marine pathogen behaviours. Economic losses caused by disease outbreaks in marine fisheries and aquaculture exceed US$6 billion per year globally. Decades of research in human and plant pathogens have revealed that the ability of pathogens to infect their host is governed by behaviours; however our understanding of the chemical cues affecting the behaviour of marine pathogens is very poor. This research program aims to combine new approaches in micr ....Microbe-produced repellents and their roles in marine pathogen behaviours. Economic losses caused by disease outbreaks in marine fisheries and aquaculture exceed US$6 billion per year globally. Decades of research in human and plant pathogens have revealed that the ability of pathogens to infect their host is governed by behaviours; however our understanding of the chemical cues affecting the behaviour of marine pathogens is very poor. This research program aims to combine new approaches in microfluidics and chemical imaging to identify the cues that govern the behaviour of marine pathogens. Expected outcomes include an improved capacity to predict, monitor and manage marine diseases, as well as novel strategies to prevent disease outbreaks, helping to protect Australia’s valuable marine estate.Read moreRead less
Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this proj ....Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this project aims to create a spatial and temporal map of the division machinery inside bacterial cells at unprecedented resolution. The expected outcomes are new knowledge on the mechanism of bacterial division and technological advances in biological imaging, informing applications in a wide variety of sectors.Read moreRead less
Peril and promise: Origins and spread of integron gene cassettes. Integrons have a major role in spreading antibiotic resistance genes among pathogens. They do so by capturing gene cassettes encoding resistance, yet how these cassettes are generated, the taxa in which they originate, and the range of traits that cassettes can encode have been outstanding questions for 30 years. This project addresses these long standing questions. The project will analyze single bacterial cells to detect newly ....Peril and promise: Origins and spread of integron gene cassettes. Integrons have a major role in spreading antibiotic resistance genes among pathogens. They do so by capturing gene cassettes encoding resistance, yet how these cassettes are generated, the taxa in which they originate, and the range of traits that cassettes can encode have been outstanding questions for 30 years. This project addresses these long standing questions. The project will analyze single bacterial cells to detect newly generated cassettes and assign them to specific taxa, using an innovative method that links cassette DNA to bacterial 16S rDNA. Understanding cassette origins is the key to controlling their activity, both to harness integrons for biotechnology, and to prevent pathogens from acquiring new, dangerous traits. Read moreRead less
Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others a ....Breaking through the Gram-negative cell barrier. This project aims to develop fundamental knowledge of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria, which functions as a permeability barrier to small molecules. Combining innovative functional genomics with biochemistry, this project will determine how small molecules can pass across the cell envelope, and the chemical properties that they need to do so. Some Gram-negative bacteria are human pathogens and cause serious infections, whereas others are used in biotechnology for biosynthetic chemical production or bioremediation. This project expects to help the future development of new antibiotics and assist in the design of strains to be used in biotechnological applications.Read moreRead less