Characterisation of tumour variants of Devil Facial Tumour Disease. This project will take a new approach to cancer research by studying the evolution of Devil Facial Tumour Disease. The results will directly contribute to the conservation management of the Tasmanian devil, as well as generating new information on tumour growth, metastasis and emergence of resistance.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100506
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Specialised ribosomes: An unexplored regulatory layer to tune the proteome. This project aims to decipher human ribosome composition across tissues and conditions, and regulate its composition and activity (selective translation of subsets of transcripts) in a tissue-dependent, spatial and temporal manner – a major challenge in biology. Although ribosomes have been historically thought of as uniform entities, recent evidence suggests that their composition might be regulated. Elevating the expre ....Specialised ribosomes: An unexplored regulatory layer to tune the proteome. This project aims to decipher human ribosome composition across tissues and conditions, and regulate its composition and activity (selective translation of subsets of transcripts) in a tissue-dependent, spatial and temporal manner – a major challenge in biology. Although ribosomes have been historically thought of as uniform entities, recent evidence suggests that their composition might be regulated. Elevating the expression of a target protein without affecting mRNA levels is expected to benefit other disciplines, including biotechnology (e.g. recombinant protein expression), biomedicine (e.g. treatment of a human disease by suppression or enhancement of the levels of key disease-related proteins) and synthetic biology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100114
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
High Throughput Cell Genomics Centre. High throughput cell genomics centre: This project will establish a high throughput cell genomics centre comprising a Fluidigm C1™ Single-Cell AutoPrep and BioMark™ HD system providing researchers with the most innovative approach to single cell and small population analyses. The instruments will enable the unique capability to conduct single cell transcriptome analysis and high throughput gene expression, SNP genotyping and copy number variation analysis as ....High Throughput Cell Genomics Centre. High throughput cell genomics centre: This project will establish a high throughput cell genomics centre comprising a Fluidigm C1™ Single-Cell AutoPrep and BioMark™ HD system providing researchers with the most innovative approach to single cell and small population analyses. The instruments will enable the unique capability to conduct single cell transcriptome analysis and high throughput gene expression, SNP genotyping and copy number variation analysis as well as validation of next generation sequencing data. The information generated is crucial to advancing knowledge in important research fields including infection and immunity, regenerative medicine, immune responses, biomarker discovery, drug discovery, biotechnology and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Evolution and function of mammalian sex chromosomes. Research on iconic Australian mammals has profoundly reshaped our understanding of reproductive biology and sex chromosome evolution. In this project we combine unique expertise, international collaboration and novel genetic information about Australia's unique egg-laying mammals (echidna and platypus) to investigate major aspects of reproduction. This work will address fundamental aspects of sex chromosome biology and advance our understandin ....Evolution and function of mammalian sex chromosomes. Research on iconic Australian mammals has profoundly reshaped our understanding of reproductive biology and sex chromosome evolution. In this project we combine unique expertise, international collaboration and novel genetic information about Australia's unique egg-laying mammals (echidna and platypus) to investigate major aspects of reproduction. This work will address fundamental aspects of sex chromosome biology and advance our understanding of mammalian reproduction. The knowledge gained will have application in captive breeding and conservation of these extraordinary Australian mammals. The project also provides opportunity to train research students in cutting edge molecular biology and informatics.Read moreRead less
How novel ribosomal RNA gene repeat variants drive cellular function. The hundreds of ribosomal RNA gene repeat copies are a remarkable part of our genomes, as they encode the machinery responsible for all cellular protein synthesis and shape the structure of the nucleus. However, due to their high degree of sequence similarity, they still have not been assembled into the human genome reference. This project will resolve this impasse and furthermore uncover the functional impacts of a newly iden ....How novel ribosomal RNA gene repeat variants drive cellular function. The hundreds of ribosomal RNA gene repeat copies are a remarkable part of our genomes, as they encode the machinery responsible for all cellular protein synthesis and shape the structure of the nucleus. However, due to their high degree of sequence similarity, they still have not been assembled into the human genome reference. This project will resolve this impasse and furthermore uncover the functional impacts of a newly identified molecular diversity in the ribosomal RNA gene repeats. Outcomes include new paradigms for how the ribosomal RNA gene repeats drive protein synthesis and genome structure, and a blueprint to develop novel genomics applications for human health, biotechnology, and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water ....Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water and soil should lead to deeper understanding of the dynamics, variation and transfer of genetic material within these resources’ microbial communities, strategies to manage microbial diversity, and improved productivity and long-term sustainability for these resources.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100031
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,000.00
Summary
PacBio long read sequencer for the Ramaciotti Genomics Consortium of NSW. PacBio long read sequencer for the Ramaciotti Genomics Consortium of New South Wales: This will be one of the first PacBio sequencers for a service facility in Australia. Unlike other next-generation sequencers that have read lengths of 100 to 700 bases, the PacBio long read sequencer generates an average read length of 8,000 bases and a maximum of 20,000 bases. It will be used for research in genomics, metagenomics and tr ....PacBio long read sequencer for the Ramaciotti Genomics Consortium of NSW. PacBio long read sequencer for the Ramaciotti Genomics Consortium of New South Wales: This will be one of the first PacBio sequencers for a service facility in Australia. Unlike other next-generation sequencers that have read lengths of 100 to 700 bases, the PacBio long read sequencer generates an average read length of 8,000 bases and a maximum of 20,000 bases. It will be used for research in genomics, metagenomics and transcriptomics.Read moreRead less
Using venoms to map critical and evolutionary conserved vulnerabilities. We have developed and applied new functional genomic approaches to study venom evolution. Using CRISPR screening, we find that unrelated venoms act on cells by exploiting the same vulnerabilities. By functionally mapping these vulnerabilities for all venom classes, we can begin to develop universal venom antidotes. Conversely, much of what we know about venom mechanisms comes from a small percentage of the biodiversity with ....Using venoms to map critical and evolutionary conserved vulnerabilities. We have developed and applied new functional genomic approaches to study venom evolution. Using CRISPR screening, we find that unrelated venoms act on cells by exploiting the same vulnerabilities. By functionally mapping these vulnerabilities for all venom classes, we can begin to develop universal venom antidotes. Conversely, much of what we know about venom mechanisms comes from a small percentage of the biodiversity within a venom, and we have developed genomic tools to study the venom “dark matter”. This work will lead to the full molecular characterisation of venom biodiversity, and new venom components will be useful for research or as novel medicines.Read moreRead less