All-in-vitro engineering and single molecule analysis of protein complexes. The production and engineering of proteins are key methodologies in life sciences. The current project aims to develop new approaches to accelerate the production and analysis of proteins and to apply them to increase our understanding of the basic mechanisms of cell self-maintenance.
New methods to complete the lipidomics puzzle: revealing the structural diversity of lipids by mass spectrometry. Lipid-related disorders such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease are reaching epidemic proportions in the western world. The integration of innovative techniques will provide Australia with unique capabilities to investigate these diseases and place Australia at the forefront of lipid research internationally.
Characterising the transport and delivery of oligonucleotides . Short RNA and DNA molecules represent a class of macromolecules that have great potential, but to facilitate their trafficking across cellular and membrane barriers into specific sites of action is challenging. This project aims to develop and apply novel imaging approaches to track them in cells and tissues. Expected outcomes include better understanding of the trafficking across cellular and membrane barriers, and improved imaging ....Characterising the transport and delivery of oligonucleotides . Short RNA and DNA molecules represent a class of macromolecules that have great potential, but to facilitate their trafficking across cellular and membrane barriers into specific sites of action is challenging. This project aims to develop and apply novel imaging approaches to track them in cells and tissues. Expected outcomes include better understanding of the trafficking across cellular and membrane barriers, and improved imaging tools that could be used to further study the molecular mechanisms of accumulation, metabolism and trafficking of these molecules. This project should provide new strategies to target these molecules to specific cells and tissues, which have significant social and economic benefits to the Australian community.Read moreRead less
Understanding lens aging: the molecular basis of presbyopia. Ageing has major consequences in the deterioration of vision, notably, the inability to focus on near objects. The understanding gained through this study of age-related lens changes may allow us to prescribe drugs or diets that alter lens properties and thus delay the need for glasses. This would have great benefits not just in decreased inconvenience of users, but also in cost to the middle-aged and elderly. In addition, data will b ....Understanding lens aging: the molecular basis of presbyopia. Ageing has major consequences in the deterioration of vision, notably, the inability to focus on near objects. The understanding gained through this study of age-related lens changes may allow us to prescribe drugs or diets that alter lens properties and thus delay the need for glasses. This would have great benefits not just in decreased inconvenience of users, but also in cost to the middle-aged and elderly. In addition, data will be used to underpin the development of a flexible intraocular lens (IOL). Hard IOLs are routinely inserted into human eyes following cataract surgery. In the future, flexible IOLs based on the properties of young lenses will be used, rather than reading glasses. This new industry could be based in Australia.Read moreRead less
Pilot-scale production of therapeutically-active cannabinoids . The Isolation of minor therapeutically-active cannabinoids from cannabis at pilot scale would establish a commercially competitive Australian industry and lead to a superior position in the global marketplace. This project aims to select elite clones from genetically diverse cannabis strains for yield of minor, but therapeutically-active, cannabinoids, and develop a pilot-scale extraction and separation procedure that can be scaled- ....Pilot-scale production of therapeutically-active cannabinoids . The Isolation of minor therapeutically-active cannabinoids from cannabis at pilot scale would establish a commercially competitive Australian industry and lead to a superior position in the global marketplace. This project aims to select elite clones from genetically diverse cannabis strains for yield of minor, but therapeutically-active, cannabinoids, and develop a pilot-scale extraction and separation procedure that can be scaled-up for commercial production. This would contribute to the growth of the agri-biotechnology sector and a skilled multidisciplinary workforce in rural Australia, thus providing significant economic benefit. The novel scale-up procedure has potential for industry adoption to add value to Australian manufacturing.
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Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Regulation of proteolysis by specialised adaptor proteins. Training research scientists of the future forms an integral part of this research program and this collaboration will provide an excellent opportunity for young Australian scientists to be exposed to the very professional and competitive environment of basic research, as it exists in Germany. It will expose early career researchers to new ideas and emerging methodologies arming them with valuable skills, which they will transfer to Aust ....Regulation of proteolysis by specialised adaptor proteins. Training research scientists of the future forms an integral part of this research program and this collaboration will provide an excellent opportunity for young Australian scientists to be exposed to the very professional and competitive environment of basic research, as it exists in Germany. It will expose early career researchers to new ideas and emerging methodologies arming them with valuable skills, which they will transfer to Australia. The involvement of Prof. Turgay in the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Priority Programme: Proteolysis in Prokaryotes also provides a unique opportunity for these young researchers to interact with several of the worlds leading scientists in the area of proteolysis, enhancing Australia's reputation at the forefront of science.Read moreRead less
Carbon flux and its regulation in metabolic networks. Allocation of photo-assimilates throughout metabolic networks are central to a plants ability to cope with changes in its environment. This project will combine the use of quantitative molecular, chemical and imaging techniques to characterise the flux of resources and its regulation through metabolic networks of Australian native and crop plants.
Unravelling transthyretin amyloid, bounding ahead using wallabies. Each protein in our body has a unique shape that enables it to function correctly. For unknown reasons, some proteins can change their shape, aggregate with other proteins and stick to the outside of cells of major organs or nerves. This prevents those cells from working properly and results in disease. Transthyretin is a protein that changes shape and aggregates in the heart of most people over the age of 70. The disease is call ....Unravelling transthyretin amyloid, bounding ahead using wallabies. Each protein in our body has a unique shape that enables it to function correctly. For unknown reasons, some proteins can change their shape, aggregate with other proteins and stick to the outside of cells of major organs or nerves. This prevents those cells from working properly and results in disease. Transthyretin is a protein that changes shape and aggregates in the heart of most people over the age of 70. The disease is called Senile Systemic Amyloidosis (SSA). It is not known how or why this happens. There is no cure or therapy. This project will use transthyretins from human and wallaby to explore a possible cause of SSA. If our hypothesis is correct, we will propose preventative actions to reduce the incidence of SSA in the future.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100183
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$950,000.00
Summary
Protein Quantitation Centre of South Australia renewal for Systems Biology. This application aims to renew Mass Spectrometry (MS) instrumentation to characterise and quantify Biomolecules towards a better understanding of biological processes. UniSA, Uni Adelaide, Flinders have established the Protein Quantitation Centre of South Australia (PQCSA) in 2013 through an ARC LIEF lead by CI Hoffmann and this application will renew and expand MS capacity towards metabolites, glycans and lipids. This ....Protein Quantitation Centre of South Australia renewal for Systems Biology. This application aims to renew Mass Spectrometry (MS) instrumentation to characterise and quantify Biomolecules towards a better understanding of biological processes. UniSA, Uni Adelaide, Flinders have established the Protein Quantitation Centre of South Australia (PQCSA) in 2013 through an ARC LIEF lead by CI Hoffmann and this application will renew and expand MS capacity towards metabolites, glycans and lipids. This will enable researchers in South Australia to work towards a full understanding of biological processes and towards expanding their knowledge to Systems Biology. Expected outcome of the projects are multiple interdisciplinary collaborations between the CI's and should provide significant benefits in research outputs.Read moreRead less