Understanding The Role Of O-linked Glycosylation In Burkholderia Cenocepica For Host Survival Using Proteomic Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$222,004.00
Summary
The bacteria Burkholderia cenocepecia (Bc) is a common infection of Cystic Fibrosis suffers in Australia. ~20% CF patients infected with Bc will die due to lung failure. Due to this high death rate there is an urgent need to understand how Bc survives and causes disease in the host. This grant aims to understand how the attachment of sugars, a process known as glycosylation, affects the ability of Bc to survive in mammalian cells.
Dissecting The Host X Diet X Microbiota Interactions Supporting Sustainable Weight Loss In Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$252,305.00
Summary
There is increasing evidence that the gut microbiome plays an important part in predisposing to obesity. This project seeks to identify whether such an obesogenic microbiota may also influence our ability to maintain weight loss after a period of caloric restriction. Further, we investigate whether dietary fibre can be used to reshape gut microbial population structure and function so as to support sustained weight loss on return to a normal dietary regimen using an obesogenic rat model.
EEF1A1 Is Critical For HIV-1 Reverse Transcription And Replication
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,429.00
Summary
The project will investigate interaction between the AIDS virus, HIV-1, and the human cell it grows in specifically focusing on a human protein called eEF1A. Our research shows eEF1A is required for HIV-1 growth by regulating a step in the virus life cycle called reverse transcription. The goal of this project is investigate how interaction with eEF1A helps HIV-1 reverse transcription and to find drugs that block HIV-1 interaction with eEF1A.
Improving The Understanding And Management Of Important Human Bacterial Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$204,196.00
Summary
This project will focus on two important bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph), and Enterococcus faecium, both causes of serious infections in hospital and community patients in Australia. Using new technologies, including whole genome sequencing, this project will lead to significant advances in understanding how these bacteria evolve, spread and cause disease. This will lead to new strategies for prevention and management of infections caused by these important bacteria.
Targeting A Bacterial Glyco-Achilles Heel To Make New Vaccines For Haemophilus Influenzae And Neisseria Gonorrhoeae.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$526,950.00
Summary
The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea (N. gonorrhoeae), middle ear infections and exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease (H. influenzae) have become multi-drug resistant. These diseases are a major health and economic burden. In the absence of new drugs, a vaccine to prevent these diseases has emerged as a major unmet need in human health. In this grant, we will develop a new vaccine that targets a bacterial-specific sugar that we have discovered is the Achilles heel of these bacteria.
Environmental influence on evolutionary processes in bacterial populations. Bacterial populations exhibit remarkable adaptive capabilities in many environmental and medical settings. They respond to environmental stress in terms of altered gene expression, but what are the effects on mutation rates and fitness when cells grow at suboptimal growth rates? We plan to test whether the physiological state of an ancestral population is a determinant of a population's subsequent response to selection. ....Environmental influence on evolutionary processes in bacterial populations. Bacterial populations exhibit remarkable adaptive capabilities in many environmental and medical settings. They respond to environmental stress in terms of altered gene expression, but what are the effects on mutation rates and fitness when cells grow at suboptimal growth rates? We plan to test whether the physiological state of an ancestral population is a determinant of a population's subsequent response to selection. A simple model system using controlled culture conditions will be used to investigate the linkage between environment, mutation rate and fitness under selection. Demonstration of these linkages will have significant impacts on microbiology and understanding evolution.Read moreRead less
Molecular Mechanisms Of Persistence Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$398,142.00
Summary
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB. It infects about third of all people in the world and kills several million people each year. People with active TB spread the mycobacteria in aerosols from their breath. When another person inhales an infected aerosol the mycobacteria enter their lungs and establish a new infection. During the course of infection M. tuberculosis is exposed to a variety of harsh environments inside the lungs which normally kill other bacte ....Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB. It infects about third of all people in the world and kills several million people each year. People with active TB spread the mycobacteria in aerosols from their breath. When another person inhales an infected aerosol the mycobacteria enter their lungs and establish a new infection. During the course of infection M. tuberculosis is exposed to a variety of harsh environments inside the lungs which normally kill other bacteria. M. tuberculosis is able to survive and adapt to those harsh environments. M. tuberculosis has an especially thick and tough cell wall which protects it. M. tuberculosis can adapt to the environments it encounters in a patient by changing their cell walls. The wall also protects mycobacteria from chemicals so it is resistant to many common antibiotics. There are some drugs to treat TB however M. tuberculosis is building up resistance to those drugs so we need to find new ones We will determine how mycobacteria synthesize their special cell wall and how they adapt during an infection. If we know how the details of how M. tuberculosis protects itself then we can find potential weakness which could be targets for the development of new drugs to treat TB.Read moreRead less
Genetics and evolution of Shigella O antigens. We use genome scale sequencing techniques to sequence 26 O-antigen gene clusters from Shigella. With the seven already known, this will give sequences for every O-antigen of Shigella. This will be the first time that such set is fully sequenced. Shigella are human specific pathogens, have emerged with the evolution of humans. O-antigens are important for their life and pathogenicity. This project will greatly extend our knowledge of the genetic basi ....Genetics and evolution of Shigella O antigens. We use genome scale sequencing techniques to sequence 26 O-antigen gene clusters from Shigella. With the seven already known, this will give sequences for every O-antigen of Shigella. This will be the first time that such set is fully sequenced. Shigella are human specific pathogens, have emerged with the evolution of humans. O-antigens are important for their life and pathogenicity. This project will greatly extend our knowledge of the genetic basis and evolution of this important polymorphism. O-antigens are used for typing Shigella and also elicit strong immunity. The molecular data will help establish DNA based typing and vaccine development.Read moreRead less
An Investigation Into Chromatin Dynamics In Host-pathogen Interactions And Fungal Virulence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,585.00
Summary
Fungal infections represent a major health burden, with loss of lives that parallels malaria. Only a handful of antifungal therapeutics is available, and mortality remains very high (30% or more). By using molecular biology approaches and animal infection models, this project aims to characterize a new class of promising antifungal drug targets in the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. The outcomes will provide the knowledge foundation for future antifungal drug discovery.