Integrating nutritional immunology. What an organism eats affects both its susceptibility to disease and the community of beneficial microorganisms living within its gut. This project will study how nutrition, immunity and the flora of the gut interact, and whether hosts are able to select a diet that optimises their immune response and gut flora in the face of disease challenges.
Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unpreced ....Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unprecedented system, backed by 37 years of long term host-parasite and behavioural data, and recent genetic analyses. This project intends to produce significant data to allow an examination of the early stages of host-parasite evolution in action, providing novel insights into the speciation process. Read moreRead less
Why do neutrophils swarm? This project aims to combine novel immunology, microscopy and computational approaches to investigate how immune cells called neutrophils cooperate to protect the host against microbes. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of inflammation and then utilise a type of highly coordinated collective behaviour termed swarming. However, the role of neutrophil swarms in fighting off infection is poorly understood. The project is poised to generate new knowledge on the imp ....Why do neutrophils swarm? This project aims to combine novel immunology, microscopy and computational approaches to investigate how immune cells called neutrophils cooperate to protect the host against microbes. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of inflammation and then utilise a type of highly coordinated collective behaviour termed swarming. However, the role of neutrophil swarms in fighting off infection is poorly understood. The project is poised to generate new knowledge on the importance of immune cell cooperation by developing in silico models of the immune response. The project will provide benefit through enhanced understanding of fundamental principles of immunity and develop new computational tools to model complex immune function in silico.Read moreRead less
Biology and evolution of intracellular parasitism. This project will investigate the development of intracellular parasitism in environmental amoebae. The outcomes of this work will help to understand the mechanisms by which bacteria have evolved to survive inside cells and in some cases cause disease.
What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dy ....What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dying from viruses; however, it is not known what is cause and effect. This project will clarify Varroa’s exact role in the evolution of virulence in RNA viruses. The intended outcome is increased knowledge allowing the design of an effective treatment to prevent the death of honeybee colonies.Read moreRead less
The identification of Mycosphaerella graminicola effectors that promote pathogenicity on wheat. Fungal diseases are one of the greatest challenges to sustainable wheat production in the 21st century. Septoria tritici blotch is one such disease as it inflicts millions of tonnes in yield losses per annum. This project will identify the molecular basis of Septoria tritici blotch and assess its potential as an Australian biosecurity threat.
Nucleomodulin effectors of the environmental pathogen Legionella. This project aims to examine the evolution of Legionella as an intracellular organism and the mechanisms by which the bacteria evade environmental predation by amoebae. Aside from the advancement of knowledge, expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of amoebae. This will provide significant benefits, and this knowledge may be used to develop inhibitors of amoebae growth.
Evolving with sexually transmitted infections. This project aims to understand how sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect the evolution of host mating systems. STIs threaten the health of most sexually-reproducing organisms. In evolutionary terms, their mode of transmission imposes distinct selection patterns on hosts. This project will use an Australian beetle and its sexually transmitted mite to investigate how STIs lead to evolutionary changes in host mating behaviour and explore the g ....Evolving with sexually transmitted infections. This project aims to understand how sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect the evolution of host mating systems. STIs threaten the health of most sexually-reproducing organisms. In evolutionary terms, their mode of transmission imposes distinct selection patterns on hosts. This project will use an Australian beetle and its sexually transmitted mite to investigate how STIs lead to evolutionary changes in host mating behaviour and explore the genetic basis for STI resistance. This project is expected to affect the evolution of host mating biology and lead to sex-specific optimal levels of disease resistance, which can influence disease dynamics and host-disease coevolution.Read moreRead less
Linking sex-specific adaptation to the evolution of infectious disease. This project aims to examine how differences in the response of males and females to pathogen attack can influence the evolution of infectious disease. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of host-pathogen co-evolution, by integrating approaches from the fields of evolutionary genetics, sexual selection, and epidemiology. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to build interdisciplinary collabor ....Linking sex-specific adaptation to the evolution of infectious disease. This project aims to examine how differences in the response of males and females to pathogen attack can influence the evolution of infectious disease. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of host-pathogen co-evolution, by integrating approaches from the fields of evolutionary genetics, sexual selection, and epidemiology. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to build interdisciplinary collaborations and development of theory that predicts infection dynamics in any species with separate sexes. This is expected to provide significant benefits, such as improving our knowledge of why the sexes differ and potentially providing new avenues for understanding disease outbreaks and preventing population declines or extinctions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100327
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,000.00
Summary
Does sex matter? The impact of sex differences on pathogen evolution. Males and females experience the burden of infection differently. Males are typically thought of as the 'sicker sex', favouring investment in costly sexual displays, at the expense of immune function. But what does this mean for the pathogen? Each sex presents a unique set of challenges that an invading organism must overcome; yet the impact of these differences on pathogen evolution has been surprisingly overlooked. This proj ....Does sex matter? The impact of sex differences on pathogen evolution. Males and females experience the burden of infection differently. Males are typically thought of as the 'sicker sex', favouring investment in costly sexual displays, at the expense of immune function. But what does this mean for the pathogen? Each sex presents a unique set of challenges that an invading organism must overcome; yet the impact of these differences on pathogen evolution has been surprisingly overlooked. This project aims to unravel how sex-specific challenges influence the outcome of pathogen evolution. This work will show how infection in males or females can alter the evolutionary potential of disease, and will ask whether same-sex populations could ever lead to the evolution of new pathogen strains and virulence genes.Read moreRead less