Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL200100068
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,328,974.00
Summary
Australian wild animals: environmental change and quantitative genomics. This project aims to determine the effects of changing environments on wild animal populations across Australia. By combining recent advances in genomic technology with a consortium of fourteen long-term studies of mammals, birds and reptiles, it aims to quantify the genetic basis of life-history variation and the potential for evolutionary adaptation in the wild. The project will generate a comprehensive understanding of t ....Australian wild animals: environmental change and quantitative genomics. This project aims to determine the effects of changing environments on wild animal populations across Australia. By combining recent advances in genomic technology with a consortium of fourteen long-term studies of mammals, birds and reptiles, it aims to quantify the genetic basis of life-history variation and the potential for evolutionary adaptation in the wild. The project will generate a comprehensive understanding of the genetic consequences of environmental change, population decline, inbreeding and disease in natural environments. The expected benefits include a coordinated network for long-term wild animal studies in Australia, advanced quantitative skills training, and knowledge transfer for wildlife management and conservation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100549
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,328.00
Summary
Adaptive evolution and its demographic consequences today. This project aims to provide the first test of whether the rate of adaptative genetic evolution has changed in the recent decades, to quantify how much recent genetic evolution helps animal populations survive, and to increase the ability to study on-going genetic evolution in Australian wildlife. The project is of major significance as many species are currently threatened, or invading, due to rapid environmental changes, in particular ....Adaptive evolution and its demographic consequences today. This project aims to provide the first test of whether the rate of adaptative genetic evolution has changed in the recent decades, to quantify how much recent genetic evolution helps animal populations survive, and to increase the ability to study on-going genetic evolution in Australian wildlife. The project is of major significance as many species are currently threatened, or invading, due to rapid environmental changes, in particular climate change. The anticipated outcome of the project is to deliver new methods, establish a network of international and national collaborators and improve the ability to measure and to forecast how Australian animals adapt to rapidly changing environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101259
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,000.00
Summary
The impact of urbanisation on viral diversity and disease emergence. Urbanisation increases the risk of infectious disease emergence by rapidly altering contact rates between humans and other species. Fortunately, many consequences of urbanisation appear to be universal, suggesting that it is possible to identify factors likely to increase the risk of viral disease emergence and predict their impacts. This project aims to examine the viral response to changes in host and vector population struct ....The impact of urbanisation on viral diversity and disease emergence. Urbanisation increases the risk of infectious disease emergence by rapidly altering contact rates between humans and other species. Fortunately, many consequences of urbanisation appear to be universal, suggesting that it is possible to identify factors likely to increase the risk of viral disease emergence and predict their impacts. This project aims to examine the viral response to changes in host and vector population structure and dynamics that occur as a result of urbanisation, and identify viral characteristics that are associated with survival in an urban environment. This novel fusion of urban and viral ecology will have unprecedented impact on the development of predictive models of viral emergence for risk assessment and management.Read moreRead less
Developing new methods to retrieve and analyse preserved genetic information. This project will position Australia at the leading edge of research into preserved DNA, and will use innovative molecular biology approaches to develop a range of new forensic, archaeological and medical applications. It will build Australian knowledge and scientific capacity by developing core expertise and training personnel in areas important for biosecurity, customs and quarantine, forensics/counter-terrorism, and ....Developing new methods to retrieve and analyse preserved genetic information. This project will position Australia at the leading edge of research into preserved DNA, and will use innovative molecular biology approaches to develop a range of new forensic, archaeological and medical applications. It will build Australian knowledge and scientific capacity by developing core expertise and training personnel in areas important for biosecurity, customs and quarantine, forensics/counter-terrorism, and studies of climate change. It will also create and foster research innovation in molecular biology with spin-offs for evolution, archaeology, medical and conservation biology research, and will also encourage involvement with the rapidly expanding field of genomics and bioinformatics.Read moreRead less
Echoes of the earliest Homo sapiens movement out of Africa. The "Out of Africa" and "Multiregional Evolution" theories have proposed sharply different accounts for the origins of our species Homo sapiens. These have converged on opposite readings of the Australian human fossil record. Recent perspectives resulting from research on Pleistocene Australian mitochondrial DNA, and by osteologists on early Homo sapiens remains in Africa and Israel, hint at a chapter, as yet unwritten, in our species' ....Echoes of the earliest Homo sapiens movement out of Africa. The "Out of Africa" and "Multiregional Evolution" theories have proposed sharply different accounts for the origins of our species Homo sapiens. These have converged on opposite readings of the Australian human fossil record. Recent perspectives resulting from research on Pleistocene Australian mitochondrial DNA, and by osteologists on early Homo sapiens remains in Africa and Israel, hint at a chapter, as yet unwritten, in our species' Late Pleistocene dispersal from Africa. This project's collaborative research on fossils from Sri Lanka and Australasia will explore and test the implications for the colonisation history of the Indian Ocean region.Read moreRead less
Variation in the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) gene, the social environment, general health and wellbeing. The project aims to investigate how the arginine vasopressin 1a gene affects gene expression and influences social behaviour and ultimately health and wellbeing. This research will contribute to understanding the importance of individual differences in social policy and interventions aimed at improving health and wellbeing.
Optimising plant populations for ecological restoration and resilience. When choosing individual plants for restoration populations, there is potentially a trade-off between maximising genetic diversity (‘adaptability’) and selection for desirable properties (‘adaptation’). This project aims to develop pioneering methods to quantify this trade-off, and facilitate the design of optimised populations, with a focus on two Australian rainforest trees that are being impacted by myrtle rust infection: ....Optimising plant populations for ecological restoration and resilience. When choosing individual plants for restoration populations, there is potentially a trade-off between maximising genetic diversity (‘adaptability’) and selection for desirable properties (‘adaptation’). This project aims to develop pioneering methods to quantify this trade-off, and facilitate the design of optimised populations, with a focus on two Australian rainforest trees that are being impacted by myrtle rust infection: Rhodamnia argentea and Rhodamnia rubescens. By studying the genetic variation in each species, and how this relates to myrtle rust resistance and climate, this project aims to design populations that are genetically diverse, maximally resistant to myrtle rust, and adapted to future climate.Read moreRead less
The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which ....The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which sex genes are targets? Epigenetic enzymes are astonishingly conserved, providing exciting opportunities to draw from human systems to unravel novel signatures of temperature-induced sex switching in reptiles. This project will advance knowledge of developmental programming generally.Read moreRead less
DNA methylation in insect social evolution. This project will investigate the evolutionary relationship between DNA methylation and the advanced sociality displayed by bees, ants and wasps. The project will map DNA methylation across the social insects and test whether it has coevolved with sociality. It will also determine how a vital social cue, the queen pheromone, influences the worker methylome. Finally, it will apply quantitative genetic and methylomic methods to wild insects, revealing pa ....DNA methylation in insect social evolution. This project will investigate the evolutionary relationship between DNA methylation and the advanced sociality displayed by bees, ants and wasps. The project will map DNA methylation across the social insects and test whether it has coevolved with sociality. It will also determine how a vital social cue, the queen pheromone, influences the worker methylome. Finally, it will apply quantitative genetic and methylomic methods to wild insects, revealing patterns of selection and inheritance in epigenetic and phenotypic traits. By combining genomic and evolutionary methods, the project will advance the ongoing debate about the importance of methylation to sociality and extreme phenotypic plasticity. It will contribute to a quantum leap in our understanding of DNA methylation and sociobiology and mark the first application of quantitative genetics to wild insects.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100046
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Capturing highly beneficial and persistent legume symbionts. This project aims to investigate impacts of climate change on the survival of symbiotic soil bacteria and the nutritional benefits they provide plants, using molecular technology. This project will generate new knowledge about the process of adaptation in symbiotic bacteria, by measuring genomic changes. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity to design ecological or genetic manipulations of soil bacteria to augment ....Capturing highly beneficial and persistent legume symbionts. This project aims to investigate impacts of climate change on the survival of symbiotic soil bacteria and the nutritional benefits they provide plants, using molecular technology. This project will generate new knowledge about the process of adaptation in symbiotic bacteria, by measuring genomic changes. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity to design ecological or genetic manipulations of soil bacteria to augment plant survival and health. Anticipated benefits include enhanced woodland restoration in a biodiversity hotspot, options to mitigate habitat damage from climate change, and strategies to increase agricultural productivity with less fertiliser.Read moreRead less