Cell wall structure and dynamics in emerging fungal pathogens of crops. The project aims to understand the role of fungal cell wall biosynthetic enzymes in cell wall stability. The fungal cell wall is a dynamic structure whose composition constantly changes in response to biotic and abiotic stresses and at different developmental stages. The devastating fungal crop pathogen Fusarium graminearum is responsible for the head blight disease in cereals. The project aims to understand the molecular ev ....Cell wall structure and dynamics in emerging fungal pathogens of crops. The project aims to understand the role of fungal cell wall biosynthetic enzymes in cell wall stability. The fungal cell wall is a dynamic structure whose composition constantly changes in response to biotic and abiotic stresses and at different developmental stages. The devastating fungal crop pathogen Fusarium graminearum is responsible for the head blight disease in cereals. The project aims to understand the molecular events that govern metabolism and dynamics of the cell wall of F. graminearum. The project also plans to characterise the molecular interactions involved in plant defence against fungal pathogens and fungal responses to plant immune factors called defensins. Expected long-term outcomes include the development of novel strategies for disease control and crop protection.Read moreRead less
Symbiotic transport proteins in legumes. Some plants form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on identifying genes and proteins wh ....Symbiotic transport proteins in legumes. Some plants form a symbiosis with soil bacteria (rhizobia) that convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia which is then supplied to the plant. This enables legumes to grow without application of nitrogen-based fertilizer, avoiding environmental problems such as run-off and land degradation, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practise. We will investigate the interactions between plant and rhizobia, focusing on identifying genes and proteins which govern nutrient exchange between the partners and development of the special structures in the roots that house the bacteria. Subsequent manipulation of these genes and proteins may allow us to identify control points and enhance nitrogen fixation.
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Tree-mediated methane fluxes: A new frontier in the global carbon cycle. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. Recent evidence suggests that tree-mediated fluxes may be a significant, but overlooked source of methane to the atmosphere. This project aims to quantify the magnitude and drivers of tree-mediated methane fluxes from Australia’s dominant forest types. Innovatively, we will be using a novel combination of empirical field based measurements, gas tracer experiments, microbial ana ....Tree-mediated methane fluxes: A new frontier in the global carbon cycle. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. Recent evidence suggests that tree-mediated fluxes may be a significant, but overlooked source of methane to the atmosphere. This project aims to quantify the magnitude and drivers of tree-mediated methane fluxes from Australia’s dominant forest types. Innovatively, we will be using a novel combination of empirical field based measurements, gas tracer experiments, microbial analysis and modelling methods. Expected outcomes are a mechanistic understanding of tree-mediated methane fluxes, helping to constrain regional, national and global methane budgets. The results of this study will help inform publicly funded greenhouse gas abatement strategies, ensuring a maximal return on investment.Read moreRead less
The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was i ....The role of the ammonium transport bHLHm1/AMF1 regulatory loci in plants. This project aims to investigate the role of a regulatory locus in the regulation of ammonium transport in plants and the interacting genetic and biochemical signalling promoting the interaction. Ammonium is an important nutrient source for plant growth and development. It has been recently identified that a new transport mechanism (AMF1 ) mediates ammonium transport across legume root nodule cellular membranes. AMF1 was identified through a transcriptional interaction with a membrane localised bHLHm1 transcription factor. Both bHLHm1 and AMF1 belong to a unique chromosomal regulatory locus common across sequenced dicot plant species.Read moreRead less
HEN1 is a regulator of piRNA metabolism, transcriptional regulation and mammalian male fertility. This project is to define the biochemistry of a previously uncharacterized protein in male fertility using a unique mouse model and innovative DNA and protein technologies. This project will define a novel, and essential, pathway for male fertility and may ultimately have relevance to the maintenance of health or improving fertility.
Brains frozen in time: vertebrate neural adaptations to invading land . The evolution of terrestrial animals from fish was one of the most significant events in our evolution, yet little is known about how the brain evolved during this transition. This project aims to investigate the major novelties acquired in the evolution of the early vertebrate brain in order to determine the functional reasons for such changes, as well as identifying the timing and environmental factors driving such changes ....Brains frozen in time: vertebrate neural adaptations to invading land . The evolution of terrestrial animals from fish was one of the most significant events in our evolution, yet little is known about how the brain evolved during this transition. This project aims to investigate the major novelties acquired in the evolution of the early vertebrate brain in order to determine the functional reasons for such changes, as well as identifying the timing and environmental factors driving such changes. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the anatomy of the vertebrate brain with improved methods for reconstructing fossil brains to better understand our own neurological evolution. Expected outcomes include enhanced institutional collaborations within Australia, and between Australia, Canada and the USA.Read moreRead less
Learning from others: Inductive reasoning based on human-generated data. Most of the data we see every day, from politics to gossip, comes from other people. Making inferences about such data is difficult because the people who provided it may have biases or limitations in their knowledge that we do not know about and must figure out. This project uses a series of experiments tied to normative computational models of social reasoning to explore how people solve this problem. This work has the po ....Learning from others: Inductive reasoning based on human-generated data. Most of the data we see every day, from politics to gossip, comes from other people. Making inferences about such data is difficult because the people who provided it may have biases or limitations in their knowledge that we do not know about and must figure out. This project uses a series of experiments tied to normative computational models of social reasoning to explore how people solve this problem. This work has the potential to make a major impact in understanding how information is understood and shared, especially when it is about topics that people lack firsthand knowledge about, like climate change. The computational models also have applications to the development of expert systems upon which our information economy relies.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing wheat evolution using ancient DNA. The domestication of wild grasses by farmers was a step change in human history; it led to the emergence of modern cereals and with them, western civilisation. This project will apply modern DNA sequencing methods to 5000-year-old cereal seeds to reconstruct the history of wheat, barley and other crops, and identify lost ancient forms and diversity.
Plastic brains: Neural adaptations to changing environments in reptiles. The project aims to quantify brain anatomy on an unprecedented scale in comparative neurobiology. Focusing on Australia’s diverse and extensive collection of reptiles, including goannas, dragons and venomous snakes, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the evolution of brains as these animals adapted to new habitats and climates. Data will be collected by cutting-edge micro-CT technology and advanced phylogeneti ....Plastic brains: Neural adaptations to changing environments in reptiles. The project aims to quantify brain anatomy on an unprecedented scale in comparative neurobiology. Focusing on Australia’s diverse and extensive collection of reptiles, including goannas, dragons and venomous snakes, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the evolution of brains as these animals adapted to new habitats and climates. Data will be collected by cutting-edge micro-CT technology and advanced phylogenetic techniques, which will be complemented by detailed neuroanatomy. Expected outcomes include enhanced understanding of the effects of temperature on brains, and a large database of 3D digital anatomical models. A major benefit includes a greater ability to mitigate the effects of environmental change.Read moreRead less
Genetic control of spermatogenesis: defining the role of SOX3 in spermatogonial progenitor cells. The transcription factor (TF) SOX3 is a key regulator of neural stem/progenitor cells. Recently, this project has also shown that SOX3 is active in sperm progenitors (spermatogonia) and is required for spermatogenesis. Using our Sox3 KO mouse model and extensive expertise in spermatogonial cell culture, ChIP-seq technology and bioinformatics, this project will investigate crucial aspects of SOX3 fun ....Genetic control of spermatogenesis: defining the role of SOX3 in spermatogonial progenitor cells. The transcription factor (TF) SOX3 is a key regulator of neural stem/progenitor cells. Recently, this project has also shown that SOX3 is active in sperm progenitors (spermatogonia) and is required for spermatogenesis. Using our Sox3 KO mouse model and extensive expertise in spermatogonial cell culture, ChIP-seq technology and bioinformatics, this project will investigate crucial aspects of SOX3 function in the testes including stem versus progenitor cell activity and genome-wide target gene regulation. These studies will uncover the molecular and cellular mechanism by which SOX3 controls spermatogenesis and provide unique insight into how a single TF controls context-dependent differentiation in sperm versus brain progenitor cells.Read moreRead less