CX3C chemokine signalling in the olfactory epithelium and its role in the self regeneration of the olfactory system. The current proposal will explore new venues in adult neural stem cell research and contribute to the further development of molecular biology and neuroscience research in Western Australia and Australia. The use of neural stem cells holds therapeutic promise for the treatment of a wide variety of neurological conditions, including neurotrauma and stroke. The proposed research wil ....CX3C chemokine signalling in the olfactory epithelium and its role in the self regeneration of the olfactory system. The current proposal will explore new venues in adult neural stem cell research and contribute to the further development of molecular biology and neuroscience research in Western Australia and Australia. The use of neural stem cells holds therapeutic promise for the treatment of a wide variety of neurological conditions, including neurotrauma and stroke. The proposed research will provide new data on the fundamental cellular and molecular events that are required to trigger the birth, differentiation and conditions for growth of new neurons in the adult nervous system. The generation of such insights will be critical for any translational research.
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FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT MITOCHONDRIA: THEIR ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PLANT DEFENSE. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in th ....FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT MITOCHONDRIA: THEIR ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PLANT DEFENSE. Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen attack, and in production of reactive oxygen molecules. This proposal seeks to investigate how mitochondria are involved in these processes, using the latest plant genome information. Potential outcomes include crops better able to cope with environmental stress.Read moreRead less
Does coevolution drive speciation? This project aims to connect micro-evolutionary processes with macro-evolutionary patterns to test the extent to which tightly coupled co-evolutionary interactions between species drive evolutionary diversification. The project will use techniques including the most recent phylogenetic modelling methods, field experiments and molecular genetics. Expected outcomes include advancing understanding of the mechanisms that generate biodiversity and developing new tec ....Does coevolution drive speciation? This project aims to connect micro-evolutionary processes with macro-evolutionary patterns to test the extent to which tightly coupled co-evolutionary interactions between species drive evolutionary diversification. The project will use techniques including the most recent phylogenetic modelling methods, field experiments and molecular genetics. Expected outcomes include advancing understanding of the mechanisms that generate biodiversity and developing new techniques for acquisition of DNA from museum specimens. The project is expected to provide significant benefits, such as insights into the processes that promote new species in nature.Read moreRead less
A Structural Investigation Into Events Within The Immunological Synapse. The proposed research program, using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based radiation, will provide significant fundamental insight into the processes that control infection. Investigating processes central to immunity is important, as it will further our understanding of these critically-important events. Such knowledge will increase Australia's international research standing, as well as having the potential to generat ....A Structural Investigation Into Events Within The Immunological Synapse. The proposed research program, using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based radiation, will provide significant fundamental insight into the processes that control infection. Investigating processes central to immunity is important, as it will further our understanding of these critically-important events. Such knowledge will increase Australia's international research standing, as well as having the potential to generate novel therapies, such as immunosuppressants.Read moreRead less
The structure in four-dimensions of a mammalian nuclear body. The project aims to develop a working model of a micron-sized molecular machine implicated in numerous aspects of gene regulation. Bodies in the mammalian cell nucleus are larger than macromolecular complexes and smaller than organelles. Recent developments in structural, molecular and cell biology are allowing us to begin to interpret their structure-function relationships. This project capitalises on a wealth of structural and funct ....The structure in four-dimensions of a mammalian nuclear body. The project aims to develop a working model of a micron-sized molecular machine implicated in numerous aspects of gene regulation. Bodies in the mammalian cell nucleus are larger than macromolecular complexes and smaller than organelles. Recent developments in structural, molecular and cell biology are allowing us to begin to interpret their structure-function relationships. This project capitalises on a wealth of structural and functional data on nuclear bodies termed paraspeckles with the aim of developing a structural model. It aims to track tens of proteins and long non-coding RNA from paraspeckles as they proceed through the cell cycle, by combining genome engineering, super-resolution microscopy, proteomics and in vitro interaction studies.Read moreRead less
An X-ray crystallographic investigation into co-receptors on T-lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are an indispensable cellular component of the immune system. The normal process of T cell selection in the thymus, and the ability of mature T cells to respond to foreign antigens are governed by receptor recognition and co-receptor mediated events. The co-receptors encompass a wide spectrum of structurally diverse proteins that are involved in adhesion, co-ligation and signal transduction. This proposa ....An X-ray crystallographic investigation into co-receptors on T-lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are an indispensable cellular component of the immune system. The normal process of T cell selection in the thymus, and the ability of mature T cells to respond to foreign antigens are governed by receptor recognition and co-receptor mediated events. The co-receptors encompass a wide spectrum of structurally diverse proteins that are involved in adhesion, co-ligation and signal transduction. This proposal aims to investigate, using X-ray crystallography as the primary research tool, co- receptors located on T-lymphocytes. This work will gain fundamental insights into co-receptor function.Read moreRead less
Exploring the gene regulation networks governing mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis. Mitochondria, subcellular organelles that perform many functions indispensable to plant growth and productivity, are dynamic compartments whose protein complement changes dramatically during plant development and under stress. Yet, the cellular processes that regulate the production of these organelles are virtually unknown. By combining conventional approaches with an extremely powerful holistic method for ....Exploring the gene regulation networks governing mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis. Mitochondria, subcellular organelles that perform many functions indispensable to plant growth and productivity, are dynamic compartments whose protein complement changes dramatically during plant development and under stress. Yet, the cellular processes that regulate the production of these organelles are virtually unknown. By combining conventional approaches with an extremely powerful holistic method for simultaneously examining the expression patterns of every gene in the model plant Arabidopsis, this project will identify proteins that regulate mitochondrial biosynthesis and uncover the gene networks that these proteins control. The project outcomes will provide new opportunities for the rational manipulation of plant growth and productivity.Read moreRead less
What drives parasite spread through social networks: lessons from lizards. Australia's biodiversity is continually threatened by new epidemics of local and foreign diseases and parasites. This project will enhance our understanding of how these diseases spread, allowing more effective controls to be developed to protect wildlife species, animal populations and, ultimately, Australian ecosystems.
Genome Approaches to Investigate Metabolic Coordination in Plant Cells. Metabolism of C and N in legume nodules requires interaction between the symbiotic bacteria and plant organelles, particularly metabolism in plastids and mitochondria. Fixed N is assimilated through the de novo synthesis of purines in both plastids and mitochondria. However, each of the nine pathway enzymes is encoded by a single gene, indicating each protein is targeted to both organelles. Purine metabolism will provide ....Genome Approaches to Investigate Metabolic Coordination in Plant Cells. Metabolism of C and N in legume nodules requires interaction between the symbiotic bacteria and plant organelles, particularly metabolism in plastids and mitochondria. Fixed N is assimilated through the de novo synthesis of purines in both plastids and mitochondria. However, each of the nine pathway enzymes is encoded by a single gene, indicating each protein is targeted to both organelles. Purine metabolism will provide a model to assess the more general occurrence of dual-targeted proteins in plants. The aim is to identify and eventually exploit the signalling mechanism(s) that mediate communication between plastids and mitochondria.Read moreRead less
Defining factors that influence protein turnover in plants. This project aims to discover how the functions of different proteins change as they age, and to define factors that dictate protein stability inside plants. This project will change protein turnover rates in plants by altering a regulator of this process to assess the role of this regulator in different plant developmental transitions. Expected outcomes include showing how protein abundance can be altered in plants for our future agric ....Defining factors that influence protein turnover in plants. This project aims to discover how the functions of different proteins change as they age, and to define factors that dictate protein stability inside plants. This project will change protein turnover rates in plants by altering a regulator of this process to assess the role of this regulator in different plant developmental transitions. Expected outcomes include showing how protein abundance can be altered in plants for our future agricultural and biotechnology needs. This will provide significant benefits, such as discovering processes inside plant cells that maintain the quality of different kinds of proteins and propose how different kinds of proteins can be stabilised for plant biotechnology applications.Read moreRead less