Functionally characterizing mammalian microRNAs and mRNA interactions controlling cell division. This project addresses some of the most burning issues in molecular biology and genetic research, and the results will be widely applicable to a broad range of fields, including biotechnology, animal breeding, agricultural production, genetic engineering, medical science, and computational biology. By understanding the regulatory potential of microRNA molecules, we will understand more about species ....Functionally characterizing mammalian microRNAs and mRNA interactions controlling cell division. This project addresses some of the most burning issues in molecular biology and genetic research, and the results will be widely applicable to a broad range of fields, including biotechnology, animal breeding, agricultural production, genetic engineering, medical science, and computational biology. By understanding the regulatory potential of microRNA molecules, we will understand more about species diversity, regulatory networks, and plant and animal development. The early adoption of multi-gigabase next-generation sequencing technology in Australia provides rare and exciting opportunity to lead the world in genome-scale research, and to ensure that Australia has the necessary skill base to remain internationally competitive in this field.Read moreRead less
Intron encoded RNA regulatory networks in yeast. This project has the capacity to transform our understanding of the evolution, development and genetic variation of complex organisms, as well as the self-organization of complex systems in general. The national and community benefits of the project will be to maintain Australian leadership in advanced genetics and genome-phenome informatics. It will provide a platform for many applications in biology and biotechnology, including new genetic diagn ....Intron encoded RNA regulatory networks in yeast. This project has the capacity to transform our understanding of the evolution, development and genetic variation of complex organisms, as well as the self-organization of complex systems in general. The national and community benefits of the project will be to maintain Australian leadership in advanced genetics and genome-phenome informatics. It will provide a platform for many applications in biology and biotechnology, including new genetic diagnostics and an informed basis for the engineering of complex traits in agriculture. The project will also provide insights into the structure of biological communication and control systems with applications in information science and the programming of integrated complex systems in other domains.Read moreRead less
Novel insecticidal neurotoxins from Australian spider venoms. Insecticidal toxins have considerable potential as novel biopesticides to combat the evolution of widespread insect resistance to classical chemical pesticides. This problem is increasing both in Australia and internationally. This study aims to isolate and pharmacologically characterise potent and selective insecticidal neurotoxins from Australian arachnids. Our laboratories will isolate neurotoxins from spider venoms, determine thei ....Novel insecticidal neurotoxins from Australian spider venoms. Insecticidal toxins have considerable potential as novel biopesticides to combat the evolution of widespread insect resistance to classical chemical pesticides. This problem is increasing both in Australia and internationally. This study aims to isolate and pharmacologically characterise potent and selective insecticidal neurotoxins from Australian arachnids. Our laboratories will isolate neurotoxins from spider venoms, determine their selectivity in insect and mammal bioassays, determine their primary and tertiary structures, and investigate their structure-function relationships by electrophysiological techniques. These functional and structural data will allow the future engineering, by molecular or synthetic procedures, of viral biopesticide analogues with increased potency, stability and selectivity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560906
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$578,145.00
Summary
Queensland High Throughput Confocal Cell Imaging facility. Interpretation of the huge amount of molecular information available from the rapid advances in genomics and proteomics now requires new high throughput technologies to examine cellular function. This proposal is for a high throughput fluorescent confocal microscopic imaging facility that can be applied in the fields of drug discovery, cell biology and toxicology. This facility allows the study of cell function, cell structure, and prote ....Queensland High Throughput Confocal Cell Imaging facility. Interpretation of the huge amount of molecular information available from the rapid advances in genomics and proteomics now requires new high throughput technologies to examine cellular function. This proposal is for a high throughput fluorescent confocal microscopic imaging facility that can be applied in the fields of drug discovery, cell biology and toxicology. This facility allows the study of cell function, cell structure, and protein expression in multi-well format, providing analyses at a speed and scale not formerly possible. This confocal imaging facility will add to the other high throughput systems for analysis of cell physiology currently established at Griffith University.Read moreRead less
Statistical and Mathematical Analyses of Sequence and Array Data. Development of mathematical and statistical methods and tools in bioinformation science will ensure that Australia is at the cutting-edge of modern biology. This will enhance Australia's reputation for dealing with the exponentially growing body of genomic data emerging from life sciences laboratories throughout the world. The proposed project has a broad range of potential applications in biotechnology, particularly in the medic ....Statistical and Mathematical Analyses of Sequence and Array Data. Development of mathematical and statistical methods and tools in bioinformation science will ensure that Australia is at the cutting-edge of modern biology. This will enhance Australia's reputation for dealing with the exponentially growing body of genomic data emerging from life sciences laboratories throughout the world. The proposed project has a broad range of potential applications in biotechnology, particularly in the medical and agricultural industries. Examples include improvements to livestock, in plant breeding such as drought resistance, and better genetic disease diagnosis, including earlier cancer diagnosis, and personalised treatment.Read moreRead less
Genetic variation of transcriptional control. Genetic variation is a key cause phenotype differences in humans, animals, and plants and so of great economic importance. Despite its proven importance to human diseases, ?quantitative? variation in the amount of gene expression rather than ?qualitative? protein sequence changes, has not been systematically studied. We have developed a powerful method to identify genetic causes of quantitative variation using crosses of inbred mice in conjunction wi ....Genetic variation of transcriptional control. Genetic variation is a key cause phenotype differences in humans, animals, and plants and so of great economic importance. Despite its proven importance to human diseases, ?quantitative? variation in the amount of gene expression rather than ?qualitative? protein sequence changes, has not been systematically studied. We have developed a powerful method to identify genetic causes of quantitative variation using crosses of inbred mice in conjunction with microarray techniques to analyse expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. These studies will be extended to humans and be significant to wide areas of biological and commercial activity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989334
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
An integrated high-performance computational platform powering systems biology investigation. Systems biology is the study of the organism as a whole and provides a deeper understanding of biological processes than is possible by studying components separately. Recognised as essential for biological research, we propose to establish an advanced computational platform to study these processes at a systems level. Its hardware and specialised software will allow Australian researchers to examine co ....An integrated high-performance computational platform powering systems biology investigation. Systems biology is the study of the organism as a whole and provides a deeper understanding of biological processes than is possible by studying components separately. Recognised as essential for biological research, we propose to establish an advanced computational platform to study these processes at a systems level. Its hardware and specialised software will allow Australian researchers to examine complex pathways involved in animal and human health and disease, as well as in biotechnology and environmental processes. It will provide unique capabilities not currently available in Australia, and help Australian researchers remain internationally competitive in breakthrough science and frontier technologies.Read moreRead less
The genomic programming of complex organisms. The project will have far-reaching consequences in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, engineering, information science and associated industries. It will provide a platform for the rationalization of genetic epidemiology and genetic improvement programs, the development of a wide range of new diagnostics and therapies, the development of new core technologies and practical approaches in genetics and genetic diversity, a framework for advanced gen ....The genomic programming of complex organisms. The project will have far-reaching consequences in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, engineering, information science and associated industries. It will provide a platform for the rationalization of genetic epidemiology and genetic improvement programs, the development of a wide range of new diagnostics and therapies, the development of new core technologies and practical approaches in genetics and genetic diversity, a framework for advanced genetic engineering, the development of new principles and systems for information storage and transmission, and the design of artificial systems capable of self-referential assembly in other environments.Read moreRead less
The diversity and assembly of optics in nature. Optics, such as the design of new coloured reflectors, is a research strength for Australia. A reason for this is the potential for application - optical devices can be found far and wide in our everyday lives, from security devices on banknotes (holograms), to computer monitors (LCDs). An interesting parallel exists in nature - animals possess similar optical devices to those we use. So it makes sense to examine the animals' devices in a search fo ....The diversity and assembly of optics in nature. Optics, such as the design of new coloured reflectors, is a research strength for Australia. A reason for this is the potential for application - optical devices can be found far and wide in our everyday lives, from security devices on banknotes (holograms), to computer monitors (LCDs). An interesting parallel exists in nature - animals possess similar optical devices to those we use. So it makes sense to examine the animals' devices in a search for new reflectors, and that's an aim of this project. And since reflectors are often difficult to make, why not let animals make reflectors for us? That is a further aim of this project. Soon we may have genetically-altered butterfly scales embedded in our credit cards that cannot be counterfeited.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354610
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Australian Bioinformatics Grid Network. OzBioGrid will be an open source, collaborative, bioinformatics environment supporting Australian biotechnology and life science researchers on the Grid. Researchers will be able to use distributed resources including databases, computational power and analytical tools, and to collaborate remotely, using customized work environments. With hubs in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne, and nodes elsewhere, OzBioGrid will build on Australia's high performance co ....Australian Bioinformatics Grid Network. OzBioGrid will be an open source, collaborative, bioinformatics environment supporting Australian biotechnology and life science researchers on the Grid. Researchers will be able to use distributed resources including databases, computational power and analytical tools, and to collaborate remotely, using customized work environments. With hubs in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne, and nodes elsewhere, OzBioGrid will build on Australia's high performance computing capacity. It will greatly enhance Australia's research capability by networking ARC and other centres of excellence, major national research facilities, independent researchers, biotechnology companies, bioinformatics research centres, public databases. It will be linked to bio-grid initiatives overseas. Read moreRead less