Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100257
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$446,857.00
Summary
Molecular biosecurity: Genomic databanks for managing new pest invasions. This project aims to develop a set of genomics-based approaches for analysing new pest invasions. By producing and analysing genomic databanks for four insect pest species, including three that have recently invaded Australia, this project expects to identify invasion origins and to track new pest incursions within Australia. The project should also provide insights into pest ecology, including movement rates and populatio ....Molecular biosecurity: Genomic databanks for managing new pest invasions. This project aims to develop a set of genomics-based approaches for analysing new pest invasions. By producing and analysing genomic databanks for four insect pest species, including three that have recently invaded Australia, this project expects to identify invasion origins and to track new pest incursions within Australia. The project should also provide insights into pest ecology, including movement rates and population change over time. This information can enable more efficient deployment of biosecurity resources and pave the way for genomics to be used pre-emptively to stop new invasions. This can help make genomics a go-to response to new pest invasions and position Australia at the forefront of genomics-based pest biosecurity.Read moreRead less
Rapid evolution via genetic novelty in an invasive social insect. This project aims to determine how introduced Asian honey bee populations in Australia and the Pacific managed to overcome severe genetic bottlenecks to become invasive pests. The project will use advanced molecular techniques to understand rapid evolution at a focal gene that determines fitness in these populations, and to see evolution in action across the genome using a twelve-year timeline of samples. The outcome will be an en ....Rapid evolution via genetic novelty in an invasive social insect. This project aims to determine how introduced Asian honey bee populations in Australia and the Pacific managed to overcome severe genetic bottlenecks to become invasive pests. The project will use advanced molecular techniques to understand rapid evolution at a focal gene that determines fitness in these populations, and to see evolution in action across the genome using a twelve-year timeline of samples. The outcome will be an enhanced capacity to manage new outbreaks of invasive social insects of all kinds via a better understanding of how invasions establish and spread. This should provide significant benefits in the form of protecting Australian agriculture and pollination services from social insect pests.Read moreRead less
Some like it hot: invasive species, hybridisation, and a warming world. Temperatures are rising and invasive species are becoming more prevalent. This project aims to understand how climate change and hybridisation between exotic and native marine species leads to rapid adaptation. Using integrative approaches from genomics and physiology and focusing on Australian blue mussels, this proposal will test leading hypotheses about how climate change and hybridisation can enable rapid adaptation and ....Some like it hot: invasive species, hybridisation, and a warming world. Temperatures are rising and invasive species are becoming more prevalent. This project aims to understand how climate change and hybridisation between exotic and native marine species leads to rapid adaptation. Using integrative approaches from genomics and physiology and focusing on Australian blue mussels, this proposal will test leading hypotheses about how climate change and hybridisation can enable rapid adaptation and the spread of exotic species. Outcomes will include strategies for minimising impacts of invasive mussels and boosting warm-temperature adaptation in aquaculture mussels and restored shellfish reefs. This project will yield fundamental insights into how marine species can quickly adapt to warming seas.Read moreRead less
When is hybridisation helpful or harmful to invaders? This project aims to determine the role of hybridisation during biological invasions. Hybridisation has been thought to aid invasion by introducing genetic novelty, but traditional approaches have been ineffective at evaluating alternatives. The project will capitalise on replicate hybrid zones of the same species, apply new methods on an expansive genomic dataset, and develop novel simulations to resolve how hybridisation and colonisation in ....When is hybridisation helpful or harmful to invaders? This project aims to determine the role of hybridisation during biological invasions. Hybridisation has been thought to aid invasion by introducing genetic novelty, but traditional approaches have been ineffective at evaluating alternatives. The project will capitalise on replicate hybrid zones of the same species, apply new methods on an expansive genomic dataset, and develop novel simulations to resolve how hybridisation and colonisation interact. The methods and knowledge acquired through this research will be valuable for a range of applications, from biosecurity to conservation management.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evo ....Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evolution is primarily driven by epigenetic change. Using an iconic Australian invasive species, the cane toad, the project aims to quantify genetic and epigenetic change across the invasion and use manipulative experiments to determine the influence of epigenetic change on the evolution of phenotypic traits important to invasion.Read moreRead less
Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposa ....Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposal aims to develop gene drive technology in mice as a prototypical vertebrate pest species. We will also develop cutting-edge mathematical models of rodent gene drives to identify crucial parameters for efficacious employment and investigate potential for impact on non-target populations.Read moreRead less
Discovery of pathways to embryogenesis in pathogenic flatworm parasites using microdissection and transcriptomic technologies. The cost to Australia of flatworm parasites to animal production and human health is substantial (hundreds of millions of dollars per year). This research will give new insights into how flatworms reproduce and equip their progeny for survival, providing impetus for new vaccine or drug therapies to be developed. As these pathogens are more significant in Australia's ne ....Discovery of pathways to embryogenesis in pathogenic flatworm parasites using microdissection and transcriptomic technologies. The cost to Australia of flatworm parasites to animal production and human health is substantial (hundreds of millions of dollars per year). This research will give new insights into how flatworms reproduce and equip their progeny for survival, providing impetus for new vaccine or drug therapies to be developed. As these pathogens are more significant in Australia's near neighbours, this project will strengthen Australia's international leadership in this field. Our study will provide, for the first time for any helminth parasite, a freely available genetic database that profiles the gene expression repertoire of individual parasite tissues, a development likely to enhance the international effort in controlling these harmful diseases.Read moreRead less
Humane Chemical Methods for Population Management of Highly Valued Large Mammals. In many countries valued wild and feral animals are nonetheless too numerous. Their population numbers must be controlled through fertility. Examples are koalas in Australia, deer and seals in North America, cattle in India and dogs in Thailand. We aim to develop benign implants for castration based upon the gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH). These implants are easily administered. The outcomes will be to ....Humane Chemical Methods for Population Management of Highly Valued Large Mammals. In many countries valued wild and feral animals are nonetheless too numerous. Their population numbers must be controlled through fertility. Examples are koalas in Australia, deer and seals in North America, cattle in India and dogs in Thailand. We aim to develop benign implants for castration based upon the gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH). These implants are easily administered. The outcomes will be to protect Australia's ?green? image , worldwide market opportunities for the Australian companies involved in this application and valuable intellectual property for Macquarie. The methodology will in time allow us to apply it to the treatment of cancer.Read moreRead less
Insect host/vector genetic responses to rhabdovirus infection. Rhabdoviruses cause important diseases in humans, animals and plants. These viruses are transmitted by insect vectors in which they persist and propagate, an intimate and specific association. Insect-rhabdovirus interactions will be studied at the molecular level using a planthopper-maize rhabdovirus model. Insect genes specifically induced by rhabdovirus infection as well as the viral genes themselves will be identified and characte ....Insect host/vector genetic responses to rhabdovirus infection. Rhabdoviruses cause important diseases in humans, animals and plants. These viruses are transmitted by insect vectors in which they persist and propagate, an intimate and specific association. Insect-rhabdovirus interactions will be studied at the molecular level using a planthopper-maize rhabdovirus model. Insect genes specifically induced by rhabdovirus infection as well as the viral genes themselves will be identified and characterized using genomics and bioinformatics tools. We will extend the same approaches to a comparative analysis of these planthopper genes with other insect-rhabdovirus systems under investigation in our institutes. Identification of viral genes expressed in insects, the insect genes that respond to virus infection, and interpretation of the roles of these genes in insects, may indicate new opportunities to control serious plant and animal diseases through control of virus transmission.Read moreRead less
Genomic Basis of Resistance to Poisoning by Sodium Fluoroacetate (Compound 1080) in Australian Wildlife. In Australia agricultural conservation activities worth billions of dollars are protected by using sodium fluoroacetate (1080) against pest animals. Target species are Australian rabbits and foxes and New Zealand brushtail possums. Prolonged use of biocontrol agents causes genetic resistance. This occurs naturally in Western Australia in native animals living in areas with high levels of 1080 ....Genomic Basis of Resistance to Poisoning by Sodium Fluoroacetate (Compound 1080) in Australian Wildlife. In Australia agricultural conservation activities worth billions of dollars are protected by using sodium fluoroacetate (1080) against pest animals. Target species are Australian rabbits and foxes and New Zealand brushtail possums. Prolonged use of biocontrol agents causes genetic resistance. This occurs naturally in Western Australia in native animals living in areas with high levels of 1080 in native plants. As part of the Kangaroo Genome project our aim is to discover the genomic basis of this resistance. The outcomes will be improved ability to manage pest animal populations and understanding of the evolution of plant-animal interactions.Read moreRead less