Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the p ....Defining domains within Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface proteins that interact with host extracellular matrix: efficacy testing of candidate vaccines in swine. Over 90% of Australian commercial pig production facilities are affected by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of swine enzootic pneumonia. This disease causes economic losses in Australia of over $20 million per annum and up to $1 billion per annum in major swine rearing countries worldwide. This project will determine the protective efficacy of new generation vaccines against M. hyopneumoniae, which aim to block the colonisation process and prevent disease .Read moreRead less
Identification and characterisation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface-molecules that interact with the host epithelium. Mycoplasma hyponeumoniae causes porcine enzootic pneumonia, a disease that significantly impacts swine production. Current vaccines are unable to prevent colonisation of the respiratory tract and are costly to produce and administer. The expression of microbial adhesins that mediate adherence to the extracellular matrix is considered the initial step in host colonisation for ....Identification and characterisation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae surface-molecules that interact with the host epithelium. Mycoplasma hyponeumoniae causes porcine enzootic pneumonia, a disease that significantly impacts swine production. Current vaccines are unable to prevent colonisation of the respiratory tract and are costly to produce and administer. The expression of microbial adhesins that mediate adherence to the extracellular matrix is considered the initial step in host colonisation for many bacterial pathogens. We propose to identify M. hyopneumoniae cell surface moleculaes that interact with components of the extracellular matrix. Targetting these cell surface molecules will lead to therapeutics that prevent disease and block colonisation, eventually eradicating the host pathogen from pig production facilities.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms and management of inducible tolerance to synthetic insecticides and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-formulations in Australian populations of diamondback moth. Insects have a cunning ability to respond to damaging environments by evolving genetic resistance or mobilising metabolic tolerance mechanisms. Recent observations of inducible tolerance to synthetic and biopesticides, which can be transmitted to offspring by a maternal effect has the potential to cause ecological and economic prob ....Mechanisms and management of inducible tolerance to synthetic insecticides and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-formulations in Australian populations of diamondback moth. Insects have a cunning ability to respond to damaging environments by evolving genetic resistance or mobilising metabolic tolerance mechanisms. Recent observations of inducible tolerance to synthetic and biopesticides, which can be transmitted to offspring by a maternal effect has the potential to cause ecological and economic problems in agricultural production. We will use field-collected Diamondback moth (DBM), a major insect pest in canola and brassica vegetable crops, to investigate the genetic implications of inducible tolerance for the integrated management of DBM and for the design of new resistance management strategies.Read moreRead less
Proteomics and vaccine development in swine dysentery. Swine dysentery is an infectious disease of significant economic importance caused by Brachyspira hyodysenteriae. There is no effective vaccine available. This project will combine modern techniques in microbial genomics and proteomics to identify outer membrane proteins of B. hyodysenteriae and evaluate their role as candidate vaccine antigens.
Nucleolus targeting by negative strand RNA viruses. Negative strand viruses (NSVs) include diverse animal pathogens that represent significant threats to Australian livestock industries and access to export markets. The project aims to investigate the interface formed by NSVs with cellular nucleoli in order to determine roles in viral manipulation of cell biology during infection. This project hopes to address a major gap in knowledge in virology regarding the fundamental biology of NSVs, and is ....Nucleolus targeting by negative strand RNA viruses. Negative strand viruses (NSVs) include diverse animal pathogens that represent significant threats to Australian livestock industries and access to export markets. The project aims to investigate the interface formed by NSVs with cellular nucleoli in order to determine roles in viral manipulation of cell biology during infection. This project hopes to address a major gap in knowledge in virology regarding the fundamental biology of NSVs, and is expected to redefine our understanding of the virus-host interactions formed by these important pathogens. By determining the mechanisms of NSV-nucleolus interaction, the project plans to also provide important information for the development of new vaccines/therapeutics for livestock to combat NSVs that target nucleoli.Read moreRead less
A novel approach to fighting fungal infections: targeted disruption of hydrophobin monolayers. Fungal infestations of important crops such as cotton cause large economic losses to Australian agriculture while in the medical sector, fungal infections are responsible for high levels of mortality in immunocompromised patients. Our research will provide a new approach to fighting fungal infections by targeting the hydrophobin proteins, which form a robust coating on fungal aerial structures, such as ....A novel approach to fighting fungal infections: targeted disruption of hydrophobin monolayers. Fungal infestations of important crops such as cotton cause large economic losses to Australian agriculture while in the medical sector, fungal infections are responsible for high levels of mortality in immunocompromised patients. Our research will provide a new approach to fighting fungal infections by targeting the hydrophobin proteins, which form a robust coating on fungal aerial structures, such as spores. This layer is critical for fungal growth and reproduction and confers water resistance and tolerance to harsh conditions. Our work seeks to develop reagents that can specifically block regions on the protein that are responsible for forming this coating.
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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
Biogenesis of secretory organelles and the function of adhesins secreted during the establishment of plant disease. Many agriculturally important crops and Australian native plants are susceptible to diseases caused by species of Phytophthora, a fungus-like organism that lives in the soil. Economic losses due to Phytophthora diseases are estimated to exceed $200 million per annum and the scale of environmental damage in natural ecosystems is huge. Currently, control of Phytophthora diseases la ....Biogenesis of secretory organelles and the function of adhesins secreted during the establishment of plant disease. Many agriculturally important crops and Australian native plants are susceptible to diseases caused by species of Phytophthora, a fungus-like organism that lives in the soil. Economic losses due to Phytophthora diseases are estimated to exceed $200 million per annum and the scale of environmental damage in natural ecosystems is huge. Currently, control of Phytophthora diseases largely depends on a very small number of effective chemicals and there is an imminent risk of the development of pathogen resistance. This research will increase our understanding of how Phytophthora spores infect host plants and will identify suitable targets for the development of novel, environmentally safe chemicals that inhibit disease development.Read moreRead less
Subspecies distribution and virulence of Streptococcus uberis. Streptococcus uberis is a significant cause of bovine mastitis. Attempts to produce a successful vaccine against S. uberis have been hampered by the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships within the species and virulence mechanisms. It is uncertain whether pathogenic strains are clonal or are acquired opportunistically from a diverse population in the environment. This project aims to examine the phylogenetic structure of ....Subspecies distribution and virulence of Streptococcus uberis. Streptococcus uberis is a significant cause of bovine mastitis. Attempts to produce a successful vaccine against S. uberis have been hampered by the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships within the species and virulence mechanisms. It is uncertain whether pathogenic strains are clonal or are acquired opportunistically from a diverse population in the environment. This project aims to examine the phylogenetic structure of S. uberis by multilocus sequence typing and investigate control of virulence gene expression in S. uberis. The information obtained will be used to improve the formulation of a bovine mastitis vaccine developed by RMIT University and Vet Biosearch.Read moreRead less
In-Vitro Production of Baculovirus Biopesticides - A Systems Biology Approach. This project has the potential to develop an in-vitro production process that can produce large quantities of Baculoviruses at costs comparable to selective chemicals. This could transform agriculture allowing farmers to choose an insect control option that is both safe and efficacious to use as well as economically and environmentally superior to chemicals, and less controversial than transgenic plants. This outcome ....In-Vitro Production of Baculovirus Biopesticides - A Systems Biology Approach. This project has the potential to develop an in-vitro production process that can produce large quantities of Baculoviruses at costs comparable to selective chemicals. This could transform agriculture allowing farmers to choose an insect control option that is both safe and efficacious to use as well as economically and environmentally superior to chemicals, and less controversial than transgenic plants. This outcome would enhance Australia's reputation in the animal cell technology field (related technology is used to produce protein pharmaceutical products), and will earn significant export dollars through licensing out of the technology or through large scale manufacturing and export of the product itself. Read moreRead less