Targeted isolation of specific marine bacterial species associated with higher organsims for the purpose of discovering new antimicrobial compounds. Specific bacterial species that are commonly found in association with marine plants and animals often produce active secondary metabolites. The aim of this project is to apply our understanding of these bacterial-host associations to the targeted isolation of novel antimicrobials from the marine environment. While these new compounds will undoubted ....Targeted isolation of specific marine bacterial species associated with higher organsims for the purpose of discovering new antimicrobial compounds. Specific bacterial species that are commonly found in association with marine plants and animals often produce active secondary metabolites. The aim of this project is to apply our understanding of these bacterial-host associations to the targeted isolation of novel antimicrobials from the marine environment. While these new compounds will undoubtedly have a number of commercial applications this project focuses on the development of products for dental hygiene in animals. Generally, the urgent need for new antimicrobial compounds to combat the growing number of microbes that are resistant to current antibiotics highlights the importance of this project.Read moreRead less
Phospholipids and kinases as regulators of epithelial sodium channels. The intracellular signalling pathways that will be identified in this project will facilitate the development of novel therapies for the many conditions in which the activity of epithelial sodium channels is abnormal. These include influenza, otitis media, high blood pressure and cystic fibrosis. It will also provide training for post-doctoral fellows and research students in a number of the key techniques in modern cellular ....Phospholipids and kinases as regulators of epithelial sodium channels. The intracellular signalling pathways that will be identified in this project will facilitate the development of novel therapies for the many conditions in which the activity of epithelial sodium channels is abnormal. These include influenza, otitis media, high blood pressure and cystic fibrosis. It will also provide training for post-doctoral fellows and research students in a number of the key techniques in modern cellular physiology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560657
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$740,000.00
Summary
Ultra-High Resolution NMR Imaging System for Nanotechnology including Nanobiotechnology. The ultra-high resolution imaging NMR spectrometer at the centre of this application is a generation ahead of comparable facilities in Australia and will extend the research capacity of numerous research groups comprising in excess of 50 academics and postgraduate students. The aims and significance of this infrastructure lie in it being one of the centrepieces of the partner institutions' aspirations to tak ....Ultra-High Resolution NMR Imaging System for Nanotechnology including Nanobiotechnology. The ultra-high resolution imaging NMR spectrometer at the centre of this application is a generation ahead of comparable facilities in Australia and will extend the research capacity of numerous research groups comprising in excess of 50 academics and postgraduate students. The aims and significance of this infrastructure lie in it being one of the centrepieces of the partner institutions' aspirations to take Australia to the cutting edge of nanotechnology and cognate disciplines many of which are areas of national priority. The expected manifold outcomes include research of the highest rank into fundamental problems of drug development through to applied outcomes such as new nanomaterials and improved horticulture/fruit preservation.Read moreRead less
Nanoprobe and Microprobe Structural and Spectroscopic Studies in Biomedical Research. Breakthrough microprobe and nanoprobe technologies, involving X-ray, visible and infrared light can focus into different components of mammalian cells in order to interrogate the biochemistry that is occurring therein. Each of the different wavelengths of light provides complementary biochemical information that enables multi-layered information on changes in cells that occur as a function of drug treatments a ....Nanoprobe and Microprobe Structural and Spectroscopic Studies in Biomedical Research. Breakthrough microprobe and nanoprobe technologies, involving X-ray, visible and infrared light can focus into different components of mammalian cells in order to interrogate the biochemistry that is occurring therein. Each of the different wavelengths of light provides complementary biochemical information that enables multi-layered information on changes in cells that occur as a function of drug treatments and disease processes. This will provide unprecedented information as to where drugs go and how they are transformed inside cells that, in turn, may revolutionalise the way in which new drugs are designed that have higher specificity and lower side effects.Read moreRead less
Novel kinases: How do they regulate epithelial ion transport, and what is their role in epithelial function? The project will produce the knowledge of fundamental physiology that will lead to novel approaches for treating respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and cystic fibrosis, as well as for the accumulation of fluid in the lungs and abdomen that accompany many advanced malignancies. It thus has the potential to have a significant economic and social impact in Australia and internation ....Novel kinases: How do they regulate epithelial ion transport, and what is their role in epithelial function? The project will produce the knowledge of fundamental physiology that will lead to novel approaches for treating respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and cystic fibrosis, as well as for the accumulation of fluid in the lungs and abdomen that accompany many advanced malignancies. It thus has the potential to have a significant economic and social impact in Australia and internationally. Furthermore, it will provide advanced training in research methods to Australian scientists, equipping them to undertake challenging and interesting positions in the medical and life sciences and beyond.Read moreRead less
Allosteric regulation, molecular structure and function of transglutaminase 2. With Australia's ageing population, we can expect to see increasing prevalence of pathologies such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and cataracts. The ubiquitous enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has been implicated in all of these age-related diseases, as well as in chronic disorders such as coeliac disease and diabetes, and may contribute in a positive way to wound healing. Understanding how TG2 is activated and inac ....Allosteric regulation, molecular structure and function of transglutaminase 2. With Australia's ageing population, we can expect to see increasing prevalence of pathologies such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and cataracts. The ubiquitous enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has been implicated in all of these age-related diseases, as well as in chronic disorders such as coeliac disease and diabetes, and may contribute in a positive way to wound healing. Understanding how TG2 is activated and inactivated, and how it selects its targets, will be a critical addition to current knowledge of this enzyme, and will be an essential prerequisite for the development of TG2-targetted drugs and other TG2-related therapies.Read moreRead less
A Unique Target in the Purine Biosynthesis of the Pathogen Helicobacter pylori. The uptake systems of purine and analogues of the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori will be characterised because they can be utilised to introduce cytotoxic compounds into the cells. The first step in de novo purine biosynthesis of the bacterium is catalysed by two different enzymes, which are components of other biosynthetic pathways. These unique properties make them excellent potential therapeutic targets. Their ....A Unique Target in the Purine Biosynthesis of the Pathogen Helicobacter pylori. The uptake systems of purine and analogues of the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori will be characterised because they can be utilised to introduce cytotoxic compounds into the cells. The first step in de novo purine biosynthesis of the bacterium is catalysed by two different enzymes, which are components of other biosynthetic pathways. These unique properties make them excellent potential therapeutic targets. Their individual combined activities in purine biosynthesis will be characterised in situ and in vitro. Isogenic mutants with inactivated genes encoding for these enzymes will be constructed to investigate their role in the survival of the organism.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0561041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$347,358.00
Summary
A New Generation Biosensor and Fluorescence Facility for Proteomics. The complete DNA sequence (the genome) is now known for many organisms and advances are being made to identify the complement of messenger RNA (the transcriptome) and the resultant collection of proteins (the proteome). The genome is largely fixed while the transcriptome and proteome differ between cell types in an organism and constantly vary to adapt the cell to changing conditions. The mediators of these variations are prote ....A New Generation Biosensor and Fluorescence Facility for Proteomics. The complete DNA sequence (the genome) is now known for many organisms and advances are being made to identify the complement of messenger RNA (the transcriptome) and the resultant collection of proteins (the proteome). The genome is largely fixed while the transcriptome and proteome differ between cell types in an organism and constantly vary to adapt the cell to changing conditions. The mediators of these variations are proteins, interacting with each other and with signal molecules. The next frontier in molecular biology is to identify and quantify these protein interactions. Our two institutions have a very large cohort of biologists whose research on proteins would be greatly facilitated by the Biacore 3000 and the ISS K2.Read moreRead less
Biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide toxins in cyanobacteria: A functional characterisation of microcystin synthetase. Microcystins are potent toxins and tumour promoters produced by cyanobacteria associated with blue-green algal blooms. This non-ribosomal peptide is produced by microcystin synthetase, a unique enzyme complex comprised of peptide synthetases, polyketide synthases, and integrated accessory enzymes. We have identified and characterised the extensive gene cluster encoding this enzy ....Biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide toxins in cyanobacteria: A functional characterisation of microcystin synthetase. Microcystins are potent toxins and tumour promoters produced by cyanobacteria associated with blue-green algal blooms. This non-ribosomal peptide is produced by microcystin synthetase, a unique enzyme complex comprised of peptide synthetases, polyketide synthases, and integrated accessory enzymes. We have identified and characterised the extensive gene cluster encoding this enzyme. This project describes the biochemical characterisation of specific enzyme activities within microcystin synthetase and how they determine the final structure and toxicity of the many forms of microcystin. Interactions between this enzyme complex and its substrate amino acids will provide information for the genetic engineering of this and similar natural products.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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