Regulated muscle-based thermogenesis for body temperature regulation. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the skeletal muscles that are closer to the body core contribute the majority of heat, how the muscles of the limbs have their heat generation curtailed as necessary, and how this is coordinated by the body in response to ambient temperature. Project out ....Regulated muscle-based thermogenesis for body temperature regulation. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the skeletal muscles that are closer to the body core contribute the majority of heat, how the muscles of the limbs have their heat generation curtailed as necessary, and how this is coordinated by the body in response to ambient temperature. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles of the body is regulated. This should provide critical knowledge of mammalian evolution and ways to manipulate metabolism, which may provide ways to assist the production of meat by managing hypothermia and hyperthermia risk in agriculture.Read moreRead less
Sarcoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial functional interactions in muscle. Muscle in the body of animals and human has the ability to adapt to stress placed on it, to improve performance. This allows new physical tasks that have been unfamiliar to become easier. One form of stress on the muscle is the demand to work longer without fatigue. This can be important for animal survival or athletes training for sport. A single session of intense muscle contractions can lead to the muscle increasing its c ....Sarcoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial functional interactions in muscle. Muscle in the body of animals and human has the ability to adapt to stress placed on it, to improve performance. This allows new physical tasks that have been unfamiliar to become easier. One form of stress on the muscle is the demand to work longer without fatigue. This can be important for animal survival or athletes training for sport. A single session of intense muscle contractions can lead to the muscle increasing its capacity for endurance within 24 hrs. This project aims to examine this phenomenon in animals and human to decipher the mechanism involved in the beneficial muscle changes experienced in such a brief time. It will provide benefits such as the potential to manipulate human muscle condition and animal muscle (meat) quality.Read moreRead less
Heat regulation by the fibre types in muscle. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the fibre types that make up skeletal muscles regulate heat generation against other muscle function, to maintain core body temperature and the normal movement and posture of the mammal. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles o ....Heat regulation by the fibre types in muscle. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the fibre types that make up skeletal muscles regulate heat generation against other muscle function, to maintain core body temperature and the normal movement and posture of the mammal. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles of the body is regulated. This should provide critical knowledge of mammalian evolution and ways to manipulate metabolism, which may provide ways to assist with achieving a desired meat quality and yield in beef and other commercially important animals.Read moreRead less
Interrogating the extremes of skeletal muscle plasticity in vertebrates. This project aims to interrogate how muscles adapt to growth and endurance stimuli at different stages of life, relevant to addressing challenges facing the world’s ageing population. Using innovative gene technologies and molecular physiology in zebrafish and mice, this project will answer important, unresolved questions in muscle biology. The project will generate knowledge needed to develop interventions to improve quali ....Interrogating the extremes of skeletal muscle plasticity in vertebrates. This project aims to interrogate how muscles adapt to growth and endurance stimuli at different stages of life, relevant to addressing challenges facing the world’s ageing population. Using innovative gene technologies and molecular physiology in zebrafish and mice, this project will answer important, unresolved questions in muscle biology. The project will generate knowledge needed to develop interventions to improve quality of life for older Australians and address the physical realities of an ageing workforce. Benefits extend to enhancing workplace safety and productivity, improving farming efficiencies for livestock and aquaculture industries, and training emerging leaders in the biological sciences.Read moreRead less
Glucocorticoid receptor-αD1 modulates stress and inflammation . Environmental stressors in mammalian pregnancy often cause inflammation in the mother which has an adverse effect on the fetus and its survival. The current grant aims to examine the mechanism by which stress and inflammation coexist in pregnancy because stress hormones normally exert anti-inflammatory actions. Contrary to convention, a new glucocorticoid receptor (GR), GRalpha D1, is linked to increasing inflammation. Using innova ....Glucocorticoid receptor-αD1 modulates stress and inflammation . Environmental stressors in mammalian pregnancy often cause inflammation in the mother which has an adverse effect on the fetus and its survival. The current grant aims to examine the mechanism by which stress and inflammation coexist in pregnancy because stress hormones normally exert anti-inflammatory actions. Contrary to convention, a new glucocorticoid receptor (GR), GRalpha D1, is linked to increasing inflammation. Using innovative molecular biology approaches, GRalphaD1's function will be examined to provide a deeper understanding of how stress regulates inflammation in animal reproduction. The project aims to enhance interdisciplinary collaborations with expected benefits including a paradigm shift in our knowledge in this field.Read moreRead less
Understanding how an old heart gets stiff. Aging is accompanied by a stiffening of the heart and reduced function, which is accelerated by cardiovascular disease and leads to heart failure. How the heart stiffens is poorly understood. A new mechanism is proposed here, involving structural membrane proteins (termed caveolae and cavins) and a signalling molecule (nitric oxide). The current research aims to unravel the interplay between cardiac cells and these proteins/signals to cause stiffness an ....Understanding how an old heart gets stiff. Aging is accompanied by a stiffening of the heart and reduced function, which is accelerated by cardiovascular disease and leads to heart failure. How the heart stiffens is poorly understood. A new mechanism is proposed here, involving structural membrane proteins (termed caveolae and cavins) and a signalling molecule (nitric oxide). The current research aims to unravel the interplay between cardiac cells and these proteins/signals to cause stiffness and to determine whether this process governs normal aging of the heart. This work will advance understanding of how heart function is determined and reveal how the human heart changes with normal aging. Read moreRead less
Mapping and defining inter-organ cross talk during exercise. This project aims to examine precisely how organs communicate and interact. These interactions are particularly important during exercise, when continued movement demands intricate organ communication, and have major ramifications for the whole organism as it ages. Precisely how this communication takes place is unclear, but we now know that the movement of cargo with extracellular vesicles (EVs) plays an integral role in organ to orga ....Mapping and defining inter-organ cross talk during exercise. This project aims to examine precisely how organs communicate and interact. These interactions are particularly important during exercise, when continued movement demands intricate organ communication, and have major ramifications for the whole organism as it ages. Precisely how this communication takes place is unclear, but we now know that the movement of cargo with extracellular vesicles (EVs) plays an integral role in organ to organ communication. This project expects to build upon unprecedented recent developments we have made in the biology of inter-organ communication via EVs. The expected outcomes will have broad impact across life science and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations t ....Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations that optimise plant yield and fitness will be defined and explored in other, more complex, cereals such as wheat. Expected outcomes will be fundamental breakthroughs in understanding how plants respond to, and buffer, the effects of heat to lead to translational breeding strategies that bolster grain yield.Read moreRead less
Imaging the foundation of the nervous system. This Project aims to understand the formation of the neural tube; a fundamental tissue structure that generates the brain and the spinal cord. Using interdisciplinary approaches and exploiting recent advances in transgenic and imaging technologies, the Project expects to reveal the complex interplay of molecular, cellular and mechanical processes that direct neural tissue formation and cell fate specification. Outcomes from the Project include knowle ....Imaging the foundation of the nervous system. This Project aims to understand the formation of the neural tube; a fundamental tissue structure that generates the brain and the spinal cord. Using interdisciplinary approaches and exploiting recent advances in transgenic and imaging technologies, the Project expects to reveal the complex interplay of molecular, cellular and mechanical processes that direct neural tissue formation and cell fate specification. Outcomes from the Project include knowledge of previously intractable developmental processes, training of future scientists and development of international collaborations. This should provide enhanced imaging capacity, a higher quality scientific workforce and position Australia at the forefront of developmental biology.
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Molecular dissection of systemic regulation of nodulation in legumes. This project aims to discover and characterise critical new factors that control legume nodule numbers. Legume plants can increase crop productivity and improve agricultural sustainability by forming specialised root nodules that house nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria. The project will use a multidisciplinary approach to identify the elusive Shoot Derived Inhibitor molecule and define its interaction with novel genes, microRN ....Molecular dissection of systemic regulation of nodulation in legumes. This project aims to discover and characterise critical new factors that control legume nodule numbers. Legume plants can increase crop productivity and improve agricultural sustainability by forming specialised root nodules that house nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria. The project will use a multidisciplinary approach to identify the elusive Shoot Derived Inhibitor molecule and define its interaction with novel genes, microRNAs and phytohormones in nodulation control. Findings will considerably enhance the current nodulation models and will benefit strategies to generate new compounds and crop varieties that mitigate fertiliser requirements, improve soil conditions and increase food security.Read moreRead less