Structural and molecular studies of endocrine disruption in Australia fauna. Contamination of waterways with compounds that disrupt hormone (endocrine) function is a major environmental problem and threat to the health and fertility of animals. Specifically, we lack an understanding of how these potent endocrine disrupting compounds function in native species. Using an innovative combination of structural and molecular biology approaches we will elucidate the mechanisms of action of environmenta ....Structural and molecular studies of endocrine disruption in Australia fauna. Contamination of waterways with compounds that disrupt hormone (endocrine) function is a major environmental problem and threat to the health and fertility of animals. Specifically, we lack an understanding of how these potent endocrine disrupting compounds function in native species. Using an innovative combination of structural and molecular biology approaches we will elucidate the mechanisms of action of environmental endocrine disrupting compounds in native aquatic species - model fish and the platypus; and develop novel technologies for their detection. This work will provide an understanding of the environmental threat of these pollutants to our unique wildlife and will guide future waterway management. Read moreRead less
Hidden complexity in microRNA function. This project aims to determine the extent to which microRNAs function through “non-canonical” mechanisms within cell nuclei, how their roles are expanded by naturally occurring sequence variation and how their activity is controlled by little known families of genes that sequester and inhibit their availability. The knowledge generated is significant as microRNAs regulate the expression of virtually all genes and biological processes, yet these mechanisms ....Hidden complexity in microRNA function. This project aims to determine the extent to which microRNAs function through “non-canonical” mechanisms within cell nuclei, how their roles are expanded by naturally occurring sequence variation and how their activity is controlled by little known families of genes that sequester and inhibit their availability. The knowledge generated is significant as microRNAs regulate the expression of virtually all genes and biological processes, yet these mechanisms of function remain poorly characterised and seldom considered. The expected outcome of better understanding mechanisms through which microRNAs work should provide significant benefit to safe and effective development of microRNAs for future agricultural or therapeutic application.Read moreRead less
Saving seagrass from climate change. This research aims to test whether seagrass ecosystems can be safeguarded from climate change impacts by enhancing genetic connectivity in range edge populations using novel genetic rescue approaches. We will use the range edge seagrass meadows of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shark Bay as our model, which was significantly impacted by a marine heat wave in 2010/2011. The project will generate new knowledge on how seagrasses can adapt and survive in situ. ....Saving seagrass from climate change. This research aims to test whether seagrass ecosystems can be safeguarded from climate change impacts by enhancing genetic connectivity in range edge populations using novel genetic rescue approaches. We will use the range edge seagrass meadows of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shark Bay as our model, which was significantly impacted by a marine heat wave in 2010/2011. The project will generate new knowledge on how seagrasses can adapt and survive in situ. Expected outcomes are improved conservation, management and restoration practices for seagrass meadows. This should provide significant benefits for long-term resilience of this economically and culturally significant ecosystem.Read moreRead less
The evolutionary potential of fragmented and declining populations. This project aims to integrate adaptive genomic and epigenomic information from wild, captive and reintroduced populations to identify evolutionary potential across different life-histories and levels of habitat fragmentation. The project will capitalise on knowledge and genomic resources for Australian freshwater fishes, including a natural experiment of evolution. It is expected that the project will address fundamental and ap ....The evolutionary potential of fragmented and declining populations. This project aims to integrate adaptive genomic and epigenomic information from wild, captive and reintroduced populations to identify evolutionary potential across different life-histories and levels of habitat fragmentation. The project will capitalise on knowledge and genomic resources for Australian freshwater fishes, including a natural experiment of evolution. It is expected that the project will address fundamental and applied questions about the adaptive capacity of populations in their natural environment. The outcomes of the project will help evaluate and improve local and ecosystem-level initiatives towards the sustainable management of aquatic biodiversity impacted by human activities. The project will also inform on management of water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Spatio-temporal activation of genes in cells and mice. This project aims to develop novel genetic methods and instrumentation for the local, rapid and reversible activation of genes in cells and mice. This project expects to generate highly innovative light- and sound-based technologies that will permit to study living systems on the gene-level with unprecedented precision. Expected outcomes include new research and technology capacity to broadly address fundamental biological questions and to c ....Spatio-temporal activation of genes in cells and mice. This project aims to develop novel genetic methods and instrumentation for the local, rapid and reversible activation of genes in cells and mice. This project expects to generate highly innovative light- and sound-based technologies that will permit to study living systems on the gene-level with unprecedented precision. Expected outcomes include new research and technology capacity to broadly address fundamental biological questions and to create new applied processes. This project intends to provide significant benefits, such as enhanced knowledge generation, multidisciplinary training opportunities and patentable technologies.Read moreRead less
Development of drought tolerant, high protein legume for arid Australia. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the molecular basis of a non-proteinogenic amino acid toxin accumulation by using genomics and genome editing to produce a non-transgenic, protein rich legume. The significance of the outcomes will be a fundamental understanding of how non-proteinogenic amino acids are metabolised in plants and an inexpensive, high-protein feed for the pork and chicken industries thereby reducing p ....Development of drought tolerant, high protein legume for arid Australia. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the molecular basis of a non-proteinogenic amino acid toxin accumulation by using genomics and genome editing to produce a non-transgenic, protein rich legume. The significance of the outcomes will be a fundamental understanding of how non-proteinogenic amino acids are metabolised in plants and an inexpensive, high-protein feed for the pork and chicken industries thereby reducing production costs and increasing profitability. The outcomes from the research are fundamental knowledge of non-proteinogenic amino acid metabolism and turnkey approach to identify, engineer, test and produce value added crops. The benefits of the research are a multi-purpose crop for Australian crop and animal producers.Read moreRead less
Organisms and Us: How Living Things Help Us To Understand Our World. How do researchers learn from and 'think with' non-human organisms? This project seeks to develop a comprehensive historical and philosophical exploration of the changing roles and understandings of research with organisms in 20th and early 21st century science. Advances in the content and technologies of the biological and biomedical sciences have resulted in new understandings of what we can know and learn from organisms, par ....Organisms and Us: How Living Things Help Us To Understand Our World. How do researchers learn from and 'think with' non-human organisms? This project seeks to develop a comprehensive historical and philosophical exploration of the changing roles and understandings of research with organisms in 20th and early 21st century science. Advances in the content and technologies of the biological and biomedical sciences have resulted in new understandings of what we can know and learn from organisms, particularly with regard to human functioning, health, and well-being, yet we have no integrated scholarship examining these developments across a range of fields. This project seeks to produce useful scholarship relevant for humanities scholars, scientists, clinicians and policy-makers.Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Nanoparticle regulation of DNA replication and repair pathways. This project aims to understand how physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles influence how cells respond with respect to maintenance of their DNA integrity. It will use an innovative set of cross-disciplinary methodologies to link what nanoparticle parameters can lead to a benign fate in the environment. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how our ecosystem can be fundamentally impacted by nanoscale materials. ....Nanoparticle regulation of DNA replication and repair pathways. This project aims to understand how physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles influence how cells respond with respect to maintenance of their DNA integrity. It will use an innovative set of cross-disciplinary methodologies to link what nanoparticle parameters can lead to a benign fate in the environment. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how our ecosystem can be fundamentally impacted by nanoscale materials. The intended outcome of the project is to position Australia as a world leader in the manufacture of environmentally benign, advanced nano-scale materials. This is expected to provide economic benefits for Australian manufacturing while ensuring preservation of environmental health.Read moreRead less
Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworkin ....Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possibleRead moreRead less