Discovery of novel microRNA biogenesis and functional components. Discovery of novel microRNA components will provide new strategies for confronting a diverse array of challenges Australia faces, such as the increasing rates of certain cancers in our population, to stresses on our crop plants faced with environmental changes. The biological mechanisms underlying these disparate problems are unified by microRNA involvement in many instances. By finding microRNA controlling factors common to all h ....Discovery of novel microRNA biogenesis and functional components. Discovery of novel microRNA components will provide new strategies for confronting a diverse array of challenges Australia faces, such as the increasing rates of certain cancers in our population, to stresses on our crop plants faced with environmental changes. The biological mechanisms underlying these disparate problems are unified by microRNA involvement in many instances. By finding microRNA controlling factors common to all higher organisms, we expect our community will benefit from the increased knowledge base that will help our researchers adopt new strategies in fighting diseases and improving our agricultural industry.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668507
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,000.00
Summary
Real time PCR and nanoparticle diagnostic facilities for high-throughput quantitative analysis of genomic structure and gene expression. Modern molecular tools have lead to an explosion in genome projects and unification of all areas of biology. The most basic need for such research is access to improving technologies for detecting DNA fingerprints that distinguish genetically-diverse genes, and determining which genes are "switched on" or 'off' in various situations. Real time PCR technology, ....Real time PCR and nanoparticle diagnostic facilities for high-throughput quantitative analysis of genomic structure and gene expression. Modern molecular tools have lead to an explosion in genome projects and unification of all areas of biology. The most basic need for such research is access to improving technologies for detecting DNA fingerprints that distinguish genetically-diverse genes, and determining which genes are "switched on" or 'off' in various situations. Real time PCR technology, pioneered by The University of Queensland (UQ) and Southern Cross University (SCU) using ARC funding in 1996, is now the technology of choice for much of this research. This project will provide high-throughput equipment for real time PCR, and will develop complementary high-throughput "nanoparticle" DNA genotyping technologies, with applications to medicine and agriculture.
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Regulation of Plant Development by Small RNAs. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a new field of research that is giving, and will continue to give profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The pro ....Regulation of Plant Development by Small RNAs. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a new field of research that is giving, and will continue to give profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The project will yield insights into fundamental biological processes which are expected to engender applications in agriculture and biotechnology. It will maintain and enhance Australia's position in this area.Read moreRead less
Small RNAs: what makes a plant, a plant. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a young field of research that is giving, and will continue to give, profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The projec ....Small RNAs: what makes a plant, a plant. Understanding the roles of small RNAs and their pathways is a young field of research that is giving, and will continue to give, profound insights into how multicellular organisms regulate gene expression at a genomic level. Research in this area has already led to RNA interference technology, by which almost any gene can be switched off, and there is considerable potential for other gene silencing and trait modification technologies to emerge. The project will yield insights into fundamental biological processes which are expected to engender applications in agriculture and biotechnology. It will maintain and enhance Australia's position in this area.Read moreRead less
CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule developmen ....CENTRE for INTEGRATIVE LEGUME RESEARCH. Legumes are essential for environmental sustainability and are important for maintaining human health. The Centre combines innovative genomic approaches to investigate the causal phenotypic links required for regulation of legume growth. The unique coexistence of multiple pluripotent meristems in shoots, roots, flowers and nodules permits the discovery of new paradigms governing legume architecture, reproductive differentiation and root-nodule development. New knowledge of the plant growth processes through mechanistic analysis of organ induction provides the tools to optimise the legume's productivity, quality, and environment adaptation.Read moreRead less
Does developmental noise have an epigenetic basis? One's ultimate phenotype is the result of a combination of genotype and environment, and includes a poorly understood component termed ?developmental noise?. The molecular basis of developmental noise remains unknown, but it appears to be established in early development and to be retained for the life of the organism. We propose that the molecular basis of developmental noise is the epigenetic state of the genome. The stochastic nature of th ....Does developmental noise have an epigenetic basis? One's ultimate phenotype is the result of a combination of genotype and environment, and includes a poorly understood component termed ?developmental noise?. The molecular basis of developmental noise remains unknown, but it appears to be established in early development and to be retained for the life of the organism. We propose that the molecular basis of developmental noise is the epigenetic state of the genome. The stochastic nature of the establishment of epigenetic state, combined with its heritability during mitosis, provides all the essential components for developmental noise. If our hypothesis proves correct, our work will have a major impact on the understanding of one of the most basic concepts in genetics.Read moreRead less
Structure and function of a new class of multi-zinc finger (MZF) transcriptional regulators. An understanding of how genes are switched on and off during the development and lifetime of an organism is central to developing the ability to fight many diseases in a rational way. This project will advance our knowledge in this area at a fundamental molecular level by examining the mechanisms through which a specific set of proteins controls gene expression.
The Cape honey bee and the origins of virgin birth. Using honeybees, the aim is to show how a mutation in a single gene creates a new species. This gene causes a shift from sexual to asexual reproduction, allowing workers to clone themselves (virgin birth), thus turning a formerly cooperative species into a social cancer. Observing a real-time speciation event driven by a single gene is an incredibly rare opportunity and enables this project to determine the socio-genetic mechanisms that reduce ....The Cape honey bee and the origins of virgin birth. Using honeybees, the aim is to show how a mutation in a single gene creates a new species. This gene causes a shift from sexual to asexual reproduction, allowing workers to clone themselves (virgin birth), thus turning a formerly cooperative species into a social cancer. Observing a real-time speciation event driven by a single gene is an incredibly rare opportunity and enables this project to determine the socio-genetic mechanisms that reduce gene flow between neighbouring populations and to explain how expression of the gene is regulated. Further, because clonal reproduction often leads to invasiveness in social insects - a dangerous outcome - understanding the origins of virgin birth is also critical to understanding invasiveness.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452392
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$155,645.00
Summary
Australian Robotic Biobank Facility. The Australian Robotic Biobank Facility is envisaged as the national DNA extraction centre for generating archival-quality DNA. It will integrate with the existing Australian Plant DNA Bank to accelerate scientific discovery in biodiversity conservation and plant genetic improvement. The facility will augment Southern Cross University's extensive research collaborations with other Australian universities, institutions and agencies. It will provide the funda ....Australian Robotic Biobank Facility. The Australian Robotic Biobank Facility is envisaged as the national DNA extraction centre for generating archival-quality DNA. It will integrate with the existing Australian Plant DNA Bank to accelerate scientific discovery in biodiversity conservation and plant genetic improvement. The facility will augment Southern Cross University's extensive research collaborations with other Australian universities, institutions and agencies. It will provide the fundamental infrastructure to support research aimed at sustainable utilization and conservation management of Australia's genetic resources. The unique capacity to provide high quality archived DNA will be made possible by the precision instrumentation platform of the Australian Robotic Biobank Facility.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100111
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$475,000.00
Summary
Expanding the Genomic Frontier - from Species to Strains and Individuals to Populations. Expanding the genomic frontier from species to strains and individuals to populations: The Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis, a consortium of five universities, provides a large number of genomics and transcriptomics analyses. This project will establish an Ion Proton semiconductor-based sequencer and iScan platform to facilitate research breakthroughs in genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, an ....Expanding the Genomic Frontier - from Species to Strains and Individuals to Populations. Expanding the genomic frontier from species to strains and individuals to populations: The Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis, a consortium of five universities, provides a large number of genomics and transcriptomics analyses. This project will establish an Ion Proton semiconductor-based sequencer and iScan platform to facilitate research breakthroughs in genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and SNP analysis. Cell screening technology will also be established to allow the rapid analysis of cells of interest, prior to genomic / transcriptomic analysis. The increased data output, and concomitant reduction in analysis cost on the new platforms, will expand the genomics frontier, allowing researchers to fully analyse many strains from a single-celled species or many individuals from a population.Read moreRead less