Unravelling the biochemical fingerprint of Australian native plants for sustainable farm forestry and other applications. Dryland salinity is an issue of national significance due to its impact on primary industries which contribute billions of dollars to our economy. However, millions of hectares of arable land are now affected by salinity, with devastating effects on crops, native plants, water quality and wildlife. This project works with the rural community and exploits the unique gene poo ....Unravelling the biochemical fingerprint of Australian native plants for sustainable farm forestry and other applications. Dryland salinity is an issue of national significance due to its impact on primary industries which contribute billions of dollars to our economy. However, millions of hectares of arable land are now affected by salinity, with devastating effects on crops, native plants, water quality and wildlife. This project works with the rural community and exploits the unique gene pool of certain Australian salinity-tolerant plants for environmental benefits (revegetation, salinity control) and simultaneous economic returns through using these for timber and perennial fodder. The project thus addresses the national priorities of preventing the expansion of salinity, putting it to sustainable uses and preserving biodiversity.Read moreRead less
MitoGenomics of Key Pathogens - An International Research Co-operative. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by pr ....MitoGenomics of Key Pathogens - An International Research Co-operative. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by promoting collaborative research, resulting in a more efficient use of resources in a national and international context; (4) to enhance the skills-base in biology and biotechnology; (5) to substantially increase global visibility through quality research, leading to an increased investment in Australian science.Read moreRead less
Old genes learning new tricks: characterising regulatory changes driving increased heart complexity during vertebrate evolution. The heart has dramatically increased in morphological complexity during vertebrate evolution but the molecular basis driving these major changes remains unknown. Using comparative genomics approaches, this project will explore changes in the regulation of genes involved in heart formation that lead to changes in cardiac structure. It will elucidate for the first time t ....Old genes learning new tricks: characterising regulatory changes driving increased heart complexity during vertebrate evolution. The heart has dramatically increased in morphological complexity during vertebrate evolution but the molecular basis driving these major changes remains unknown. Using comparative genomics approaches, this project will explore changes in the regulation of genes involved in heart formation that lead to changes in cardiac structure. It will elucidate for the first time the cardiac regulatory repertoire in zebrafish and will compare it with that of fly and mouse using cutting-edge bioinformatics pipelines. This work will unravel cardiac-specific regulatory modifications that give rise to evolutionary changes. On a broader scale, it will shed new light on the role of regulatory innovations over gene innovations in the emergence of new traits.Read moreRead less
Developing the Dunnart as a Model Species for Marsupial Research. The project aims to develop a marsupial model capable of genome manipulations to take our understanding of marsupial biology to the next level. In doing so, the project would produce the first comprehensive transcriptome data defining early cell lineage specification in a marsupial. Combined with similar data from mouse and human, it would enable us to examine diversity in early mammals. In addition, it would identify cohorts of g ....Developing the Dunnart as a Model Species for Marsupial Research. The project aims to develop a marsupial model capable of genome manipulations to take our understanding of marsupial biology to the next level. In doing so, the project would produce the first comprehensive transcriptome data defining early cell lineage specification in a marsupial. Combined with similar data from mouse and human, it would enable us to examine diversity in early mammals. In addition, it would identify cohorts of genes with fundamental roles in differentiation of the earliest cell lineages: trophoblast, pluriblast and hypoblast. The project may identify maternally localised transcripts with a marsupial-specific role in trophoblast–pluriblast specification, giving new insights into the fundamental pathways maintaining pluripotency in mammals and the evolution of the mammalian genome.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre for Kangaroo Genome. In this Australian-led Kangaroo Genome Project, we will map and characterize the tammar wallaby genome at the molecular level. Marsupial genomes are uniquely valuable because they provide comparisons that reveal new human genes, regulatory sequences and marsupial-specific genes. These will deliver new products and information useful for medicine, industry, agriculture and conservation. We will construct integrated genetic and physical maps of the genome, clone the ....ARC Centre for Kangaroo Genome. In this Australian-led Kangaroo Genome Project, we will map and characterize the tammar wallaby genome at the molecular level. Marsupial genomes are uniquely valuable because they provide comparisons that reveal new human genes, regulatory sequences and marsupial-specific genes. These will deliver new products and information useful for medicine, industry, agriculture and conservation. We will construct integrated genetic and physical maps of the genome, clone the whole genome as large inserts in BAC vectors, and build a "golden path" with minimal overlap. We will construct libraries of expressed genes from tammar tissues and array them for use in analysing gene expression.Read moreRead less
Development of molecular markers for resistance to blackleg disease (Leptosphaeria maculans) in canola. Canola (Brassica napus) is a valuable oil seed crop grown in many parts of the world and contributes annually $A450 million to the Australian economy. The overall aim of this project is to develop molecular markers for blackleg resistance using Australian germplasm along with evaluation in Australian disease nurseries which are regarded worlwide to develop the highest levels of disease pressu ....Development of molecular markers for resistance to blackleg disease (Leptosphaeria maculans) in canola. Canola (Brassica napus) is a valuable oil seed crop grown in many parts of the world and contributes annually $A450 million to the Australian economy. The overall aim of this project is to develop molecular markers for blackleg resistance using Australian germplasm along with evaluation in Australian disease nurseries which are regarded worlwide to develop the highest levels of disease pressure. Once molecular marker systems are developed and evaluated, they will be applied to facilitate the selection of Nugrain's (Industry Partner) canola breeding programs. Any molecular markers and QTL developed for Australian cultivars would find commercial application in breeding programmes.Read moreRead less
Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A b ....Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A better understanding of gene regulation in malaria parasites will help us to better combat the tricks utilised by this and other organisms to elude our immune systems.Read moreRead less
Statistical methods for detection of non-coding RNAs in eukaryote genomes. Understanding how eukaryotic cells work is a major goal of 21st century biology. A crucial step will be to catalogue the functional components of eukaryotic genomes. Australian researchers must be involved in this process at an early stage, in order to maximise commercial opportunities, attract quality researchers and position ourselves for further advances. This project will make major contributions to international effo ....Statistical methods for detection of non-coding RNAs in eukaryote genomes. Understanding how eukaryotic cells work is a major goal of 21st century biology. A crucial step will be to catalogue the functional components of eukaryotic genomes. Australian researchers must be involved in this process at an early stage, in order to maximise commercial opportunities, attract quality researchers and position ourselves for further advances. This project will make major contributions to international efforts in this area, via the development of statistical methods for segmenting genomes, classification of those segments, and study of the resulting classes. In the long term, enhanced understanding of eukaryotic cells will lead to breakthroughs in biology, and to medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and scientific advances.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of Genes involved in Secondary Metabolism in the Blackleg Pathogen of Canola. Blackleg caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans is the major disease of canola. In spite of the economic importance of this fungus, little is known about its metabolic pathways, its genes and how they are organised. We have sequenced a large piece of L. maculans DNA comprising eight genes, including a regulatory gene and one that may be may be involved in producing secondary metabolites such as ....Characterisation of Genes involved in Secondary Metabolism in the Blackleg Pathogen of Canola. Blackleg caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans is the major disease of canola. In spite of the economic importance of this fungus, little is known about its metabolic pathways, its genes and how they are organised. We have sequenced a large piece of L. maculans DNA comprising eight genes, including a regulatory gene and one that may be may be involved in producing secondary metabolites such as phytotoxins. We will determine the role of these genes in metabolism and the disease process, thus providing insights into secondary metabolism and gene regulation in this important plant pathogen.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$255,000.00
Summary
Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement p ....Robotics for plant genomics: Increasing throughput in plant genetic analyses. Plant genomics has direct benefit to crop improvement, especially as focussed in the applicants' laboratories. Thus, the Australian agri-food sector will benefit substantially from the acceleration in plant functional genomics that will arise from the installation of the robotics equipment described in the current application, by both underpinning more applied research and also being used directly in crop improvement programs such as are based at the Waite Campus. The outputs will include crops with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, a reduced dependence on chemical inputs such as fertilisers and improved food quality, with consequent benefits to the environment and human health and nutrition.Read moreRead less