Assessment of past biodiversity through DNA preserved in bulk bone. This project aims to make a unique study of fossils to determine how the composition and biodiversity of ecosystems have changed in response to anthropogenic influences. Fossil bones provide a window through which to study past environments and how they have changed, and the stories these fossils tell can be further enhanced by ancient DNA analyses. This project plans to use bulk bone metabarcoding where hundreds of low-value (f ....Assessment of past biodiversity through DNA preserved in bulk bone. This project aims to make a unique study of fossils to determine how the composition and biodiversity of ecosystems have changed in response to anthropogenic influences. Fossil bones provide a window through which to study past environments and how they have changed, and the stories these fossils tell can be further enhanced by ancient DNA analyses. This project plans to use bulk bone metabarcoding where hundreds of low-value (fragmented) bones are collectively ground together to provide a cost-effective genetic audit of fossil assemblages. Working on bone from across Oceania and south-east Asia, this project aims to provide a historical perspective on biodiversity. Understanding former ecosystem composition and extinction may facilitate effective restoration and conservation initiatives.Read moreRead less
Population dynamics and genetic variation of plants with contrasting fire responses. We combine the traditional concerns of population viability analyses with the modern techniques of DNA fingerprinting for precise genotyping of individual plants and their seeds. We expect major breakthroughs in our understanding of how fire-killed species have survived thousands of years of frequent burning by Aborigines (by identifying seeds dispersed long distances from burnt parents); how paternity of offspr ....Population dynamics and genetic variation of plants with contrasting fire responses. We combine the traditional concerns of population viability analyses with the modern techniques of DNA fingerprinting for precise genotyping of individual plants and their seeds. We expect major breakthroughs in our understanding of how fire-killed species have survived thousands of years of frequent burning by Aborigines (by identifying seeds dispersed long distances from burnt parents); how paternity of offspring changes over the lifespan of plants which retain their seeds for many years; at what age within-plant genetic variation is at a maximum as a guide to optimal fire management; and the extent that deleterious somatic mutations explain low seed set among long-lived species.Read moreRead less
The evolution and conservation consequences of promiscuity in plants pollinated by vertebrates. Pollen dispersal between plants, predominantly by insects and wind, is characteristically restricted to nearest neighbours. Recent molecular analysis of paternity for a Banksia pollinated by nectar-feeding birds showed atypical pollen dispersal, with high multiple paternity, wide outcrossing and local panmixis. With much of the Australian flora also bird-pollinated, our initial results have potentiall ....The evolution and conservation consequences of promiscuity in plants pollinated by vertebrates. Pollen dispersal between plants, predominantly by insects and wind, is characteristically restricted to nearest neighbours. Recent molecular analysis of paternity for a Banksia pollinated by nectar-feeding birds showed atypical pollen dispersal, with high multiple paternity, wide outcrossing and local panmixis. With much of the Australian flora also bird-pollinated, our initial results have potentially wide and novel significance. This project proposes to test the generality of our observations for other vertebrate-pollinated species, and to test the conservation and evolutionary consequences of reduced pollen dispersal caused by habitat fragmentation and declining pollinators for a pollination paradigm facilitating promiscuity.Read moreRead less
Dispersal and persistence of large-seeded forest species under global environmental change. This project investigates how decline of a key seed disperser, the emu, due to global environmental change (fragmentation, fire regime change, human population growth, climate change) affects the persistence and migration potential of endemic SW Australian forest plant species. Results will inform approaches to ecosystem management and conservation
Quantifying long-distance seed dispersal and its role in the metapopulation dynamics of plants with contrasting life histories. This work will contribute to the assessment of best fire-management practices, enabling land managers to compare current fire practices against those required for conservation of genetic resources. Our quantification of Long distance seed dispersal (LDD) among species with different life history attributes will be a major theoretical contribution to the fields of popula ....Quantifying long-distance seed dispersal and its role in the metapopulation dynamics of plants with contrasting life histories. This work will contribute to the assessment of best fire-management practices, enabling land managers to compare current fire practices against those required for conservation of genetic resources. Our quantification of Long distance seed dispersal (LDD) among species with different life history attributes will be a major theoretical contribution to the fields of population ecology and population genetics. LDD is also imperative if species are to survive the major shifts in climate projected under modelled climate change scenarios - species without effective LDD may have a greater probability of extinction due to climate change. Assessing LDD enables quantification of this significant aspect of the threat of climate change to biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Re-engineering the genetic code. Large, high quality libraries of new drugs are absolutely essential resources to find new medicines. However, their use is restricted to a few pharmaceutical giants. We will engineer cells to make a wide variety of drug-like polymers, providing a drug discovery resource accessible to almost any scientific laboratory. As each cell could make a different polymer, billions of different potential drugs could be produced in a single tube. This technology provides an o ....Re-engineering the genetic code. Large, high quality libraries of new drugs are absolutely essential resources to find new medicines. However, their use is restricted to a few pharmaceutical giants. We will engineer cells to make a wide variety of drug-like polymers, providing a drug discovery resource accessible to almost any scientific laboratory. As each cell could make a different polymer, billions of different potential drugs could be produced in a single tube. This technology provides an opportunity to put the future of drug discovery in the hands of the wider scientific community and provides new tools for Australian industries.Read moreRead less
Kruppel-like factors and the methylome. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the KLF/SP family of transcription factors work in part via dynamic interactions with methylated cytosine nucleotides in DNA. This is fundamental to their function as pioneer factors in reprograming and their ability to co-ordinate differentiation and organogenesis. Conversely, dynamic changes in methylation status engage or disengage new regulatory elements in the genome via recruitment of KLF/SP family protei ....Kruppel-like factors and the methylome. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the KLF/SP family of transcription factors work in part via dynamic interactions with methylated cytosine nucleotides in DNA. This is fundamental to their function as pioneer factors in reprograming and their ability to co-ordinate differentiation and organogenesis. Conversely, dynamic changes in methylation status engage or disengage new regulatory elements in the genome via recruitment of KLF/SP family proteins as specific effectors. This project will address a new paradigm in genetics that is likely to underpin development.Read moreRead less
Marsupial germ cells and genes. Germ cells are the most fascinating cells in the body, since theirs is the unique responsibility for transmitting life from generation to generation. Studies in mice have suggested that position in the embryo determines their origin, but the early embryology of the mouse is so different from that of other mammals that the events need confirming and extending in another species. The simplified embryology of the tammar wallaby makes it ideal for studying one of the ....Marsupial germ cells and genes. Germ cells are the most fascinating cells in the body, since theirs is the unique responsibility for transmitting life from generation to generation. Studies in mice have suggested that position in the embryo determines their origin, but the early embryology of the mouse is so different from that of other mammals that the events need confirming and extending in another species. The simplified embryology of the tammar wallaby makes it ideal for studying one of the most fundamental questions in the whole of biology: what is the basis for the primal distinction between sex and soma?Read moreRead less
Sex determination in dragons: Genetics, epigenetics and environment. This project aims to discover the master sex-determining gene in a reptile, how that gene is differentially regulated in males and females and by temperature, and to identify evolutionary drivers of transitions between genetic and environmental sex determination. In many reptiles, like mammals, chromosomes determine sex. In others, the temperature at which their eggs are incubated determines sex. This project will study how tem ....Sex determination in dragons: Genetics, epigenetics and environment. This project aims to discover the master sex-determining gene in a reptile, how that gene is differentially regulated in males and females and by temperature, and to identify evolutionary drivers of transitions between genetic and environmental sex determination. In many reptiles, like mammals, chromosomes determine sex. In others, the temperature at which their eggs are incubated determines sex. This project will study how temperature reverses chromosomal sex determination in dragon lizards. This could show how climatic extremes affect the biology of climate sensitive reptiles, and understand their vulnerability to climate change.Read moreRead less
Rapid mapping of genes for complex traits. This project will develop a new resource that will allow rapid identification of genes controlling complex traits. This world-leading resource will improve knowledge of diseases like diabetes and neurological diseases.