Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH130200013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,979,922.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for advanced breeding to transform prawn aquaculture. ARC Research Hub for advanced breeding to transform prawn aquaculture. This Research Hub aims to bring together world-leading animal geneticists, research and service providers, and Australia's largest prawn farm to gather the genomic resources, commercial phenotypic data, and apply cutting-edge genetic and genomic selection methodologies, leading to the transformative improvement program for a black tiger prawn aquaculture s ....ARC Research Hub for advanced breeding to transform prawn aquaculture. ARC Research Hub for advanced breeding to transform prawn aquaculture. This Research Hub aims to bring together world-leading animal geneticists, research and service providers, and Australia's largest prawn farm to gather the genomic resources, commercial phenotypic data, and apply cutting-edge genetic and genomic selection methodologies, leading to the transformative improvement program for a black tiger prawn aquaculture species globally.Read moreRead less
Fighting disease on farms: how do vaccinations drive evolution of new pathogen strains? Vaccinating against some types of infectious diseases can drive evolution of new variants of the pathogen. This project will show how bacterial populations evolve in response to vaccination in farms, leading to new vaccination strategies and improved vaccine formulations to better control diseases that are caused by highly variable bacteria.
Molluscan Biomonitor for Quantification and Impact Assessment of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Marine Ecosystems. There is an urgent need to address the significant issue of contaminants with potential endocrine disrupting effects in Australian waters. Robust monitoring tools are required to establish whether estrogens are present in sewage effluents/waters in Australia and the potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Edible oysters are one of Australia's most valuable and fastest growing aq ....Molluscan Biomonitor for Quantification and Impact Assessment of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Marine Ecosystems. There is an urgent need to address the significant issue of contaminants with potential endocrine disrupting effects in Australian waters. Robust monitoring tools are required to establish whether estrogens are present in sewage effluents/waters in Australia and the potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Edible oysters are one of Australia's most valuable and fastest growing aquaculture industries. The proposed project will provide management bodies within Australian estuaries a sound scientific basis to make informed decisions to facilitate protection of both aquatic biodiversity and commercial aquaculture initiatives in response to estrogenic diffuse and point inputs.Read moreRead less
Differential accumulation of algal biotoxins within diploid and triploid Pacific Oysters and Sydney Rock Oysters. The major commercial shellfish in NSW, Sydney rock oysters and Pacific oysters, can accumulate paralytic shellfish toxins with potentially severe human health impacts. This project will determine the impacts of ocean climate change on toxin uptake and metabolism, and investigate its genetic basis in a native oyster species.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354787
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Research Network for Biotechnological and Environmental Applications of Microalgae (BEAM). The network will facilitate inderdisciplinary and collaborative research into the limitations on microalgal growth leading to the development of new, commercial-scale microalgae culture systems, the production of fine chemicals, bioactive compounds and renewable fuels (hydrogen), as well as environmental applications such as monitoring the physiological state of phytoplankton in the environment, CO2 biorem ....Research Network for Biotechnological and Environmental Applications of Microalgae (BEAM). The network will facilitate inderdisciplinary and collaborative research into the limitations on microalgal growth leading to the development of new, commercial-scale microalgae culture systems, the production of fine chemicals, bioactive compounds and renewable fuels (hydrogen), as well as environmental applications such as monitoring the physiological state of phytoplankton in the environment, CO2 bioremediation and algal/bacterial systems for the bioremediation of contaminated soils. This will be achieved by applying research on photosynthetic light utilisation efficiency and carbon fixation, chlorophyll fluorescence, biochemistry of secondary metabolites, molecular biology and photobioreactor design and engineering, informed by an understanding of the ecology of these algae.Read moreRead less
The impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast coast of Australia. This project will investigate the impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast (SE) coast of Australia. The SE coast of Australia is a climate hotspot characterised by rising ocean temperatures, fluctuations in salinity and we expect in the near future ocean acidification (OA). Mollusc larvae show extreme sensitivity to OA, but the impacts of other stressor ....The impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast coast of Australia. This project will investigate the impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast (SE) coast of Australia. The SE coast of Australia is a climate hotspot characterised by rising ocean temperatures, fluctuations in salinity and we expect in the near future ocean acidification (OA). Mollusc larvae show extreme sensitivity to OA, but the impacts of other stressors remains unknown. It is predicted that OA will reduce the capacity of larvae to cope with temperature and salinity, particularly when food supply is low and in populations which have had no previous exposure to OA. Understanding the response of mollusc larvae to environmental change will support ecologically and economically significant mollusc populations over this century.Read moreRead less
New tools to decipher, predict and manage pacific oyster mortality episodes. This project aims to unite cutting-edge genomic and molecular biological tools with novel quantitative modelling analyses to identify the mechanisms behind oyster disease events. Oyster farming contributes almost $100 million to the Australian economy each year and is a cornerstone of coastal communities, but has been decimated by diseases that threaten this important primary industry. While some causative pathogens hav ....New tools to decipher, predict and manage pacific oyster mortality episodes. This project aims to unite cutting-edge genomic and molecular biological tools with novel quantitative modelling analyses to identify the mechanisms behind oyster disease events. Oyster farming contributes almost $100 million to the Australian economy each year and is a cornerstone of coastal communities, but has been decimated by diseases that threaten this important primary industry. While some causative pathogens have been identified, the environmental catalysts of oyster disease remain a mystery. The expected outcome of this project is an innovative coupling of tools that provides new capacity to forecast disease events, delivering the Australian oyster industry a powerful platform to predict, manage and prevent costly disease outbreaks. By identifying environmental thresholds and oyster disease danger periods, an expected outcome of this project is the development of new oyster farming strategies aimed at avoiding multi-million dollar losses associated with disease outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Advanced animal breeding in aquaculture: using genome-wide molecular breeding values for rapid animal improvement in the silver-lipped pearl oyster. The primary impediment to achieving rapid genetic progress in aquaculture is an inability to accurately and rapidly identify high-performance animals for selection as parents in animal breeding programs. This project aims to develop an innovative genomic selection breeding system for the silver-lipped pearl oyster to overcome current limitations ass ....Advanced animal breeding in aquaculture: using genome-wide molecular breeding values for rapid animal improvement in the silver-lipped pearl oyster. The primary impediment to achieving rapid genetic progress in aquaculture is an inability to accurately and rapidly identify high-performance animals for selection as parents in animal breeding programs. This project aims to develop an innovative genomic selection breeding system for the silver-lipped pearl oyster to overcome current limitations associated with traditional animal improvement methods. The use of genomic selection will not only transform the Australian pearl oyster industry, but it will also showcase the potential of genomic selection in aquaculture globally. Furthermore, knowledge gained from this project can also be applied to a variety of other Australian aquaculture species to accelerate the uptake of this technology.Read moreRead less
QX DISEASE RESISTANCE IN SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS. QX is a fatal disease of Sydney rock oysters. The protozoan parasite that causes QX has been identified in more than one third of oyster farming areas on the east coast of Australia. Disease outbreaks have already destroyed the oyster industry in some of those areas. This project tests whether a novel form of defensive protein that has been identified in some oysters can be used as a genetic marker of QX disease resistance. The selective breeding of ....QX DISEASE RESISTANCE IN SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS. QX is a fatal disease of Sydney rock oysters. The protozoan parasite that causes QX has been identified in more than one third of oyster farming areas on the east coast of Australia. Disease outbreaks have already destroyed the oyster industry in some of those areas. This project tests whether a novel form of defensive protein that has been identified in some oysters can be used as a genetic marker of QX disease resistance. The selective breeding of disease resistant oysters based on such a genetic marker would help to control QX and secure the future of Australia's rock oyster industry.Read moreRead less
Manipulation of the growth potential and carcass composition of domestic animal species. Finding alternatives to repeated growth hormone(GH) injection to boost production efficiency and minimise carcass fatness remains an important target for animal research. This application exploits the two novel approaches to achieve this goal through: 1. the administration of the GH releasing peptides to the neonate to imprint an enhanced GH secretory pattern and feed conversion efficiency during growth ....Manipulation of the growth potential and carcass composition of domestic animal species. Finding alternatives to repeated growth hormone(GH) injection to boost production efficiency and minimise carcass fatness remains an important target for animal research. This application exploits the two novel approaches to achieve this goal through: 1. the administration of the GH releasing peptides to the neonate to imprint an enhanced GH secretory pattern and feed conversion efficiency during growth to maturity and 2. the development of an orally active form of these peptides by conjugation with VitB12 to facilitate intestinal absorption through the VitB12 transport mechanism for delivery to the hypothalamic/pituitary axis of animals nearing maturity.Read moreRead less