Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The cur ....Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The curation of genomic and transcriptomic data sets, and elucidation of snail–parasite interactions will underpin the development of environmental diagnostic tests and deliver a new generation of intervention strategies to reduce the burden of liver fluke disease through the control of their snail intermediate hosts.Read moreRead less
Testing links between genomic and morphological evolutionary rates. This project aims to identify, understand, and characterise patterns of evolutionary rates across different levels of biological variation. The project expects to generate knowledge about the tempo and mode of evolution by using a phylogenetic approach to test fundamental models of evolutionary rates, including the link between rates of genomic and morphological evolution. Expected outcomes of this project include detailed insig ....Testing links between genomic and morphological evolutionary rates. This project aims to identify, understand, and characterise patterns of evolutionary rates across different levels of biological variation. The project expects to generate knowledge about the tempo and mode of evolution by using a phylogenetic approach to test fundamental models of evolutionary rates, including the link between rates of genomic and morphological evolution. Expected outcomes of this project include detailed insights into the tempo and mode of macroevolution, better modelling of genomic and phenotypic evolution, and improved design of studies in evolutionary genomics. Benefits of the project include greater understanding of the evolutionary processes that have generated the diversity of the Australian biota.Read moreRead less
Explaining virus diversity. To prevent virus pandemics, it is necessary to understand how viruses evolve. This project aims to reveal the long-term trends, processes and drivers of RNA virus diversity and evolution. Through the metagenomic sequencing of the viromes of Australian animals that mark evolutionary innovations and transitions this project will reshape our knowledge of virus evolution and disease emergence. Expected outcomes will be a new understanding of how virus diversity is created ....Explaining virus diversity. To prevent virus pandemics, it is necessary to understand how viruses evolve. This project aims to reveal the long-term trends, processes and drivers of RNA virus diversity and evolution. Through the metagenomic sequencing of the viromes of Australian animals that mark evolutionary innovations and transitions this project will reshape our knowledge of virus evolution and disease emergence. Expected outcomes will be a new understanding of how virus diversity is created, how virus phenotypes have changed through time, how often viruses jump to new host species, and how major events in animal evolution have shaped virus diversity. Key benefits include new measures of the viral burden faced by Australia’s native animals and of ecosystem health.Read moreRead less
Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide ....Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide a non-surgical method of contraception in companion/feral species, which should address the large unmet need for fertility control in these animals.
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A novel microbial process breaking through the nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen transformation is central to life on Earth. This project will challenge a century-old paradigm that microorganisms must cooperate in a team to convert nitrogen from organic- to inorganic forms. We will carry out the first-ever systematic investigation of a novel process, where a single organism mediates complete ammonification and ammonia oxidation, directly connecting organic- and inorganic nitrogen. By revealing metaboli ....A novel microbial process breaking through the nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen transformation is central to life on Earth. This project will challenge a century-old paradigm that microorganisms must cooperate in a team to convert nitrogen from organic- to inorganic forms. We will carry out the first-ever systematic investigation of a novel process, where a single organism mediates complete ammonification and ammonia oxidation, directly connecting organic- and inorganic nitrogen. By revealing metabolic pathways, characterising ecophysiological properties, isolating key microorganisms and exploring their application potential, this project will change our fundamental understanding of global nitrogen cycling, improve the sustainability of water management, and contribute to the circular economy transitionRead moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,373.00
Summary
The evolution of venom and its role in shaping biodiversity. This project aims to study how venom, nature's most powerful weapon, evolves and shapes biodiversity. Using the iconic Australian and New Guinean venomous snakes as a model, this project expects to develop a novel approach to profile venom composition from museum specimens, test competing hypotheses on the evolution of venoms, and test for the association between the evolution of venoms and the evolution of diversity in species richnes ....The evolution of venom and its role in shaping biodiversity. This project aims to study how venom, nature's most powerful weapon, evolves and shapes biodiversity. Using the iconic Australian and New Guinean venomous snakes as a model, this project expects to develop a novel approach to profile venom composition from museum specimens, test competing hypotheses on the evolution of venoms, and test for the association between the evolution of venoms and the evolution of diversity in species richness and morphology. Expected outcomes include the largest venom database for any animal group and a better understanding of how venoms evolve and what role they play in earth’s biodiversity. The generated venom data has potential to be used in future studies to aid in the development of anti-venoms and drugs.Read moreRead less
Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an ....Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an animal health and production problem in the life of the commercial pig. This project will generate new knowledge on early life management to endow stress resilience in pigs, with expected benefits for animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability.Read moreRead less
Improving the Sustainability of Australian Livestock Production Systems. The sustainability of livestock production systems must urgently be improved. This Future Fellowship builds upon Dr Zamira Gibb's portfolio of high-impact research to deliver extension and adoption activities which will improve the outcomes of cattle and horse selective breeding programs; allowing the dissemination of low-methane genetics to remote Northern Australian cattle breeding regions, reducing wastage of breeding ho ....Improving the Sustainability of Australian Livestock Production Systems. The sustainability of livestock production systems must urgently be improved. This Future Fellowship builds upon Dr Zamira Gibb's portfolio of high-impact research to deliver extension and adoption activities which will improve the outcomes of cattle and horse selective breeding programs; allowing the dissemination of low-methane genetics to remote Northern Australian cattle breeding regions, reducing wastage of breeding horses and dairy cattle, and improving foal heath and offspring longevity. This project will address the environmental, ethical, and economic concerns which threaten the sustainability of these culturally significant livestock industries which are the cornerstone of everyday life in regional communities. Read moreRead less
Sustaining chicken-meat production with alternative protein sources. This project aims to secure sustainable chicken-meat production by the radical reduction or even elimination of imported soybean meal as the primary protein source in Australian broiler diets by its replacement with feed-grade amino acids and local feedstuffs. This project will expand our comprehension of starch/glucose and protein/amino acid digestive dynamics in poultry diets based on wheat, the primary feed grain in Australi ....Sustaining chicken-meat production with alternative protein sources. This project aims to secure sustainable chicken-meat production by the radical reduction or even elimination of imported soybean meal as the primary protein source in Australian broiler diets by its replacement with feed-grade amino acids and local feedstuffs. This project will expand our comprehension of starch/glucose and protein/amino acid digestive dynamics in poultry diets based on wheat, the primary feed grain in Australia; however, wheat does inherently possess nutritional disadvantages. Expected outcomes include soybean meal-free feed formulations for the Australian chicken-meat industry to enhance the affordable and environmentally viable production of chicken-meat coupled with improved bird welfare and flock health. Read moreRead less
Proteomic and genetic analysis of subfertile bull spermatozoa. This project aims to identify protein changes on spermatozoa that are highly correlated with the fertility status of bulls. Bull fertility has approached an all-time low as breeding practice has focused predominately on milk production and beef tenderness. This project aims to understand the genetic causes that underpin bull and cattle infertility, and investigate better methods to predict the fertility status of bulls. This project ....Proteomic and genetic analysis of subfertile bull spermatozoa. This project aims to identify protein changes on spermatozoa that are highly correlated with the fertility status of bulls. Bull fertility has approached an all-time low as breeding practice has focused predominately on milk production and beef tenderness. This project aims to understand the genetic causes that underpin bull and cattle infertility, and investigate better methods to predict the fertility status of bulls. This project expects to contribute to better clinical management of cattle. This information can then be used for the development of a better diagnostic assay for both the dairy and beef industry.Read moreRead less