Using phylogenomics to record the impacts of climate change, extinction and population fragmentation. This project will use ancient DNA from permafrost-preserved Steppe bison bones and bovid exome capture systems to build a detailed record of the genomic impacts of rapid climate and environmental change at the end of the Pleistocene (30 to 11 kyr). The project will analyse how ancestral genetic diversity is distributed amongst surviving bison populations, and the role of nuclear loci under selec ....Using phylogenomics to record the impacts of climate change, extinction and population fragmentation. This project will use ancient DNA from permafrost-preserved Steppe bison bones and bovid exome capture systems to build a detailed record of the genomic impacts of rapid climate and environmental change at the end of the Pleistocene (30 to 11 kyr). The project will analyse how ancestral genetic diversity is distributed amongst surviving bison populations, and the role of nuclear loci under selection and drift. It will create a novel temporal dataset of genomic adaptation and evolution, and will generate critical data for studies of evolutionary processes such as extinctions, speciation and conservation biology and management.Read moreRead less
Expanding and resolving the earliest modern human divergence through DNA. This project aims to expand and resolve the earliest modern human divergence. Although it is clear modern humans emerged from Africa, there is no consensus on the timeline of modern human evolution. Archaeological evidence suggests two contenders: east and southern Africa. Genetic data supports the latter; the team’s own data shows that the southern African KhoeSan click-speaking forager peoples have the oldest extant huma ....Expanding and resolving the earliest modern human divergence through DNA. This project aims to expand and resolve the earliest modern human divergence. Although it is clear modern humans emerged from Africa, there is no consensus on the timeline of modern human evolution. Archaeological evidence suggests two contenders: east and southern Africa. Genetic data supports the latter; the team’s own data shows that the southern African KhoeSan click-speaking forager peoples have the oldest extant human lineages. This project will generate large mitochondrial genome and whole genome sequence data for KhoeSan lineages. This is expected to narrow the time of modern human emergence.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100234
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Enhancement of South Australian high-performance computing facilities. These facilities will enable the efficient use of high-performance computing and will more than double the capability provided by eResearch SA for South Australian researchers. They will support large-scale applications, running over many processors in parallel (high-performance computing) or large numbers of single processors (high-throughput computing).
Identifying the diversity and evolution of loci associated with adaptation to aridity/heat and salinity in ancient cereal crops. This project will use ancient grains of wheat, barley and rye to find 'lost' genetic diversity at key genes associated with resistance to aridity, salt and disease. This project will make the proteins of key genes, and study their interaction with the environment over time by measuring ions in the grains to reveal the ancient environmental conditions.
Harnessing seaweed genes to mitigate methane emissions from livestock . Novel climate solutions are crucial as agriculture is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This project aims to understand the molecular components for the production of bioactive natural products in a seaweed that, when fed to cattle and sheep, cuts out methane emissions. The project will apply genomic techniques to determine the key genes involved and the ecological factors that influence their expressio ....Harnessing seaweed genes to mitigate methane emissions from livestock . Novel climate solutions are crucial as agriculture is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This project aims to understand the molecular components for the production of bioactive natural products in a seaweed that, when fed to cattle and sheep, cuts out methane emissions. The project will apply genomic techniques to determine the key genes involved and the ecological factors that influence their expression across the seaweed life cycle. The findings will provide a platform to harness the full potential of seaweed as a natural additive in livestock feeds. This multidisciplinary project will enhance research capacity and strengthen international collaborations.Read moreRead less
The transgenerational effect of thermosensing in plants. This project aims to understand how thermosensing mechanisms in plants result in transgenerational change, and potentially adaptation to climate. Exploiting the recent discovery of the thermosensor phytochrome B, this project will decipher the molecular cascade which, either through long-distance communication or through persistence of an epigenetic state in the cell lineage, could lead to a trans generational memory in plants helping with ....The transgenerational effect of thermosensing in plants. This project aims to understand how thermosensing mechanisms in plants result in transgenerational change, and potentially adaptation to climate. Exploiting the recent discovery of the thermosensor phytochrome B, this project will decipher the molecular cascade which, either through long-distance communication or through persistence of an epigenetic state in the cell lineage, could lead to a trans generational memory in plants helping with climate adaptation. This project will unravel novel molecular mechanisms, which have the potential to pave the way for designing new climate-proofing solutions to cope with temperature uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucal ....Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucalyptus offers a unique opportunity to explore these modes of evolution using the latest genomic tools. Improving our understanding of adaptation and genetic variation in woodland eucalypts is expected to make a significant contribution to their conservation, management and restoration.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100025
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,000.00
Summary
A high-throughput screening and sequencing facility for single cell genomics. Genomics has revolutionised biology, but for most microorganisms this revolution has not arrived because very few can be grown in pure culture. The single cell genomics facility will address this major bottleneck by allowing as little as a single cell in a clinical or environmental setting to be sequenced thereby accelerating new discoveries and outcomes.
eGenomics - Next generation biomonitoring of threatened species. DNA is the molecule of life and exists everywhere in the environment as a largely untapped source of information on evolution, biodiversity, and ecosystem health. Our overriding aim is to start mining that information to benefit threatened species. Based on optimized ancient DNA methods, powerful sequencing technology, whole genome analyses, and RNA profiling, we present a novel and holistic framework for genetic biomonitoring. In ....eGenomics - Next generation biomonitoring of threatened species. DNA is the molecule of life and exists everywhere in the environment as a largely untapped source of information on evolution, biodiversity, and ecosystem health. Our overriding aim is to start mining that information to benefit threatened species. Based on optimized ancient DNA methods, powerful sequencing technology, whole genome analyses, and RNA profiling, we present a novel and holistic framework for genetic biomonitoring. In two parallel model systems we will study corals and reptiles to improve environmental detection while simultaneously obtaining information on their population health. This will foster more efficient conservation of endangered species that are of tremendous importance to our marine and terrestrial ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,536.00
Summary
Beyond genes: How the extended genotype of plants facilitates adaptation. Adaptation to environmental change is required for species to persist, however rapid environmental change may exceed the limits of traditional genetic adaptation leading to widespread decline. Recent work has highlighted the 'extended genotype' as an additional factor influencing adaptive phenotypes. This project aims to examine DNA methylation and polyploidisation as both a cause and consequence of the adaptation process ....Beyond genes: How the extended genotype of plants facilitates adaptation. Adaptation to environmental change is required for species to persist, however rapid environmental change may exceed the limits of traditional genetic adaptation leading to widespread decline. Recent work has highlighted the 'extended genotype' as an additional factor influencing adaptive phenotypes. This project aims to examine DNA methylation and polyploidisation as both a cause and consequence of the adaptation process using natural populations of the model cereal Brachypodium distachyon. The project aims to determine the architecture of these features and how their variability impacts adaptive traits such as flowering time. From the functional role of the extended genotype the project endeavours to predict and select genetic responses to the environment.Read moreRead less