Leaf respiration under drought: a global perspective. Predicting future net carbon exchange is necessary for better management of vegetation resources by Australia. Incorporating the responses of plant respiration to drought and temperature is crucial for predicting future rates of net carbon exchange. Using laboratory and field studies, this research will develop an understanding of how water availability and temperature impact on plant respiration of a broad range of economically important and ....Leaf respiration under drought: a global perspective. Predicting future net carbon exchange is necessary for better management of vegetation resources by Australia. Incorporating the responses of plant respiration to drought and temperature is crucial for predicting future rates of net carbon exchange. Using laboratory and field studies, this research will develop an understanding of how water availability and temperature impact on plant respiration of a broad range of economically important and ecologically relevant plant species. Equations will be formulated that will improve how modellers calculate drought-dependent variations in plant respiration (and thus plant productivity), thereby improving predictions for a future, warmer world.Read moreRead less
The mechanisms and fitness consequences of nongenetic inheritance. For many decades, it was assumed that parents influence the characteristics of their offspring almost exclusively through the genes that they transmit, and this assumption forms the basis of modern genetics and evolutionary theory. However, it is becoming increasing clear that parents can also influence their offspring in many other ways, and that such 'nongenetic inheritance' can allow for the transmission of environmental influ ....The mechanisms and fitness consequences of nongenetic inheritance. For many decades, it was assumed that parents influence the characteristics of their offspring almost exclusively through the genes that they transmit, and this assumption forms the basis of modern genetics and evolutionary theory. However, it is becoming increasing clear that parents can also influence their offspring in many other ways, and that such 'nongenetic inheritance' can allow for the transmission of environmental influences across generations. Accumulating evidence suggests that nongenetic inheritance plays a crucial role in heritable diseases, and theory suggests that it can influence evolution. Following up on intriguing preliminary findings, this project will investigate the mechanisms and consequences of nongenetic inheritance.Read moreRead less
Mass Spectrometric Investigations of Conformation and Dynamics of Biological Complexes. The new collaboration between the leading mass spectrometry groups at University Wollongong and Cambridge University will benefit both partners. Researchers at Wollongong will have access to an ion mobility mass spectrometry technology not currently available in Australia that will contribute to our understanding of complicated cellular processes such as chromosome replication. The researchers' experience wit ....Mass Spectrometric Investigations of Conformation and Dynamics of Biological Complexes. The new collaboration between the leading mass spectrometry groups at University Wollongong and Cambridge University will benefit both partners. Researchers at Wollongong will have access to an ion mobility mass spectrometry technology not currently available in Australia that will contribute to our understanding of complicated cellular processes such as chromosome replication. The researchers' experience with this technology will pave the way for introduction of the technology to Australia and benefit the wider scientific community in wide-ranging projects such as development of new antibiotics and vaccines. Students from both institutions will benefit from experiencing science from an international perspective.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models and bioinformatic analyses of bacterial genome evolution. Bacteria are vital agents in earth's biosphere, breaking down and synthesising a wide variety of compounds. Some bacteria cause disease; others are exploited for a range of biotechnological applications. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive and thrive in changing conditions. For example, pathogenic bacteria confronted by antibiotics easily evolve resistance to them. With the reality of climate change, we expec ....Mathematical models and bioinformatic analyses of bacterial genome evolution. Bacteria are vital agents in earth's biosphere, breaking down and synthesising a wide variety of compounds. Some bacteria cause disease; others are exploited for a range of biotechnological applications. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive and thrive in changing conditions. For example, pathogenic bacteria confronted by antibiotics easily evolve resistance to them. With the reality of climate change, we expect more rapid shifts in the structure of bacterial communities, possibly leading to the emergence of new pathogens. The benefits of this project are to discover how the genetic structure of bacteria confer this flexibility, and to help keep Australia at the forefront of research in bioinformatics and mathematical biology.
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Social insect behaviour: the importance of individual-decision making and information transfer. Insect societies are complex systems. Understanding complex systems is often hampered by our inability to study the individual units that comprise the system without also disturbing the system. Insect societies are unique in that the individual insects can be studied within their natural setting. This project will study foraging behaviour of honey bees with respect to individual decision-making and in ....Social insect behaviour: the importance of individual-decision making and information transfer. Insect societies are complex systems. Understanding complex systems is often hampered by our inability to study the individual units that comprise the system without also disturbing the system. Insect societies are unique in that the individual insects can be studied within their natural setting. This project will study foraging behaviour of honey bees with respect to individual decision-making and information transfer. In doing so we will obtain insights in the working of other, less accessible, complex systems such as the mammalian brain or the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Statistical methods and tools for integrative microarray analysis. Tools used for biological and medical research have been evolving and there has been an increase in high-throughput technologies such as genome sequencing and DNA microarray. The growing number of entries and the increasing availability of public microarray repositories and other sequence databases have generated the new challenge of developing tools to efficiently integrate data by different research groups. This research provi ....Statistical methods and tools for integrative microarray analysis. Tools used for biological and medical research have been evolving and there has been an increase in high-throughput technologies such as genome sequencing and DNA microarray. The growing number of entries and the increasing availability of public microarray repositories and other sequence databases have generated the new challenge of developing tools to efficiently integrate data by different research groups. This research provides new statistical methods to integrate different data sets. Its application in the biomedical field will allow researchers to effectively interpret the myriad of data generated within the community.Read moreRead less
The mucosal immune system of fish: analysis of the immune repertoire in gut-and gill-associated lymphoid tissues in trout. Infectious disease causes major economic loss to the aquaculture industry, highlighting the need for effective vaccination strategies. While oral or immersion vaccination represents the most cost effective means of protecting fish against infectious disease there are problems associated with inducing an effective immune response in fish that will assist our industry partner ....The mucosal immune system of fish: analysis of the immune repertoire in gut-and gill-associated lymphoid tissues in trout. Infectious disease causes major economic loss to the aquaculture industry, highlighting the need for effective vaccination strategies. While oral or immersion vaccination represents the most cost effective means of protecting fish against infectious disease there are problems associated with inducing an effective immune response in fish that will assist our industry partner (Novartis Animal Vaccines Ltd) to develop improved fish vaccines. The project will provide postgraduate training in the area of fish immunology that is vital to the developing Australian aquaculture industry.Read moreRead less
On the move: the study of self-organised movement of animal groups with and without leadership. This project will uncover the common principles that control the movement of large groups of organisms. We will focus on swarming honey bees, hopping bands of billions of locusts and millions of crickets marching in unison. The outcomes of our research will be broadly applicable to other collective phenomena, even to traffic and crowd control in humans.
Elucidating the Mode of Action of Nicotinic Receptor Ligands. Changes in brain function can cause human diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. To develop new medicines to treat these conditions we need to study how drugs act in the brain. This project will use new methods of chemistry to make drugs, which will then be tested for biological activity at important brain receptors. This will tell us which compounds are most effective as potential drugs and also exactly whe ....Elucidating the Mode of Action of Nicotinic Receptor Ligands. Changes in brain function can cause human diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. To develop new medicines to treat these conditions we need to study how drugs act in the brain. This project will use new methods of chemistry to make drugs, which will then be tested for biological activity at important brain receptors. This will tell us which compounds are most effective as potential drugs and also exactly where they act in the brain. Read moreRead less
Development of Pyrrolopyrimidines as Inhibitors of ATP-Binding Proteins. This project seeks to generate analogues of natural products that have been found to be active against cancer cells and tropical parasites. The new materials produced by this project will aid in the study of biochemical processes involved in diseases such as cancer and lymphatic filariasis, thus leading the way to development of these compounds as potential treatments for such diseases.