The oxygen paradox and the evolution of sex differences. Free radicals are reactive molecules linked to the onset of ageing, cancers and infertility. By advancing an emerging paradigm that contends that 'free radicals' are important drivers of evolutionary change, this project will lead the field and provide an excellent platform on which to train students to the highest standards.
Physiology of oxygen transport in the mammalian kidney. This project aims to improve understanding of oxygen regulation in renal tissue and knowledge of the physiology of the kidney. The mammalian kidney receives more oxygen than it uses or needs, and yet renal tissue is commonly found to be hypoxic. This project proposes that oxygen transport to the renal tissue is limited by blood vessel surface area. The project expects to generate anatomical data currently missing from the renal physiology c ....Physiology of oxygen transport in the mammalian kidney. This project aims to improve understanding of oxygen regulation in renal tissue and knowledge of the physiology of the kidney. The mammalian kidney receives more oxygen than it uses or needs, and yet renal tissue is commonly found to be hypoxic. This project proposes that oxygen transport to the renal tissue is limited by blood vessel surface area. The project expects to generate anatomical data currently missing from the renal physiology community, and potentially change the accepted story of oxygen homeostasis in the kidney. This will provide significant benefits, such as the provision of the foundational physiological science behind a determinant of kidney health and its flow-on impact to quality of life.Read moreRead less
Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lip ....Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lipid biology at the cellular and sub-cellular level across a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models. The outcomes of this project should provide significant knowledge to tackle modern societal challenges in healthy ageing, brain pathologies and neurodegenerative diseases.Read moreRead less
Evolution of the dermomyotome in vertebrates. The project seeks to understand how different muscle populations within the embryo form and have evolved within the vertebrate phylogeny. All amniote muscles, except that of the head, derive from a transient embryonic structure termed the dermomyotome. The formation of muscle from the dermomyotome of amniotes uses a highly conserved mechanism that is distinct from that deployed by bony fish and amphibians. How the dermomyotome evolved to generate th ....Evolution of the dermomyotome in vertebrates. The project seeks to understand how different muscle populations within the embryo form and have evolved within the vertebrate phylogeny. All amniote muscles, except that of the head, derive from a transient embryonic structure termed the dermomyotome. The formation of muscle from the dermomyotome of amniotes uses a highly conserved mechanism that is distinct from that deployed by bony fish and amphibians. How the dermomyotome evolved to generate the distinct types of locomotor systems we see deployed throughout the vertebrate phylogeny remains unresolved. This project aims to contribute to an understanding of how different locomotor strategies deployed at important evolutionary transitions were generated.Read moreRead less
Calls and constraints: do male frogs signal direct benefits? There is international concern over recent declines and disappearances of many species of amphibians. Australia is a hotspot for declines, but causes of declines remain enigmatic. Approximately one quarter of Australia's 230 amphibian species breed in terrestrial situations, but processes such as salinity, wetland and urban developments and climate change are altering the hydrology of our landscape, and preventing the flood events nece ....Calls and constraints: do male frogs signal direct benefits? There is international concern over recent declines and disappearances of many species of amphibians. Australia is a hotspot for declines, but causes of declines remain enigmatic. Approximately one quarter of Australia's 230 amphibian species breed in terrestrial situations, but processes such as salinity, wetland and urban developments and climate change are altering the hydrology of our landscape, and preventing the flood events necessary for the completion of the lifecycle of many species. This research has important conservation implications because it examines the effects of variable moisture regimes on the physiology and reproductive behaviours of terrestrial breeding frogs.Read moreRead less
Fins to Limbs: Investigating the Evolution of complex Limb Musculature. This application aims to investigates the basis of the fin-to-limb transition, an event that set the stage for the entire tetrapod radiation. This project expects to generate new knowledge concerning the natural history of vertebrates using a multidisciplinary approach that combines paleontology and embryology of unique Australian fauna. While the skeletal changes associated with the move from water to land have been investi ....Fins to Limbs: Investigating the Evolution of complex Limb Musculature. This application aims to investigates the basis of the fin-to-limb transition, an event that set the stage for the entire tetrapod radiation. This project expects to generate new knowledge concerning the natural history of vertebrates using a multidisciplinary approach that combines paleontology and embryology of unique Australian fauna. While the skeletal changes associated with the move from water to land have been investigated, little is known about the origin of tetrapod limb muscles. This proposal has as an expected outcome, a determination of how limb muscles arose during evolution. This knowledge should provide significant benefits by transforming our understanding of the origins of the tetrapod body plan and our own natural history.Read moreRead less
Structure and dynamics of a multiprotein-mRNA complex involved in the regulation of gene expression. RNA/protein interactions are now recognised as a major control point in the regulation of gene-expression. Proteins such as HuR and the poly(C)-binding proteins (PCBPs) act to stabilise and transport specific messenger (m)RNAs, and thus determine their translation levels. In contrast to such an important function, very little is known about these protein/mRNA interactions at an atomic level. The ....Structure and dynamics of a multiprotein-mRNA complex involved in the regulation of gene expression. RNA/protein interactions are now recognised as a major control point in the regulation of gene-expression. Proteins such as HuR and the poly(C)-binding proteins (PCBPs) act to stabilise and transport specific messenger (m)RNAs, and thus determine their translation levels. In contrast to such an important function, very little is known about these protein/mRNA interactions at an atomic level. The current study will investigate the structural and biophysical properties of a recently discovered HuR/PCBP/mRNA complex implicated in the regulation of androgen receptor expression. This information has the potential to assist in the development of drugs to reduce AR expression in prostate cancer.Read moreRead less
Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The l ....Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The limited tunability of traditional polymers agents makes them unsuitable for this particular application. The multidisciplinary project addresses this significant problem by engineering novel sequences of defined polymer based nanoscale agents to achieve efficient delivery in cells.Read moreRead less
The evolution of specialised orchid pollination and its reversibility. This project aims to determine the changes in key floral volatile compounds underpinning pollination transitions, identify their molecular basis, and understand the ecological processes favouring reversals away from extreme specialisation. By focusing on pollination of sexually deceptive Australian orchids, this project would be the first to determine the molecular, chemical and behavioural basis of evolutionary reversals to ....The evolution of specialised orchid pollination and its reversibility. This project aims to determine the changes in key floral volatile compounds underpinning pollination transitions, identify their molecular basis, and understand the ecological processes favouring reversals away from extreme specialisation. By focusing on pollination of sexually deceptive Australian orchids, this project would be the first to determine the molecular, chemical and behavioural basis of evolutionary reversals to more generalised strategies in a group of plants facing high risk of pollinator extinction. The expected outcome, a mechanistic understanding of how pollination transitions occur, would be internationally ground-breaking, and provide crucial insights to protect this diverse but highly threatened group of plants.Read moreRead less
Molecular machines: regulation of the catalysis and rotation of the enzyme ATP synthase. This project aims to elucidate the regulation of the molecular machine ATP synthase. ATP synthase is an enzyme that performs a critical role in all cells - the synthesis of ATP, the universal biological energy currency. It is known that the enzyme operates via rotation of a central stalk which is driven by a hydrogen ion gradient across a membrane. Constructs of this molecule have been envisaged in the desig ....Molecular machines: regulation of the catalysis and rotation of the enzyme ATP synthase. This project aims to elucidate the regulation of the molecular machine ATP synthase. ATP synthase is an enzyme that performs a critical role in all cells - the synthesis of ATP, the universal biological energy currency. It is known that the enzyme operates via rotation of a central stalk which is driven by a hydrogen ion gradient across a membrane. Constructs of this molecule have been envisaged in the design of future biological nano-motors. Our work will provide an understanding of the regulation of this enzyme with potential application in the control of nano-motors.Read moreRead less