Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100836
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Oxidative stress as a physiological constraint on the pace of life histories. The project will draw on several areas of biology to answer a fundamental question: which mechanisms underlie the link between vital processes, like growth and reproduction, and rates of biological ageing? This research is needed to understand the basis of trade-offs that cause some individuals or species to age faster than others.
Combining evolutionary, physiological and molecular approaches to understand ageing and performance. How organisms grow, behave and perform is a result of environmentally triggered molecular, physiological and biochemical reactions. Little is known about how these different levels of organisation interact to create the infinite morphological and behavioural complexities seen in adults. This project aims to integrate the fields of developmental, physiological and evolutionary biology to elucidate ....Combining evolutionary, physiological and molecular approaches to understand ageing and performance. How organisms grow, behave and perform is a result of environmentally triggered molecular, physiological and biochemical reactions. Little is known about how these different levels of organisation interact to create the infinite morphological and behavioural complexities seen in adults. This project aims to integrate the fields of developmental, physiological and evolutionary biology to elucidate how the environment moderates cell and tissue development through gene expression. This will highlight how early developmental decisions affect lifetime energetic trade-offs and efficiency, and how underlying biology manifests into emergent phenomena such as performance, behaviour, ageing and lifespan.Read moreRead less
Unlocking telomere effects on life, death and fitness in a warming world. Few things in biology provoke such a strong desire for understanding as when adult death and fatal disease can be predicted early in life. A common factor linking early life stress, disease, ageing and time of death are telomeres, the protective regions at the end of each chromosome. This project aims to explicitly link telomere dynamics in free-living ectotherm populations with experimental approaches to advance our under ....Unlocking telomere effects on life, death and fitness in a warming world. Few things in biology provoke such a strong desire for understanding as when adult death and fatal disease can be predicted early in life. A common factor linking early life stress, disease, ageing and time of death are telomeres, the protective regions at the end of each chromosome. This project aims to explicitly link telomere dynamics in free-living ectotherm populations with experimental approaches to advance our understanding of parental and environmental effects on offspring telomeres and their effects later in life. This project will take advantage of one of the world’s longest datasets on ectotherm responses to climate to provide new knowledge of how telomeres affect fitness and the role that the environment plays.Read moreRead less
Intergenomic conflict and the evolution of uniparental inheritance of mitochondria. Why do all mammalian male sperm cells destroy their own mitochondria after fertilisation? A major evolutionary theory, the conflict hypothesis, aims to answer this question. The argument goes as follows. If an organism were to contain mitochondria from both parents, each mitochondrial lineage would be selected in an “arms race” to replicate faster than the other lineage, and this would likely be costly to the org ....Intergenomic conflict and the evolution of uniparental inheritance of mitochondria. Why do all mammalian male sperm cells destroy their own mitochondria after fertilisation? A major evolutionary theory, the conflict hypothesis, aims to answer this question. The argument goes as follows. If an organism were to contain mitochondria from both parents, each mitochondrial lineage would be selected in an “arms race” to replicate faster than the other lineage, and this would likely be costly to the organism. Uniparental inheritance of mitochondria prevents such evolutionary arms race. Sounds plausible? Yes. Has it been tested? No. This project will be the first attempt to test this intriguing hypothesis. Experimental evidence for the evolution of selfish mitochondria would provide solid support for this major evolutionary theory. Read moreRead less
The role of genome reorganisation in adaptation and speciation. Local adaptation and speciation are fundamental evolutionary processes that rely on changes to the genome. However, the role of genome architecture (e.g. chromosomal rearrangements, gene duplications) in driving these processes is poorly understood. This project will use advanced comparative genomics and bioinformatics to examine the role of chromosome rearrangements in driving adaptation and speciation, and evaluate rates of molec ....The role of genome reorganisation in adaptation and speciation. Local adaptation and speciation are fundamental evolutionary processes that rely on changes to the genome. However, the role of genome architecture (e.g. chromosomal rearrangements, gene duplications) in driving these processes is poorly understood. This project will use advanced comparative genomics and bioinformatics to examine the role of chromosome rearrangements in driving adaptation and speciation, and evaluate rates of molecular evolution between the X-chromosome and autosomes. Utilising Australia’s endemic mammalian fauna as a tractable model system, I will link population processes with macro-evolutionary outcomes to show how genome architecture underpins biodiversity.Read moreRead less
A life-course approach to the nutrition-lifespan-reproduction nexus. This project aims to address the “cost of reproduction”, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated. Bringing together nutritional geometry and evolutionary theory, to the project will produce an over-arching theory of why animals have finite lifespans and limited reproductive capacity. Benefits include developing research strategies for managing the nexus between diet, reproduction and lifespan in animals and human ....A life-course approach to the nutrition-lifespan-reproduction nexus. This project aims to address the “cost of reproduction”, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated. Bringing together nutritional geometry and evolutionary theory, to the project will produce an over-arching theory of why animals have finite lifespans and limited reproductive capacity. Benefits include developing research strategies for managing the nexus between diet, reproduction and lifespan in animals and humans, placing Australia at the forefront of a paradigm shift in understanding the relationship between diet, reproduction and lifespan.Read moreRead less
Parental imprinting and epigenetic inheritance in honey bees. This project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind epigenetic inheritance in bees, providing deep insights into their biology, and develop an outstanding new system for studying epigenetics. There are compelling theoretical and empirical reasons to predict epigenetic inheritance in honey bees. Further, reciprocal crosses reveal strong paternal effects suggesting that males modify their sperm to increase the reproductive success of the ....Parental imprinting and epigenetic inheritance in honey bees. This project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind epigenetic inheritance in bees, providing deep insights into their biology, and develop an outstanding new system for studying epigenetics. There are compelling theoretical and empirical reasons to predict epigenetic inheritance in honey bees. Further, reciprocal crosses reveal strong paternal effects suggesting that males modify their sperm to increase the reproductive success of their female offspring. Modification of DNA by methylation and the transfer of small RNA molecules in eggs or semen are two candidate mechanisms by which queens and drones may manipulate gene expression in their offspring.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100466
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,647.00
Summary
Mito-nuclear coevolution as an engine of biodiversity. This project aims to advance understanding of the processes that drive speciation and generate biodiversity. It will use Australia’s native social bees to test whether genetic diversity in mitochondrial genomes drives biodiversity at the population level, combining molecular and field studies in this uniquely tractable natural system. The expected outcome is a significant advance in knowledge of how coevolution between the two genomes of euk ....Mito-nuclear coevolution as an engine of biodiversity. This project aims to advance understanding of the processes that drive speciation and generate biodiversity. It will use Australia’s native social bees to test whether genetic diversity in mitochondrial genomes drives biodiversity at the population level, combining molecular and field studies in this uniquely tractable natural system. The expected outcome is a significant advance in knowledge of how coevolution between the two genomes of eukaryotic cells - mitochondrial and nuclear - affect the observable diversity of the natural world. The project is also expected to benefit the management and conservation of Australian native bees, which are vital pollinators in our natural and agro-ecosystems. Read moreRead less
Evolution in action or the demise of iconic Australian flora? The project aims to investigate the evolutionary history and conservation status of a group of closely related Grevillea species, in the light of increasing pressure from landscape modification. This project will incorporate leading methodologies for massively parallel sequencing, pollinator preference and breeding capacity in order to detect the patterns and processes underpinning divergence in widely distributed species. A phylogene ....Evolution in action or the demise of iconic Australian flora? The project aims to investigate the evolutionary history and conservation status of a group of closely related Grevillea species, in the light of increasing pressure from landscape modification. This project will incorporate leading methodologies for massively parallel sequencing, pollinator preference and breeding capacity in order to detect the patterns and processes underpinning divergence in widely distributed species. A phylogenetic framework will provide the evolutionary relationships among taxa. This project is expected to inform requirements for long-term species persistence and, for threatened species within the group, guide the decision making of biodiversity managers as to what actions are required and where best to invest limited funds.Read moreRead less
How males alter their mates' ageing rates and lifespans. The proposed project investigates how males affect the lifespan, ageing and subsequent reproduction of their mates. It seeks to draw on and adapt tools and approaches used in molecular genetics and physiology to test predictions from evolutionary theories of sexual conflict, life-histories and ageing in an organism of biomedical and ecological significance, the house mouse. It is expected that this approach will allow the study, in unsurpa ....How males alter their mates' ageing rates and lifespans. The proposed project investigates how males affect the lifespan, ageing and subsequent reproduction of their mates. It seeks to draw on and adapt tools and approaches used in molecular genetics and physiology to test predictions from evolutionary theories of sexual conflict, life-histories and ageing in an organism of biomedical and ecological significance, the house mouse. It is expected that this approach will allow the study, in unsurpassed detail, of the costs males impose on females via mating, insemination, territoriality and via conflict over how many offspring to have and how to invest in their care.Read moreRead less