Evolutionary venomics: Venom system diversification in the animal kingdom. This proposal represents a tremendous opportunity for biodiscovery from the Australian toxic fauna. This will be achieved through the researcher's unique approach of investigating previously unmapped venom systems for divergent, bioactive proteins. An understanding of venomous animal protein evolution has practical implications for the treatment of envenomations - an enormous problem in Australia - as well as great pot ....Evolutionary venomics: Venom system diversification in the animal kingdom. This proposal represents a tremendous opportunity for biodiscovery from the Australian toxic fauna. This will be achieved through the researcher's unique approach of investigating previously unmapped venom systems for divergent, bioactive proteins. An understanding of venomous animal protein evolution has practical implications for the treatment of envenomations - an enormous problem in Australia - as well as great potential in drug discovery and other commercial applications. This project will provide Australian graduate and post-graduate students with finely tuned skills in cutting edge methodological techniques and a fluent understanding of molecular evolution, preparing them to be internationally competitive scientists.Read moreRead less
Convergent Evolution of Desert Lizards: Phylogenomic and Morphological Analyses of Limb Development. Evolutionary convergence, where similar traits evolve independently in multiple lineages, is a fundamental biological process, which affects many aspects of an organism's morphology. Despite its importance we don't understand what underlies the convergence we observe in nature - does convergence in genetic make-up underlie convergence in morphology? We will investigate whether similar hindlimb mo ....Convergent Evolution of Desert Lizards: Phylogenomic and Morphological Analyses of Limb Development. Evolutionary convergence, where similar traits evolve independently in multiple lineages, is a fundamental biological process, which affects many aspects of an organism's morphology. Despite its importance we don't understand what underlies the convergence we observe in nature - does convergence in genetic make-up underlie convergence in morphology? We will investigate whether similar hindlimb morphologies are determined by the same genetic mechanisms in iguanian lizards of Australia and North America. Our study will be the first of its kind in vertebrates and will provide significant information about the evolutionary link between an animal's morphology and its genetic make-up.Read moreRead less
Understanding the evolution of the alternation of generations in the land plant life cycle. This project will investigate the genetic basis and evolution of the land plant life cycle, in which both haploid and diploid phases consist of complex multicellular bodies. The project's findings, which will be made using two model laboratory plants, will be applicable to all plants and will help understand important processes such as pollen and seed production.
Molecular mechanisms that generate muscle cell type diversity. The general aim of this project is to exploit the advantages of the zebrafish system and our access to the embryology of Australian shark species to generate an understanding of the basis for muscle fibre diversity and evolution. While there is some understanding of the fundamental genetic basis of how to make an individual muscle cell from a nascent myoblast there is far less knowledge on how individual muscle cells generate mature ....Molecular mechanisms that generate muscle cell type diversity. The general aim of this project is to exploit the advantages of the zebrafish system and our access to the embryology of Australian shark species to generate an understanding of the basis for muscle fibre diversity and evolution. While there is some understanding of the fundamental genetic basis of how to make an individual muscle cell from a nascent myoblast there is far less knowledge on how individual muscle cells generate mature muscle types and patterns. The intended outcome of this research is to generate understanding of the complex molecular basis of muscle patterning in the simple paradigm of the zebrafish myotome that could be applied across the vertebrate phylogeny.Read moreRead less
Development and evolution of land plant shoots. How do plants grow and develop their wonderful diversity of forms, from cereal crops to eucalypt forests? The project aims to understand basic mechanisms of plant development via comparative studies using the model angiosperm, Arabidopsis, and the liverwort, Marchantia, which possesses a simplified genome. Comparative studies of the genetic basis of the body plan, branching, and hormonal action could unlock their evolutionary elaboration from the s ....Development and evolution of land plant shoots. How do plants grow and develop their wonderful diversity of forms, from cereal crops to eucalypt forests? The project aims to understand basic mechanisms of plant development via comparative studies using the model angiosperm, Arabidopsis, and the liverwort, Marchantia, which possesses a simplified genome. Comparative studies of the genetic basis of the body plan, branching, and hormonal action could unlock their evolutionary elaboration from the simpler liverworts to more complex flowering plants. The project may generate new understanding of the principles of how genes and hormones control the architecture of plant shoot systems, and support the targeted selection of new agricultural plants.Read moreRead less
The molecular evolution of wings in flightless birds. The flightless Australian emu and New Zealand kiwi have small wings, while the extinct moa had none at all. This project will identify the genetic changes that have lead to wing reduction and loss in flightless birds. The results will shed light on the genetic control of forelimb development and how it has evolved.
Dissecting insect gut function to understand insecticide detoxification. Massive quantities of chemical insecticides are used daily to control the insect pests that threaten agriculture, human health and the welfare of domestic pets. Insects readily evolve resistance to these chemicals reducing the effectiveness of pest control, increasing the amount of chemical used and increasing costs to consumers. This project examines the way in which insects adapt to the extreme stress imposed on them by ....Dissecting insect gut function to understand insecticide detoxification. Massive quantities of chemical insecticides are used daily to control the insect pests that threaten agriculture, human health and the welfare of domestic pets. Insects readily evolve resistance to these chemicals reducing the effectiveness of pest control, increasing the amount of chemical used and increasing costs to consumers. This project examines the way in which insects adapt to the extreme stress imposed on them by chemical insecticides. A thorough understanding of this adaptation process is required before insecticide resistance can be effectively managed or prevented. Read moreRead less
The genomics of adaptation in Wolbachia pipientis, an emerging biocontrol agent. Australians are increasingly exposed to insect-transmitted diseases such as dengue fever. Novel biocontrol methods using the bacterium Wolbachia aim to control insect populations to reduce disease transmission. Our research will be the first to investigate genomic variation and the process of adaptation to new insect hosts in Wolbachia. The novel data and understanding of evolutionary processes we generate will be c ....The genomics of adaptation in Wolbachia pipientis, an emerging biocontrol agent. Australians are increasingly exposed to insect-transmitted diseases such as dengue fever. Novel biocontrol methods using the bacterium Wolbachia aim to control insect populations to reduce disease transmission. Our research will be the first to investigate genomic variation and the process of adaptation to new insect hosts in Wolbachia. The novel data and understanding of evolutionary processes we generate will be critical for screening bacterial biocontrol candidates and designing biocontrol release strategies. It will also strengthen the position of Australian research as a world-leader in the fusion of post-genomics and applied microbiology. Read moreRead less
Old genes learning new tricks: characterising regulatory changes driving increased heart complexity during vertebrate evolution. The heart has dramatically increased in morphological complexity during vertebrate evolution but the molecular basis driving these major changes remains unknown. Using comparative genomics approaches, this project will explore changes in the regulation of genes involved in heart formation that lead to changes in cardiac structure. It will elucidate for the first time t ....Old genes learning new tricks: characterising regulatory changes driving increased heart complexity during vertebrate evolution. The heart has dramatically increased in morphological complexity during vertebrate evolution but the molecular basis driving these major changes remains unknown. Using comparative genomics approaches, this project will explore changes in the regulation of genes involved in heart formation that lead to changes in cardiac structure. It will elucidate for the first time the cardiac regulatory repertoire in zebrafish and will compare it with that of fly and mouse using cutting-edge bioinformatics pipelines. This work will unravel cardiac-specific regulatory modifications that give rise to evolutionary changes. On a broader scale, it will shed new light on the role of regulatory innovations over gene innovations in the emergence of new traits.Read moreRead less
The evolution of Membrane Attack Complex / Perforin-like proteins in development and immunity. Membrane Attack Complex/Perforin-like (MACPF) proteins commonly play key roles in vertebrate immunity, however some family members play critical but poorly understood developmental roles. It has been shown that the sole Drosophila MACPF protein, Torsolike, plays both developmental and immune roles. Here the aim to unravel how Torsolike functions in these dual roles by using a novel genetic screening ap ....The evolution of Membrane Attack Complex / Perforin-like proteins in development and immunity. Membrane Attack Complex/Perforin-like (MACPF) proteins commonly play key roles in vertebrate immunity, however some family members play critical but poorly understood developmental roles. It has been shown that the sole Drosophila MACPF protein, Torsolike, plays both developmental and immune roles. Here the aim to unravel how Torsolike functions in these dual roles by using a novel genetic screening approach to identify genes needed for its function. The project also uses comparative studies to probe alternative functions of Torsolike in a second insect, the honeybee. This data will be pivotal for understanding how members of this family have evolved into proteins that are separately involved in immune defense and in development in higher vertebrates.Read moreRead less