Transcriptome sequencing and functional characterisation of craniate non-visual sensory systems and their adaptation to diverse light environments. Light detection (photoreception) is critical to species survival. It is not limited to vision, but also serves to set biological rhythms. In mammals, all photoreception is thought to occur solely through the eye, but in non-mammals many other tissues directly monitor light levels. However, the signalling cascades and functional roles of these non-vis ....Transcriptome sequencing and functional characterisation of craniate non-visual sensory systems and their adaptation to diverse light environments. Light detection (photoreception) is critical to species survival. It is not limited to vision, but also serves to set biological rhythms. In mammals, all photoreception is thought to occur solely through the eye, but in non-mammals many other tissues directly monitor light levels. However, the signalling cascades and functional roles of these non-visual pathways are largely unknown. This project will use high-throughput sequencing technologies and functional analyses to trace the origin and function of different irradiance detection systems in each main craniate class. By comparing species from diverse photic habitats, the influence of light as a substrate for adaptation will be investigated.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0667981
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Kangaroo Genome Resource Management Facility. Increasingly, large Australian multicentre research programs in biological and medical sciences have a genomics component that involves integration of biological information with sequencing data. The success of these research programs depends on rapid internet access to the research information by all participating scientists. The universal design of the proposed information management system means that it can be easily adapted to support a broad ran ....Kangaroo Genome Resource Management Facility. Increasingly, large Australian multicentre research programs in biological and medical sciences have a genomics component that involves integration of biological information with sequencing data. The success of these research programs depends on rapid internet access to the research information by all participating scientists. The universal design of the proposed information management system means that it can be easily adapted to support a broad range of research programs. The development of this software program therefore has the potential to benefit research scientists, academics and students in many related fields, as well as the broader community, through enhancing research outcomes.Read moreRead less
Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding o ....Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding of global human genomic variants and provide a range of new targets relevant to medical biology, while significantly improving our knowledge of human genetic history and its consequences in the modern day.Read moreRead less
The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which ....The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which sex genes are targets? Epigenetic enzymes are astonishingly conserved, providing exciting opportunities to draw from human systems to unravel novel signatures of temperature-induced sex switching in reptiles. This project will advance knowledge of developmental programming generally.Read moreRead less
Evolution and the immune system: genetic differences in immune response between human populations due to adaptation to living in different geo-climatic locations. The project, which investigates the genetics of inter-population differences in immune response, will lead to advances in immunology and population genetics research, explain present population specific differences in disease incidence and possibly forecast future population trends of diseases such as asthma and allergy. The study will ....Evolution and the immune system: genetic differences in immune response between human populations due to adaptation to living in different geo-climatic locations. The project, which investigates the genetics of inter-population differences in immune response, will lead to advances in immunology and population genetics research, explain present population specific differences in disease incidence and possibly forecast future population trends of diseases such as asthma and allergy. The study will strengthen ties with collaborators around the world, thus promoting excellence in Australian research and gain Australia prestige in the international community as a country that produces research of global significance. Understanding the immune system's 'recent evolutionary roots' has implications for the health of Australians, especially in light of Australia's increasingly multi-ethnic background.Read moreRead less
Drugging the undruggable: Development of novel technologies to selectively regulate the expression of targets driving cancer and other diseases. Transcription factors are “undruggable” targets playing a principal role driving cancer. This project will create novel therapeutic strategies to inhibit transcription factors and other elusive targets differentially expressed in diseased cells, without affecting normal tissue. It proposes to construct engineered proteins able to bind and modify specifi ....Drugging the undruggable: Development of novel technologies to selectively regulate the expression of targets driving cancer and other diseases. Transcription factors are “undruggable” targets playing a principal role driving cancer. This project will create novel therapeutic strategies to inhibit transcription factors and other elusive targets differentially expressed in diseased cells, without affecting normal tissue. It proposes to construct engineered proteins able to bind and modify specific key genes deregulated in cancer, to correct their expression and stably reprogram the phenotype of the tumour cell in a normal-like state. It outlines the engineering of novel synthetic agents to block specific protein-protein interactions in cancer cells and to induce potent tumour cell death. This work will generate novel and selective therapeutics to treat un-curable forms of tumours.Read moreRead less
Deciphering the regulation and function of the epigenome in eukaryotic development and stress response. The epigenome is an additional regulatory code superimposed upon plant and animal genomes that controls how they operate. This project will aim to understand the information encoded in the epigenome and how it changes in development and environmental stress, enabling manipulation of its function in crops and correction of its dysfunction in disease.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100116
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
Western Australian Zebrafish Facility. Zebrafish facility: The zebrafish as a model vertebrate organism is fast approaching the importance of the laboratory mouse. This facility will enable the research community to fully embrace the zebrafish as a powerful research tool.