Identification of the basic elements of Plasmodium transcription. This Discovery Project falls under the NRP for safeguarding Australia. Australian troops stationed in malaria endemic areas face the threat of infection and require medical attention upon return.Any research on malaria will expand our knowledge on prevention and treatment. Australia near malariaendemic locations such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.These countries do not have the means to support effective basic research into ....Identification of the basic elements of Plasmodium transcription. This Discovery Project falls under the NRP for safeguarding Australia. Australian troops stationed in malaria endemic areas face the threat of infection and require medical attention upon return.Any research on malaria will expand our knowledge on prevention and treatment. Australia near malariaendemic locations such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.These countries do not have the means to support effective basic research into the disease and wealthier countries such as Australia have the responsibility to fill this void.Furthermore, the aims of this Discovery Project are unique within the Australian malaria research community and the results fully complement other studies on transcription regulation of antigenic genes. Read moreRead less
Identifying Novel Biosynthetic Pathways in Mycobacteria using DNA Microarray Technology. DNA microarrays are a powerful new bioinformatics-based technology and an ideal tool for characterising complex biosynthetic pathways since the expression of all genes in the bacterial genome can be monitored in a single experiment. In this project we aim to construct and use a DNA microarray to identify novel biosynthetic pathways in mycobacteria. Of particular interest are pathways used to create compone ....Identifying Novel Biosynthetic Pathways in Mycobacteria using DNA Microarray Technology. DNA microarrays are a powerful new bioinformatics-based technology and an ideal tool for characterising complex biosynthetic pathways since the expression of all genes in the bacterial genome can be monitored in a single experiment. In this project we aim to construct and use a DNA microarray to identify novel biosynthetic pathways in mycobacteria. Of particular interest are pathways used to create components of the highly complex and poorly characterised cell wall. Since this structure is unique in the bacterial world, we expect to identify and characterise pathways that are unique to mycobacteria.Read moreRead less
Transcriptional control of antigenic variation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is a major health concern for the Australian Defence Personnel recently deployed in East Timor, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands and is endemic in our immediate neighbours Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Australia is susceptible to malaria and climate change could extend the mosquitos range to large population centres of Northern Australia causing malaria in Australia. This study would clarif ....Transcriptional control of antigenic variation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is a major health concern for the Australian Defence Personnel recently deployed in East Timor, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands and is endemic in our immediate neighbours Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Australia is susceptible to malaria and climate change could extend the mosquitos range to large population centres of Northern Australia causing malaria in Australia. This study would clarify how malaria parasites evade the host's immune response and help to protect Australia by providing drug targets for the control of this invasive disease.Read moreRead less
The Role of High-Frequency Antigenic Variation in The Pathogenesis of Mycoplasma infection. The main goal of the proposed project is to understand the molecular mechanisms of phase/antigenic variation and its effects on mycoplasma pathogenesis. In this context I will use the well-characterised Mycoplasma synoviae haemagglutinin, MSPA, to establish the role of its phase-variable expression in the type and extent of M. synoviae disease. Additionally, the relationship between MSPA phase variation a ....The Role of High-Frequency Antigenic Variation in The Pathogenesis of Mycoplasma infection. The main goal of the proposed project is to understand the molecular mechanisms of phase/antigenic variation and its effects on mycoplasma pathogenesis. In this context I will use the well-characterised Mycoplasma synoviae haemagglutinin, MSPA, to establish the role of its phase-variable expression in the type and extent of M. synoviae disease. Additionally, the relationship between MSPA phase variation and gene rearrangements in the MSPB-encoding gene will be elucidated. The results will contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of bacterial disease and of the evolution of pathogenic mechanisms in bacterial pathogens.Read moreRead less