Investigating a new way in which diet impacts animal biology. This project aims to investigate the importance of a new way in which diet can alter animal biology. High fat or high sugar diets increase the binding of products of metabolism to chromosomes, which can completely alter the way that DNA is packaged and read. This project will use cell culture, rodent and fly models to identify the regions of the genome that are most affected by the new process. The project will also determine whether ....Investigating a new way in which diet impacts animal biology. This project aims to investigate the importance of a new way in which diet can alter animal biology. High fat or high sugar diets increase the binding of products of metabolism to chromosomes, which can completely alter the way that DNA is packaged and read. This project will use cell culture, rodent and fly models to identify the regions of the genome that are most affected by the new process. The project will also determine whether the cell is harmed, or in fact harnesses the process to control development or metabolism. This project has implications for our understanding of the ways in which genes interact with the environment especially in times of change.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the genetic and biochemical potential of kangaroo paws. Using cutting-edge gene technology and an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to uncover the genes responsible for flower colour in the iconic kangaroo paws of Western Australia, and identify the compounds that produce the colours. The project expects to produce the first entire kangaroo paw genome and identify unique genetic variants and biochemicals underlying colour differences. This new knowledge should help horticul ....Unlocking the genetic and biochemical potential of kangaroo paws. Using cutting-edge gene technology and an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to uncover the genes responsible for flower colour in the iconic kangaroo paws of Western Australia, and identify the compounds that produce the colours. The project expects to produce the first entire kangaroo paw genome and identify unique genetic variants and biochemicals underlying colour differences. This new knowledge should help horticultural programs to more easily breed varieties with desirable and highly marketable new colours, and could assist in conserving these amazing Australian plants.Read moreRead less
Evolution and mechanisms of interactions in biofilm communities. This project aims to study the long-term experimental evolution of a mixed species bacterial biofilm community. This project expects to gain understanding of the genetic and physiological basis of community evolution. Expected outcomes of this project will be an understanding of how synthetic communities evolve. This will significantly benefit the use of synthetic communities relevant to fields such as antibiotic design, biotechnol ....Evolution and mechanisms of interactions in biofilm communities. This project aims to study the long-term experimental evolution of a mixed species bacterial biofilm community. This project expects to gain understanding of the genetic and physiological basis of community evolution. Expected outcomes of this project will be an understanding of how synthetic communities evolve. This will significantly benefit the use of synthetic communities relevant to fields such as antibiotic design, biotechnology, bioremediation, and synthetic biology where evolution can be inhibited or exploited, respectively.Read moreRead less
Beyond pineal melatonin: sensing the seasons without the eye. The project will identify the causal connection between seasonal breeding in animals and a recently recognised brain biochemical pathway by applying experimental treatments mimicking seasonal environmental changes in a mutant and wild-type nematode worm model. Through experimentation we will identify useful biological targets that might be manipulated to enhance control of seasonal breeding in managed animals. With better control of r ....Beyond pineal melatonin: sensing the seasons without the eye. The project will identify the causal connection between seasonal breeding in animals and a recently recognised brain biochemical pathway by applying experimental treatments mimicking seasonal environmental changes in a mutant and wild-type nematode worm model. Through experimentation we will identify useful biological targets that might be manipulated to enhance control of seasonal breeding in managed animals. With better control of reproductive output in animals, farmers and managers can increase and/or decrease reproductive output as needed in managed species including livestock and vertebrate pests. This will enhance the use of precious land resources and minimize ecological damage from overbreeding.Read moreRead less
Multilevel selection and the integrity of mitochondrial DNA. This project aims to investigate the evolutionary conundrum of how and why organelles remain asexual. The widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction suggests that sex is beneficial to organisms. Yet we all carry an ancient genome that never had sex, the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). Theory predicts that mtDNA should no longer exist, because without sex it accumulates deleterious mutations and cannot accumulate beneficial ones. Yet mt ....Multilevel selection and the integrity of mitochondrial DNA. This project aims to investigate the evolutionary conundrum of how and why organelles remain asexual. The widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction suggests that sex is beneficial to organisms. Yet we all carry an ancient genome that never had sex, the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). Theory predicts that mtDNA should no longer exist, because without sex it accumulates deleterious mutations and cannot accumulate beneficial ones. Yet mtDNA does not suffer mutational meltdown and is shown to adapt. This project will explain how, proposing that the combination of two traits, uniparental inheritance and multiple genomes per cell, make up for the lack of sex. This project expects to provide an explanation for the evolutionary question of what keeps mitochondria healthy, important as mitochondria affect ageing and health.Read moreRead less
Regulating the composition of biomolecular condensates in living cells. Biomolecular condensation is a novel organising principle of living cells, driven by ‘unmixing’ of the cellular contents into compartments. It is observed from plants to animals and is involved in diverse processes from how cells repair DNA to how they perceive signals. This project aims to reveal how human cells control the composition of condensates, which is critical for their function. It expects to uncover new regulator ....Regulating the composition of biomolecular condensates in living cells. Biomolecular condensation is a novel organising principle of living cells, driven by ‘unmixing’ of the cellular contents into compartments. It is observed from plants to animals and is involved in diverse processes from how cells repair DNA to how they perceive signals. This project aims to reveal how human cells control the composition of condensates, which is critical for their function. It expects to uncover new regulatory principles of cellular organisation by combining methods from quantitative cell biology and statistical physics. Expected benefits include building Australia’s capability in the potentially transformational field of biomolecular condensates, which has diverse future biotechnology applications in health and agriculture.Read moreRead less
How novel ribosomal RNA gene repeat variants drive cellular function. The hundreds of ribosomal RNA gene repeat copies are a remarkable part of our genomes, as they encode the machinery responsible for all cellular protein synthesis and shape the structure of the nucleus. However, due to their high degree of sequence similarity, they still have not been assembled into the human genome reference. This project will resolve this impasse and furthermore uncover the functional impacts of a newly iden ....How novel ribosomal RNA gene repeat variants drive cellular function. The hundreds of ribosomal RNA gene repeat copies are a remarkable part of our genomes, as they encode the machinery responsible for all cellular protein synthesis and shape the structure of the nucleus. However, due to their high degree of sequence similarity, they still have not been assembled into the human genome reference. This project will resolve this impasse and furthermore uncover the functional impacts of a newly identified molecular diversity in the ribosomal RNA gene repeats. Outcomes include new paradigms for how the ribosomal RNA gene repeats drive protein synthesis and genome structure, and a blueprint to develop novel genomics applications for human health, biotechnology, and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Assembling the building blocks in the blueprint of the embryonic head. This project aims to profile and impute the genome activity and validate the cellular and molecular mechanism underpinning the generation, in time and space, of diverse types of tissues that constitute the building blocks of the embryonic head. The knowledge gain enriches our understanding of the early steps of head formation during embryogenesis in the context of the niche conditions associated with the acquisition of progen ....Assembling the building blocks in the blueprint of the embryonic head. This project aims to profile and impute the genome activity and validate the cellular and molecular mechanism underpinning the generation, in time and space, of diverse types of tissues that constitute the building blocks of the embryonic head. The knowledge gain enriches our understanding of the early steps of head formation during embryogenesis in the context of the niche conditions associated with the acquisition of progenitor state, enhancement of lineage propensity, and driving early lineage differentiation. Expected outcome of this research on the developmental biology of a model organism provides a framework of the mechanism of establishing a blueprint of development that may be conserved across multiple mammalian species.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101210
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,634.00
Summary
Deciphering molecular genetic mechanisms underlying chromatin interactions. This project aims to generate the high confidence map of enhancer-promoter links in 61 tissues and cells through robust integration of novel machine learning tools with genomic and epigenomic datasets. Understanding which key elements in the genome may be important to fine-tune gene expression is essential for understanding biological pathways. The expected outcomes include i) New tools to robustly identify true chromati ....Deciphering molecular genetic mechanisms underlying chromatin interactions. This project aims to generate the high confidence map of enhancer-promoter links in 61 tissues and cells through robust integration of novel machine learning tools with genomic and epigenomic datasets. Understanding which key elements in the genome may be important to fine-tune gene expression is essential for understanding biological pathways. The expected outcomes include i) New tools to robustly identify true chromatin pairs; ii) Comperehensive maps of regulatory interactomes in 61 tissues & cells, which will provide a roadmap for interpreting & prioritising noncoding variants.
This should provide significant benefit to Australia's capacity for cutting-edge genomics research through fundamental understanding of gene regulation mechanism.Read moreRead less