Revealing the determinants of viral emergence and evolution in fish. Viral diseases pose an ongoing threat to Australian aquaculture. The devastating impact of emerging viruses makes it imperative to understand the factors that allow them to evolve and infect new hosts. We will address these key issues by revealing the diversity, abundance and evolution of viruses in fish sampled along the Australian east coast. The data generated will reveal the untapped biodiversity of fish viruses, the freque ....Revealing the determinants of viral emergence and evolution in fish. Viral diseases pose an ongoing threat to Australian aquaculture. The devastating impact of emerging viruses makes it imperative to understand the factors that allow them to evolve and infect new hosts. We will address these key issues by revealing the diversity, abundance and evolution of viruses in fish sampled along the Australian east coast. The data generated will reveal the untapped biodiversity of fish viruses, the frequency which they jump species boundaries and the determinants of this process, and how they are impacted by host ecology, including whether fish viruses follow a latitudinal gradient in diversity. The data generated will transform our understanding of fish viruses and identify those most likely to impact aquaculture.Read moreRead less
Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The cur ....Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The curation of genomic and transcriptomic data sets, and elucidation of snail–parasite interactions will underpin the development of environmental diagnostic tests and deliver a new generation of intervention strategies to reduce the burden of liver fluke disease through the control of their snail intermediate hosts.Read moreRead less
Sugar transporters in coral symbiosis and origin of parasitism. We aim to identify how symbiotic algae feed sugar to their coral hosts. Corals need this algal sugar to exist, but no one knows how it is transferred, so understanding this crucial mechanism is hugely significant. The first benefit of this research will be a fundamental understanding about how two organisms (algae and coral) cooperate to build habitats like the Great Barrier Reef. We also aim to explore whether coral/algal coopera ....Sugar transporters in coral symbiosis and origin of parasitism. We aim to identify how symbiotic algae feed sugar to their coral hosts. Corals need this algal sugar to exist, but no one knows how it is transferred, so understanding this crucial mechanism is hugely significant. The first benefit of this research will be a fundamental understanding about how two organisms (algae and coral) cooperate to build habitats like the Great Barrier Reef. We also aim to explore whether coral/algal cooperation paved the way for the origin of parasitism. The second key outcome will be to identify the precise molecular mechanism that allowed parasitism to arise. This will benefit us through understanding the origins of important diseases such as human malaria and related infections of livestock and wildlife.
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Skin Microbes and Animal Health: Understanding the Ecological Context. This project aims to understand the fundamental ecological relationships between animal hosts (frogs, geckos) and bacteria on their skin by separating host effects from environmental factors that determine skin microbiome composition. The research is significant because it will generate new knowledge needed to understand how skin microbes function in providing protection against disease. Expected outcomes include the provisio ....Skin Microbes and Animal Health: Understanding the Ecological Context. This project aims to understand the fundamental ecological relationships between animal hosts (frogs, geckos) and bacteria on their skin by separating host effects from environmental factors that determine skin microbiome composition. The research is significant because it will generate new knowledge needed to understand how skin microbes function in providing protection against disease. Expected outcomes include the provision of essential information that will guide future research efforts on the factors that determine a healthy skin microbial community (which is needed before skin diseases can be combated). The research will provide significant benefits, including more targeted conservation efforts to combat wildlife skin diseases.Read moreRead less
Coevolution of sundew bugs and sundews. This project aims to conduct a study of insect-plant interactions to determine if insects and plants coevolve or if they diversify by other evolutionary processes. Insect-plant coevolution is a hotly contested field in evolutionary biology. In Australia, a remarkable interaction exists between carnivorous plants and a group of bugs that steal the plant’s prey. This system offers a great opportunity to test competing coevolutionary theories through a combin ....Coevolution of sundew bugs and sundews. This project aims to conduct a study of insect-plant interactions to determine if insects and plants coevolve or if they diversify by other evolutionary processes. Insect-plant coevolution is a hotly contested field in evolutionary biology. In Australia, a remarkable interaction exists between carnivorous plants and a group of bugs that steal the plant’s prey. This system offers a great opportunity to test competing coevolutionary theories through a combination of historical and ecological approaches. The project expects to showcase the evolution and uniqueness of Australia’s native biota.Read moreRead less
Targeting the host lipid environment to disrupt malaria transmission. This project aims to characterise host molecules (in particular lipids) that are crucial for the transition of malaria parasites from one host to another. Malaria parasites encounter different environments upon their transition from human to the mosquito host. This project expects to generate new knowledge on physiological changes that are triggered by particular differences in micronutrient abundance that allow the parasites ....Targeting the host lipid environment to disrupt malaria transmission. This project aims to characterise host molecules (in particular lipids) that are crucial for the transition of malaria parasites from one host to another. Malaria parasites encounter different environments upon their transition from human to the mosquito host. This project expects to generate new knowledge on physiological changes that are triggered by particular differences in micronutrient abundance that allow the parasites to survive in the new host. Anticipated outcomes include the identification of new intervention strategies and improved transmission model systems for vector-borne diseases. This gained knowledge could provide benefits to future biomedical applications by informing diagnostics or treatment of lipid associated diseases.Read moreRead less
Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project wi ....Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project will provide a new, yet crucial, perspective on how and why diseases spread. Our discoveries will help understand and manage the burden of infectious diseases from parasites in and beyond our cities and across the human-wildlife interface; essential for improving human and wildlife health in an increasingly urbanised Australia.Read moreRead less
Why do neutrophils swarm? This project aims to combine novel immunology, microscopy and computational approaches to investigate how immune cells called neutrophils cooperate to protect the host against microbes. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of inflammation and then utilise a type of highly coordinated collective behaviour termed swarming. However, the role of neutrophil swarms in fighting off infection is poorly understood. The project is poised to generate new knowledge on the imp ....Why do neutrophils swarm? This project aims to combine novel immunology, microscopy and computational approaches to investigate how immune cells called neutrophils cooperate to protect the host against microbes. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of inflammation and then utilise a type of highly coordinated collective behaviour termed swarming. However, the role of neutrophil swarms in fighting off infection is poorly understood. The project is poised to generate new knowledge on the importance of immune cell cooperation by developing in silico models of the immune response. The project will provide benefit through enhanced understanding of fundamental principles of immunity and develop new computational tools to model complex immune function in silico.Read moreRead less
The evolution of host-parasite interactions during a biological invasion. This project aims to elucidate how host organisms and their parasites adapt to each other, exploiting the fact that a biological invasion imposes novel evolutionary challenges. This project expects to generate new knowledge about how the interaction between host and parasite species is affected when the system is exposed to powerful new selective forces. Expected outcomes of this project include development of theory, trai ....The evolution of host-parasite interactions during a biological invasion. This project aims to elucidate how host organisms and their parasites adapt to each other, exploiting the fact that a biological invasion imposes novel evolutionary challenges. This project expects to generate new knowledge about how the interaction between host and parasite species is affected when the system is exposed to powerful new selective forces. Expected outcomes of this project include development of theory, training of students in an emerging field, and a nuanced understanding of this important topic. This should provide significant benefits, such as an enhanced ability for wildlife managers to predict the impact of parasites on species of wildlife that are extending their geographic ranges.Read moreRead less