Design rules for nutritionally-functional grains. Design rules for nutritionally-functional grains. This project aims to design the most comprehensive specifications yet for nutritionally enhanced and health-modulating starch in grain-based foods. Why starch resists small intestinal digestion is not understood; this limits plant breeders and food (ingredient) manufacturers’ ability to tailor starch structures for optimal human nutritional value. This project will study how resistant starch survi ....Design rules for nutritionally-functional grains. Design rules for nutritionally-functional grains. This project aims to design the most comprehensive specifications yet for nutritionally enhanced and health-modulating starch in grain-based foods. Why starch resists small intestinal digestion is not understood; this limits plant breeders and food (ingredient) manufacturers’ ability to tailor starch structures for optimal human nutritional value. This project will study how resistant starch survives digestion in the small intestine and passed to the large intestine using a model for the large intestine to define the microbial fermentation of resistant starch fractions. This research is expected to improve breeding programmes and food ingredients and promote the nutritional value of grain-based foods.Read moreRead less
Adaptive ecotyping of the toxic cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii to predict its invasive capacity. We change the world while other organisms adapt to these new conditions. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) increasingly dominate water bodies that were previously free of these harmful blooms. To minimise the spread of these algae, this project will study the genetic basis that determines how rapidly they can evolve and adapt to a changing planet.
Microbial Ecology and Control of Foaming in Anaerobic Digesters. One of the world's most common treatments of biosolids (product of wastewater treatment), anaerobic digestion often suffers from accumulation of biological foam. This foam hinders treatment, personnel health and safety, legal requirements for environmental protection are jeopardised and attempts to control digester foaming are costly. There is a clear lack of knowledge about the organisms involved and causes, therefore no informe ....Microbial Ecology and Control of Foaming in Anaerobic Digesters. One of the world's most common treatments of biosolids (product of wastewater treatment), anaerobic digestion often suffers from accumulation of biological foam. This foam hinders treatment, personnel health and safety, legal requirements for environmental protection are jeopardised and attempts to control digester foaming are costly. There is a clear lack of knowledge about the organisms involved and causes, therefore no informed solutions exist. Molecular DNA techniques, 16SrDNA sequencing and DGGE, will assist in deciphering causes and organisms involved. Research outcomes will present environmental, legal and economical acceptable control strategies for digester foaming to the waste management and water industries.Read moreRead less
Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. This project aims to develop an adaptive, real-time control system for managing disinfectant residuals in chloraminated water supply systems. While chloramine delivers microbiologically safe drinking water in warmer climates and in long distribution systems, it is largely unpredictable, costs water utilities millions of dollars annually, and has uncertai ....Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. This project aims to develop an adaptive, real-time control system for managing disinfectant residuals in chloraminated water supply systems. While chloramine delivers microbiologically safe drinking water in warmer climates and in long distribution systems, it is largely unpredictable, costs water utilities millions of dollars annually, and has uncertain benefits. This project’s control system will be guided by quantitative models formulated from multi-pronged, fundamental experiments. The project will quantify microbial chloramine decay and determine mechanisms to increase predictability. The project will develop and demonstrate a real-time control technology which delivered microbiologically safe, cost-efficient drinking water to people in warmer climates, despite warming climate and increasing population.Read moreRead less
Landfill Based Rapid Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Solid Waste. The rapid digestion of municipal solid waste has the potential to make putrescible landfills obsolete. Waste can be digested prior to landfilling, eliminating odour and the emission of methane. Pre-digestion is currently performed in highly mechanised in-vessel digesters in some European locations. Demonstations in our laboratory have shown similar digestion rates can be achieved in static beds. This technology can be feasibl ....Landfill Based Rapid Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Solid Waste. The rapid digestion of municipal solid waste has the potential to make putrescible landfills obsolete. Waste can be digested prior to landfilling, eliminating odour and the emission of methane. Pre-digestion is currently performed in highly mechanised in-vessel digesters in some European locations. Demonstations in our laboratory have shown similar digestion rates can be achieved in static beds. This technology can be feasibly scaled to digest waste streams of the size produced by Australian cities. The project will scale up this technology in a series of test cell trials at the Thiess Swanbank landfill near Ipswich, Queensland.Read moreRead less
The only constant is change: ecology and evolution of phage-host interactions in a model ecosystem. Microorganisms underpin life on Earth, but our understanding of their diversity and activity is limited by our inability to grow most of them in the laboratory. Recently, new techniques have emerged that allow access to the genetic information of all microorganisms by directly sequencing DNA and RNA from the environment. In this research we will further develop these frontier technologies, promoti ....The only constant is change: ecology and evolution of phage-host interactions in a model ecosystem. Microorganisms underpin life on Earth, but our understanding of their diversity and activity is limited by our inability to grow most of them in the laboratory. Recently, new techniques have emerged that allow access to the genetic information of all microorganisms by directly sequencing DNA and RNA from the environment. In this research we will further develop these frontier technologies, promoting this new area of science in Australia. We will apply these techniques to microbial communities involved in wastewater treatment in order to understand the interactions between microorganisms and the viruses that infect them. Understanding this interaction will have important implications for optimising these treatment processes.Read moreRead less
Metagenomics and the genetic basis of ecology and evolution of communities - complex microbial communities in industrial processes as excellent paradigms. Benefits accrue on two fronts: the international reputation of Australian science in contributing significantly to two new, challenging and highly topical questions in ecology and evolution, and in pioneering a route to better efficiency and control of an important industrial process. Wastewater is rich in organic phosphorus that is damaging t ....Metagenomics and the genetic basis of ecology and evolution of communities - complex microbial communities in industrial processes as excellent paradigms. Benefits accrue on two fronts: the international reputation of Australian science in contributing significantly to two new, challenging and highly topical questions in ecology and evolution, and in pioneering a route to better efficiency and control of an important industrial process. Wastewater is rich in organic phosphorus that is damaging to the environment if untreated, but current understanding enables only rudimentary control of the microbial communities that are the basis of the treatment process. The work will provide unprecedented insight into the mechanisms underpinning the dynamics of phosphorus absorbing microbes in industrial facilities by integrating from gene-to-ecosystem.Read moreRead less
Biogeochemical remediation approaches for PFAS contaminated environments. This project aims to identify and harvest microorganisms capable of directly or indirectly affecting PFOS or PFOA degradation in the environment. Fluorinated compounds such as PFOS and PFOA in firefighting foams are contaminants of concern now routinely detected in contaminated groundwater and soil globally. Understanding the role of microorganisms, and the biogeochemical processes they perform in relation to fluorinated c ....Biogeochemical remediation approaches for PFAS contaminated environments. This project aims to identify and harvest microorganisms capable of directly or indirectly affecting PFOS or PFOA degradation in the environment. Fluorinated compounds such as PFOS and PFOA in firefighting foams are contaminants of concern now routinely detected in contaminated groundwater and soil globally. Understanding the role of microorganisms, and the biogeochemical processes they perform in relation to fluorinated compounds, will inform handling of contaminated sites and lead to development of cost effective and sustainable remediation technologies. Read moreRead less
Development and implementation of biodiversity information for sustainable management of South Australian groundwater. Clean potable water is one of the most important resources for human health and a successful economy. Increasingly, subterranean aquifers are used for storage and recovery of water. These aquifers contain dynamic ecosystems, but little is known about species composition or about the importance of the presence of various species for water quality. We will use the latest laborator ....Development and implementation of biodiversity information for sustainable management of South Australian groundwater. Clean potable water is one of the most important resources for human health and a successful economy. Increasingly, subterranean aquifers are used for storage and recovery of water. These aquifers contain dynamic ecosystems, but little is known about species composition or about the importance of the presence of various species for water quality. We will use the latest laboratory techniques and DNA identification methods to provide a template for determining ground water diversity and food web dynamics throughout Australia. This project will lead to a better understanding of how to manage ground water in a sustainable manner.Read moreRead less
EXTRACELLULAR ELECTRON TRANSFER IN BIO-ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS. Water quality and supply are critical issues in Australia. This project investigates the role of bacteria in maintaining a good freshwater quality, and the influence of environmental parameters on this. It will enable us to assess the role of bacteria on greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of environments. As a result, processes can be developed to alleviate high emissions while simultaneously producing green energy. The proteomic ....EXTRACELLULAR ELECTRON TRANSFER IN BIO-ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS. Water quality and supply are critical issues in Australia. This project investigates the role of bacteria in maintaining a good freshwater quality, and the influence of environmental parameters on this. It will enable us to assess the role of bacteria on greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of environments. As a result, processes can be developed to alleviate high emissions while simultaneously producing green energy. The proteomics study will deliver, aside from knowledge, redox proteins which find their way to diagnostics and fuel cells. This project substantiates Australia based research at the forefront and enables international anchoring of our expertise.Read moreRead less