Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity a ....Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity and formation rate for ammonia production. This unique technology has the potential to replace current ammonia production based on Haber-Bosch process, which consumes 2% of world energy and contributes 3% of overall CO2 emission. The project provides opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This pr ....Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This project will benefit ongoing conservation efforts, and is timely given the ongoing eradication of rats from Lord Howe Island where this species once lived. Read moreRead less
Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in afforested ecosystems in southeastern Australia - fluxes, processes and regional budget. There are no data available about the extent of emissions of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane from soils of forest ecosystems in Australia and the current methodolgy to quantify these emissions contains high uncertainties. Using the latest technology available we propose to i) measure emission rates of afforested ecosystems for non-CO2 greenhouse gase ....Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in afforested ecosystems in southeastern Australia - fluxes, processes and regional budget. There are no data available about the extent of emissions of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane from soils of forest ecosystems in Australia and the current methodolgy to quantify these emissions contains high uncertainties. Using the latest technology available we propose to i) measure emission rates of afforested ecosystems for non-CO2 greenhouse gases in relation to previous land-use in southeastern Australia, ii) identify the processes controlling the emissions, iii) use the obtained data to calibrate a biogeochemical model, and iv) use the model to estimate regional inventories for non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in southeastern Australia.Read moreRead less
Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evoluti ....Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evolution, by identifying rare venom transcripts involved in providing evolutionary potential for adaptation to environmental change. This is essential as continuing climatic and human-induced alteration of our environment affects southern Australia where many people live, work and interact with native wildlife. Anticipated outcomes are maximizing venom harvests and enhanced snakebite treatment capacity.Read moreRead less
Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a functio ....Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a function of land use change. The project will improve estimates and management of GHG and provide a basis for the NT to potentially exploit future carbon-trading initiatives or GHG abatement schemes as fundamental data describing emissions as a function of land use will be available. This is of national significance given the size of the savanna biome in Australia.Read moreRead less
Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This proje ....Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This project builds on this work by focusing on cultural and genetic transmission of toad-smart behaviour. The project could save numerous quoll populations from extinction.Read moreRead less
Chemical Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Analogues of Platencin, a New-generation Antibiotic. The just discovered natural product platencin displays potent and broad spectrum anti-bacterial activity. It may represent the precursor of a new class of drugs to replace current anti-infective agents which are becoming alarmingly less effective as bacterial resistance increases dramatically. For this reason, platencin has been described as a once in a generation discovery. This study will explo ....Chemical Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Analogues of Platencin, a New-generation Antibiotic. The just discovered natural product platencin displays potent and broad spectrum anti-bacterial activity. It may represent the precursor of a new class of drugs to replace current anti-infective agents which are becoming alarmingly less effective as bacterial resistance increases dramatically. For this reason, platencin has been described as a once in a generation discovery. This study will exploit two sophisticated new synthetic techniques for the purposes of making analogues of platencin that will be screened by the industry partner, Biota, for anti-bacterial properties. New drug candidates capable of treating especially dangerous infections such as methicillin resistant staphyllococcus aureus (MRSA) should thus emerge.Read moreRead less
Why is the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, so inefficient? Dissection of the catalytic chemistry by computational simulation and experimental testing. Fixation of CO2 by the enzyme Rubisco during photosynthesis produces organic compounds which feed all life. Despite this critical role, Rubisco catalyses its reaction sluggishly and, worse, discriminates poorly between CO2 and O2, leading to useless products. Our combined expertise equips us to analyse Rubisco's mechanism using quantum- ....Why is the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, so inefficient? Dissection of the catalytic chemistry by computational simulation and experimental testing. Fixation of CO2 by the enzyme Rubisco during photosynthesis produces organic compounds which feed all life. Despite this critical role, Rubisco catalyses its reaction sluggishly and, worse, discriminates poorly between CO2 and O2, leading to useless products. Our combined expertise equips us to analyse Rubisco's mechanism using quantum-chemical methods and then test predictions experimentally. We will capitalise on our previous successful studies of Rubisco by addressing emergent issues which are the keys to understanding catalytic efficiency and CO2/O2 selectivity: the roles of a carbamylated lysine; the way CO2 addition is rendered irreversible; and the spin inversion inherent in O2 addition.Read moreRead less
Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity ....Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity & distribution of salt-tolerance. This project is the first to use DNA sequences from thousands of species to understand the evolution of salt-tolerance in order to provide the foundation for the development of new crop varieties, selection of species that can be developed for bioremediation, and identification of traits that will be profitable targets for breeding programs. Read moreRead less
E. coli as an indicator of faecal contamination in the Australian context. The goal of this research is to improve our ability to use Escherichia coli as an indicator of water quality by determining the extent to which non-faecal sources of E. coli contribute to coliform counts and to develop a method to differentiate non-faecal E. coli from those that are faecal derived.