Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH150100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,708,510.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Integrated Device for End-user Analysis at Low-levels. ARC Research Hub for Integrated Device for End-user Analysis at Low-levels. This hub aims to improve detection of biological materials by building a portable device for rapid, time-critical detection of low-abundance molecular and cellular analytes. It is expected that the resulting technologies would be used at medical points of care, ordinary workplaces and centres of activity to test for tiny levels of targeted molecu ....ARC Research Hub for Integrated Device for End-user Analysis at Low-levels. ARC Research Hub for Integrated Device for End-user Analysis at Low-levels. This hub aims to improve detection of biological materials by building a portable device for rapid, time-critical detection of low-abundance molecular and cellular analytes. It is expected that the resulting technologies would be used at medical points of care, ordinary workplaces and centres of activity to test for tiny levels of targeted molecules. The initial focus would be early diagnosis of disease and point-of-care drug testing for humans and animals, but the technology platform could be used to sample food and environmental toxins. The hub expects these disruptive technologies will make Australian biotechnology, diagnostics, veterinary, agribusiness and manufacturing firms globally competitive.Read moreRead less
Accelerating pulse breeding using machine learning. Advances in genomics and high throughput phenotyping are generating vast quantities of data that can be applied for crop improvement, however the lack of computational analysis tools and approaches limits the full exploitation of this data. Pulse legumes are currently under utilised in Australian agriculture due to poor adaptation, however they offer significant benefits both for soil improvement and the production of high protein crops. This p ....Accelerating pulse breeding using machine learning. Advances in genomics and high throughput phenotyping are generating vast quantities of data that can be applied for crop improvement, however the lack of computational analysis tools and approaches limits the full exploitation of this data. Pulse legumes are currently under utilised in Australian agriculture due to poor adaptation, however they offer significant benefits both for soil improvement and the production of high protein crops. This project will develop machine learning (ML) tools for the analysis of pulse legume crop traits and their association with genomic variation to accelerate the breeding of high performance pulse legumes for Australian growers.Read moreRead less
Immobilized biocatalysts on selected filter media to control odour emissions from wastewater treatment and composting facilities. Odour is one of the common problems faced by wastewater and solid waste industries as a result of public complaints about poor local air quality. Although odour removal technologies exist, they encounter a number of problems. The lack of harsh chemicals required for the proposed technology means there is no wastewater stream to treat. This will have an impact on the r ....Immobilized biocatalysts on selected filter media to control odour emissions from wastewater treatment and composting facilities. Odour is one of the common problems faced by wastewater and solid waste industries as a result of public complaints about poor local air quality. Although odour removal technologies exist, they encounter a number of problems. The lack of harsh chemicals required for the proposed technology means there is no wastewater stream to treat. This will have an impact on the reduction of chemicals disposed to the environment, preventing unnecessary contamination of land and water resources. The lower space requirement of the technology will free up land, formerly required for large biofilters, for other uses including civic amenities.Read moreRead less
Development of class-leading bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technologies for real-time monitoring of molecular interactions. The purpose of this project is to develop improved technologies for identifying and developing pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects. The expected outcome is the development of technologies that provide a level of sensitivity and data quality that enables adoption by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
Enhancing biopharmaceuticals: A disruptive bioseparation resin technology. This project aims to develop an innovative and disruptive platform technology for designing and manufacturing tailor-made high-performance bioseparation resins to enhance biopharmaceuticals manufacturing. Bacterial cell factories will be developed to enable biotechnological production of innovative polyester bead-based bioseparation resins, which will revolutionise manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Expected outcomes o ....Enhancing biopharmaceuticals: A disruptive bioseparation resin technology. This project aims to develop an innovative and disruptive platform technology for designing and manufacturing tailor-made high-performance bioseparation resins to enhance biopharmaceuticals manufacturing. Bacterial cell factories will be developed to enable biotechnological production of innovative polyester bead-based bioseparation resins, which will revolutionise manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Expected outcomes of this project are cost-effective and strongly enhanced approaches for biopharmaceuticals recovery, thereby providing significant benefits to accelerate research and development in early stage discovery and manufacture of biologics, therapeutic proteins and vaccines.Read moreRead less
Expanding the gene pool of canola (Brassica napus) by introgressing valuable genes from related species. Canola is a high value export crop from Australia, and an important rotational crop which improves sustainability of agriculture through a disease and weed break for cereal crops. While breeders have improved quality, disease resistance and adaptation of canola to Australian conditions over the past 30 years, this has reduced genetic variation to dangerously low levels. Wide crossing with d ....Expanding the gene pool of canola (Brassica napus) by introgressing valuable genes from related species. Canola is a high value export crop from Australia, and an important rotational crop which improves sustainability of agriculture through a disease and weed break for cereal crops. While breeders have improved quality, disease resistance and adaptation of canola to Australian conditions over the past 30 years, this has reduced genetic variation to dangerously low levels. Wide crossing with drought tolerant Brassica carinata (Ethiopean mustard) will help to alleviate this problem. New uses of biotechnology, combined with molecular genetics, will help to overcome species barriers to introduce useful new genes into canola for Australian canola breeders.Read moreRead less
Superior Australian psyllium for functional foods. This project aims to establish a breeding program for Plantago ovata in Australia to provide a reliable supply of high quality, superior psyllium as a key ingredient in the gluten-free food industry, providing benefits to the industrial partner, growers in Australia and consumers. Target traits include better harvest index, reduced seed shattering and identification of lines carrying psyllium with novel properties or whole seeds that can be grou ....Superior Australian psyllium for functional foods. This project aims to establish a breeding program for Plantago ovata in Australia to provide a reliable supply of high quality, superior psyllium as a key ingredient in the gluten-free food industry, providing benefits to the industrial partner, growers in Australia and consumers. Target traits include better harvest index, reduced seed shattering and identification of lines carrying psyllium with novel properties or whole seeds that can be ground and used as flour that imparts less intense colour changes or effects on loaf structure, and which may be highly suitable for other baked gluten-free products. The fundamental knowledge gained from the genetic and biochemical anlayses of these lines will also broadly benefit seed biology research.Read moreRead less
Coproantigen detection tests for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic nematode infection. The aim of this project is to develop new tests for detection of hookworm and Strongyloides, two common intestinal worm infections of humans. These tests offer the potential to replace current tests, namely stool microscopy and serodiagnosis, both of whose performance is unsatisfactory due to deficiencies in sensitivity, specificity and operator convenience. The tests will rely on monoclonal antibodies to dete ....Coproantigen detection tests for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic nematode infection. The aim of this project is to develop new tests for detection of hookworm and Strongyloides, two common intestinal worm infections of humans. These tests offer the potential to replace current tests, namely stool microscopy and serodiagnosis, both of whose performance is unsatisfactory due to deficiencies in sensitivity, specificity and operator convenience. The tests will rely on monoclonal antibodies to detect parasite products in stool. Such testing technology is amenable to configuration in a robust format, suitable for large-scale manufacture. Given the worldwide prevalence of these parasites, the tests will have a market potential of international significance.Read moreRead less
Accelerating the genetic improvement of grain legumes for Australia by developing doubled haploid technology for field pea and chickpea. Doubled haploid technology is used in many broad acre crop species to accelerate cultivar development and create homozygous populations for genetic mapping. Field pea and chickpea have been unresponsive to this technique but a recent breakthrough by UWA researchers has resulted in haploid pro-embryos from in vitro cultured immature pollen. A barrier to further ....Accelerating the genetic improvement of grain legumes for Australia by developing doubled haploid technology for field pea and chickpea. Doubled haploid technology is used in many broad acre crop species to accelerate cultivar development and create homozygous populations for genetic mapping. Field pea and chickpea have been unresponsive to this technique but a recent breakthrough by UWA researchers has resulted in haploid pro-embryos from in vitro cultured immature pollen. A barrier to further embryo maturation has been identified, which we propose to overcome using powerful microscopy tools to elucidate haploid embryology processes. This information will be applied to develop world-first in vitro doubled haploid protocols for these species, which will facilitate the development and accelerated delivery to industry of better adapted, high yielding cultivars.Read moreRead less
Fungal Glucanase Genes for Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants. Plants can be engineered for resistance to fungal diseases by transformation with recombinant genes encoding chitinase or glucanase. Although fungi are prolific producers of glucanases, with some species producing novel forms, they have been unexplored as a source of useful glucanases. This project will isolate glucanase-producing fungi from soil, screen them for antifungal activity, and clone the glucanase genes from one or m ....Fungal Glucanase Genes for Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants. Plants can be engineered for resistance to fungal diseases by transformation with recombinant genes encoding chitinase or glucanase. Although fungi are prolific producers of glucanases, with some species producing novel forms, they have been unexplored as a source of useful glucanases. This project will isolate glucanase-producing fungi from soil, screen them for antifungal activity, and clone the glucanase genes from one or more isolates. In view of the high degree of biodiversity in WA soils, we have a high expectation of finding novel glucanases which will be useful for engineering disease resistance in plants, or for other industrial processes.Read moreRead less