Understanding gonadal development and disease using a unique model system, the avian embryo. This project will provide information on normal and abnormal gonadal development during embryonic life. The study will aid in the diagnosis and management of humans born with disorders of sexual development and will be useful for sex ratio manipulation in the poultry industry.
Genetic regulation of testis development in the chicken embryo. This project aims to shed light on the genetic control of testis development during embryonic life, using the chicken embryo as a model. The results will have implications for sex ratio manipulation in poultry and for our understanding of sexual disorders in humans.
A bird's eye view of sex: the chicken embryo as a model for gonadal development. The development of an embryo as either male or female (sex determination) is a fundamental biological process that fascinates both scientific and lay communities alike. This project will use the chicken embryo as a unique model organism to study how genes control sex determination. We will bring a novel method to our field of study; the use of avian viruses to deliver genes into embryos. This project will enhance ou ....A bird's eye view of sex: the chicken embryo as a model for gonadal development. The development of an embryo as either male or female (sex determination) is a fundamental biological process that fascinates both scientific and lay communities alike. This project will use the chicken embryo as a unique model organism to study how genes control sex determination. We will bring a novel method to our field of study; the use of avian viruses to deliver genes into embryos. This project will enhance our understanding of a basic biological process. It will have application to the poultry industry, in terms of sex ratio manipulation. It will also aid in the diagnosis of humans born with sexual abnormalities. The project will consolidate Australia's standing as a world leader in the area of reproduction and development.Read moreRead less
Blocking immune responses: a critical factor in herpesvirus virulence? The horse and poultry industries are two large, primarily rural based livestock production industries that are major contributors to the national economy. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of two important viral pathogens that are each a significant cost to their respective industry, and thus will ultimately reduce the cost of these two viruses to industry. In addition, ....Blocking immune responses: a critical factor in herpesvirus virulence? The horse and poultry industries are two large, primarily rural based livestock production industries that are major contributors to the national economy. The research proposed in this project will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of two important viral pathogens that are each a significant cost to their respective industry, and thus will ultimately reduce the cost of these two viruses to industry. In addition, the technology developed during this project would have a global market and may be transferable to other viral pathogens of other domestic species.Read moreRead less
Genetic regulation of avian sex determination. This project aims to enhance our understanding of gonadal sex determination (testis versus ovary development), using innovative genetic approaches that exploit the avian embryo as a model system. The project aims to define the key molecular events regulating gonadal sex determination in birds. It intends to enhance knowledge in the area of cell biology, embryology, and sex determination specifically. Importantly, it will have application to the poul ....Genetic regulation of avian sex determination. This project aims to enhance our understanding of gonadal sex determination (testis versus ovary development), using innovative genetic approaches that exploit the avian embryo as a model system. The project aims to define the key molecular events regulating gonadal sex determination in birds. It intends to enhance knowledge in the area of cell biology, embryology, and sex determination specifically. Importantly, it will have application to the poultry industry. Currently, half of all hatchlings (the undesired sex) are culled. The proposed project intends to illuminate those genetic pathways that can be targeted to produce single-sex lines of birds, a major goal of the multi-billion dollar Australian and global poultry industries.Read moreRead less
Chicken and ChIPs; genetic control of avian gonadal development. This project aims to improve our understanding of gonad formation at the genetic level, using unique approaches that exploit the chicken embryo as a model system. Gonad formation during embryonic life provides an excellent model for studying the genetic control of development. The project plans to use innovative methods to study novel and known gonad-determining genes. The project seeks to make a substantial contribution to our und ....Chicken and ChIPs; genetic control of avian gonadal development. This project aims to improve our understanding of gonad formation at the genetic level, using unique approaches that exploit the chicken embryo as a model system. Gonad formation during embryonic life provides an excellent model for studying the genetic control of development. The project plans to use innovative methods to study novel and known gonad-determining genes. The project seeks to make a substantial contribution to our understanding of cell fate decisions, sex determination and gonad development. It also potentially has application to the poultry industry by illuminating those genes and pathways that can be targeted to modulate sex determination in chickens, which is a goal of the industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,016.00
Summary
How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral communit ....How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral community dynamics and the subsequent effect of anthropogenic factors such as urbanisation and poultry production. Identifying host factors that affect viral ecology in wild birds will constitute a cornerstone in understanding the emergence of virulent viruses and/or their spread to poultry or humansRead moreRead less