Genome evolution & adaptation of the multinuclear wheat stripe rust fungus. Animals and plants package their genomes into a single nucleus within each cell. In contrast, millions of fungal species accommodate multiple nuclei containing individual haploid genomes. It is currently unknown what the evolutionary implications are for this unusual genome division into multiple nuclei. Here we explore the evolutionary consequences of genome division into multiple nuclei for the first time by applying c ....Genome evolution & adaptation of the multinuclear wheat stripe rust fungus. Animals and plants package their genomes into a single nucleus within each cell. In contrast, millions of fungal species accommodate multiple nuclei containing individual haploid genomes. It is currently unknown what the evolutionary implications are for this unusual genome division into multiple nuclei. Here we explore the evolutionary consequences of genome division into multiple nuclei for the first time by applying cutting edge genome biology tools and algorithms. The economically significant study system is the devastating wheat stripe rust fungus. This pathogen costs Australian farmers over $100 million a year. New understanding is expected to lead to better disease management, reduced fungicide applications, and increased yields.Read moreRead less
Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water ....Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water and soil should lead to deeper understanding of the dynamics, variation and transfer of genetic material within these resources’ microbial communities, strategies to manage microbial diversity, and improved productivity and long-term sustainability for these resources.Read moreRead less
Structure and states of operator-algebraic dynamical systems. This project is in the general area of functional analysis, and more specifically operator theory, an area in which the University of Wollongong has an active research group and a strong international reputation. The investigators will study dynamical systems arising in combinatorial and number-theoretic situations, where the analogue of the "dynamics'' is provided by an action of the real line on an operator algebra. Thus the project ....Structure and states of operator-algebraic dynamical systems. This project is in the general area of functional analysis, and more specifically operator theory, an area in which the University of Wollongong has an active research group and a strong international reputation. The investigators will study dynamical systems arising in combinatorial and number-theoretic situations, where the analogue of the "dynamics'' is provided by an action of the real line on an operator algebra. Thus the project will involve ideas and techniques from a wide range of mathematical disciplines, and will help to broaden Australia's expertise across these disciplines.Read moreRead less
Endomorphisms, transfer operators and Hilbert modules. This project is in the general area of functional analysis, an area where both Newcastle University and the University of New South Wales have strong international reputations. The aim of the project is to study irreversible dynamics in the presence of transfer operators, as recently introduced by Professor Exel. The motivation comes from a variety of examples arising in different areas of mathematics, including number theory and graph theor ....Endomorphisms, transfer operators and Hilbert modules. This project is in the general area of functional analysis, an area where both Newcastle University and the University of New South Wales have strong international reputations. The aim of the project is to study irreversible dynamics in the presence of transfer operators, as recently introduced by Professor Exel. The motivation comes from a variety of examples arising in different areas of mathematics, including number theory and graph theory. It is hoped that the results will give new understanding of the algebraic and analytic structure underlying the multi-resolution analyses used in approximation theory and Fourier analysis. This project will help ensure that Australia has a strong foundation in mathematics which will foster innovation.Read moreRead less
Operator algebras associated to semigroups and graphs. This project aims to unify ideas from two highly topical areas of mathematics in which one studies discrete objects by representing them as families of linear transformations. In the first area, one represents the semigroups which model irreversible dynamics as isometries (that is, distance-preserving transformations); in the second, one represents networks by families of partially defined isometries in a way which reflects the behaviour of ....Operator algebras associated to semigroups and graphs. This project aims to unify ideas from two highly topical areas of mathematics in which one studies discrete objects by representing them as families of linear transformations. In the first area, one represents the semigroups which model irreversible dynamics as isometries (that is, distance-preserving transformations); in the second, one represents networks by families of partially defined isometries in a way which reflects the behaviour of paths in the network. The link will be achieved by viewing the operator algebras they generate as semidirect products which have been twisted by a noncommutative cocycle.Read moreRead less
Operator algebras associated to groupoids. Australian researchers have a strong reputation for excellence and innovation in the field of operator algebras. Operator algebras associated to groupoids have been immensely influential in recent decades, both within mathematics and via applications to theoretical physics. This project will develop an innovative approach to groupoid algebras, and will help to maintain the high standing of Australian researchers in this important field.
Co-universal operator algebras. Australian researchers have established themselves at the very forefront of research into operator algebras associated to graphs. The proposed research will make an important impact, at a fundamental level, on the way that researchers around the world view these operator algebras. This will help to further strengthen Australia's reputation in this field. The proposed program will also train two PhD students in a very active area of mathematics and put them in cont ....Co-universal operator algebras. Australian researchers have established themselves at the very forefront of research into operator algebras associated to graphs. The proposed research will make an important impact, at a fundamental level, on the way that researchers around the world view these operator algebras. This will help to further strengthen Australia's reputation in this field. The proposed program will also train two PhD students in a very active area of mathematics and put them in contact with a vibrant research community. This will help contribute to the strong future of pure mathematics in Australia.Read moreRead less
Hyperactive endogenous retroviruses and their impact on the koala genome. Koala populations are in steep decline with the ubiquitous koala retrovirus (KoRV) strongly linked with disease. KoRV and other less studied endogenous retrovirus (ERVs) are extremely active within the genome of koalas to a level never observed in any other vertebrate genome. This study will map ERV integration sites within koalas from across their geographic range country and use long-read genomics approaches to understan ....Hyperactive endogenous retroviruses and their impact on the koala genome. Koala populations are in steep decline with the ubiquitous koala retrovirus (KoRV) strongly linked with disease. KoRV and other less studied endogenous retrovirus (ERVs) are extremely active within the genome of koalas to a level never observed in any other vertebrate genome. This study will map ERV integration sites within koalas from across their geographic range country and use long-read genomics approaches to understand the link between KoRV and other ERVs, the impact on koala caused by dramatic genomic rewiring, and the mechanisms of genomic immunity which supress ERV activity and mitigate disease. Findings will provide insights into the ongoing arms race between virus and host and inform conservation of an iconic species.Read moreRead less
New Directions in Noncommutative Geometry. A. Connes' noncommutative geometry has recently become important in topology, geometry and physics. The central geometric objects in noncommutative geometry are called spectral triples. Spectral triples also provide the framework for studying some important classes of equations. This project will extend the definitions of spectral triples to cover additional important examples. This extension will provide the tools to study a broad class of boundary val ....New Directions in Noncommutative Geometry. A. Connes' noncommutative geometry has recently become important in topology, geometry and physics. The central geometric objects in noncommutative geometry are called spectral triples. Spectral triples also provide the framework for studying some important classes of equations. This project will extend the definitions of spectral triples to cover additional important examples. This extension will provide the tools to study a broad class of boundary value problems in the theory of equations. Such problems occur in several areas of modern physics. In addition, results obtained will be useful for studying the structure of the most important spectral triples, called noncommutative manifolds.Read moreRead less
The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about th ....The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about the ancient people of Australasia and their relationship to other human populations worldwide. The research will use cutting-edge methods of DNA and protein sequencing of ancient human material and will provide critical reference genomes / proteomes that will anchor future research.Read moreRead less