Many Ys in monotremes: multiple sex chromosomes and sex determination in platypus and echidna. Platypus and Echidna are Australian icons, even featuring on our coins. Their unusual biology and ancient relationship to humans make them unique for understanding the mammalian genome, as demonstrated by our recent discovery of ten sex chromosomes in platypus that link mammal and bird sex. Still little is known about their genome, embryo development and how sex is determined. We will identify new gene ....Many Ys in monotremes: multiple sex chromosomes and sex determination in platypus and echidna. Platypus and Echidna are Australian icons, even featuring on our coins. Their unusual biology and ancient relationship to humans make them unique for understanding the mammalian genome, as demonstrated by our recent discovery of ten sex chromosomes in platypus that link mammal and bird sex. Still little is known about their genome, embryo development and how sex is determined. We will identify new genes on all ten sex chromosomes and investigate how they determine sex. The set up of an Australian Monotreme Resource Centre will be crucial for this research and attract worldwide high profile collaborations. We will answer important general questions in monotreme biology and contribute to our understanding of sexual abnormalities in humans.Read moreRead less
Discovering mechanisms of primary embryonic tissue migration through live cell imaging and novel genetic approaches. The studies proposed here will provide concepts and knowledge about the molecular basis of cell migration that will impact on diverse aspects of human health, such as the causes and nature of tumour metastasis and our understanding of the developmental basis of birth defects. In addition, understanding cell migration mechanisms will allow us to better predict or control the behav ....Discovering mechanisms of primary embryonic tissue migration through live cell imaging and novel genetic approaches. The studies proposed here will provide concepts and knowledge about the molecular basis of cell migration that will impact on diverse aspects of human health, such as the causes and nature of tumour metastasis and our understanding of the developmental basis of birth defects. In addition, understanding cell migration mechanisms will allow us to better predict or control the behaviour of therapeutic stem cells introduced into the body.Read moreRead less
Mechanism of higher-order chromatin formation and its role in controlling gene expression. The organization of genomic DNA into chromatin has solved one of the most difficult engineering problems required for the development of a multicellular organism; the compaction of over two meters DNA into a cell almost one millionth this size. Importantly, this compaction of the genome into chromatin has also been exploited by the cell to regulate the expression of genes. The aim of this investigation is ....Mechanism of higher-order chromatin formation and its role in controlling gene expression. The organization of genomic DNA into chromatin has solved one of the most difficult engineering problems required for the development of a multicellular organism; the compaction of over two meters DNA into a cell almost one millionth this size. Importantly, this compaction of the genome into chromatin has also been exploited by the cell to regulate the expression of genes. The aim of this investigation is to elucidate how genes are assembled into complex active or inactive chromatin structures by employing a novel in vitro system. This information will have important implications for gene therapy strategies.
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The Dynamic Control of Chromatin Structure. A human chromosome is a highly heterogeneous global structure because along its axis, it folds to different extents to form either highly compacted domains that repress the expression of genes or less condensed regions that enable genes to be turned on. Changes to the structure or stability of chromosomes, and the corresponding alterations to gene expression, have been linked to many diseases states like defects in human development and cancer. This s ....The Dynamic Control of Chromatin Structure. A human chromosome is a highly heterogeneous global structure because along its axis, it folds to different extents to form either highly compacted domains that repress the expression of genes or less condensed regions that enable genes to be turned on. Changes to the structure or stability of chromosomes, and the corresponding alterations to gene expression, have been linked to many diseases states like defects in human development and cancer. This study will uncover the underpinning mechanism of how our chromosomes are organised into distinct functional domains, which may offer the potential to develop new strategies to correct chromosomal abnormalities.
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Identifying potential barriers to transplanting modified forms of the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, into plants. Improving the ability of crops to use water, light and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. It is thought that such improvements can be made by enhancing the efficiency of the photosynthetic protein, Rubisco, which fixes most of the CO2 in the biosphere. The research proposed here uses unique ....Identifying potential barriers to transplanting modified forms of the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, into plants. Improving the ability of crops to use water, light and fertiliser more efficiently would have economic benefits and ease the environmental impacts associated with agricultural practices. It is thought that such improvements can be made by enhancing the efficiency of the photosynthetic protein, Rubisco, which fixes most of the CO2 in the biosphere. The research proposed here uses unique Rubisco transplantation capabilities that I have developed to improve our fundamental understanding of how Rubisco is processed and its activity regulated in plants. This will pave the way for our ongoing efforts to engineer and transplant more efficient Rubisco into crops.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Duffy And PF4 In The Platelet Killing Of Malaria Parasites.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,045.00
Summary
Platelets in the blood can kill the Plasmodium parasite, which lives inside red blood cells and causes malaria. Platelets bind parasite-infected red cells and release a molecule that is toxic to the parasite. This project will study why a red cell molecule called Duffy is also needed for this function of platelets. Most Africans carry a gene for Duffy that stops its expression in red cells, and may therefore be more susceptible to malaria because their platelets cannot kill the malaria parasite.
Can efficient algal variants of the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, be folded and assembled in functional forms in higher-plant plastids? We have shown that it is possible to alter the photosynthetic phenotype of a plant predictably and profoundly by engineering the plastid genome to replace the plant's CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, with a bacterial homolog. Thus it may be possible to replace the plant enzyme with more efficient algal Rubiscos that would allow plants to grow with less l ....Can efficient algal variants of the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, be folded and assembled in functional forms in higher-plant plastids? We have shown that it is possible to alter the photosynthetic phenotype of a plant predictably and profoundly by engineering the plastid genome to replace the plant's CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, with a bacterial homolog. Thus it may be possible to replace the plant enzyme with more efficient algal Rubiscos that would allow plants to grow with less light, less water or less fertiliser. Before such desirable changes to the plant phenotype can be realised, some complex issues of modification, folding and assembly of Rubisco subunits need to be resolved. This proposal addresses them.Read moreRead less
Role of alanine aminotransferase in improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in cereals. The use of nitrogen-based fertilisers by crop plants is poor where efficiencies (nitrogen taken up to that applied) is often less than 40%. Nitrogen not used is often lost to the environment through leaching and or volatilisation. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture will decrease overall nitrogen fertiliser use and minimise its environmental footprint. This project will characterise a nov ....Role of alanine aminotransferase in improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in cereals. The use of nitrogen-based fertilisers by crop plants is poor where efficiencies (nitrogen taken up to that applied) is often less than 40%. Nitrogen not used is often lost to the environment through leaching and or volatilisation. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture will decrease overall nitrogen fertiliser use and minimise its environmental footprint. This project will characterise a novel NUE technology that when transferred to plants significantly improves NUE. We will define the phenotype at the molecular, biochemical and physiological levels to maximise its adoption to other agricultural crops such as wheat, barley and maize.Read moreRead less
Evolution in microsatellite DNA: testing models of mutation in an Australian marsupial. We aim to compare mutational events between microsatellite loci that vary in their exposure to recombination. We are able to do this because of a remarkable finding that Australian brushtail possums have multiple occurrences of a single microsatellite repeat element within the Y-chromosome and among autosomal loci. We will compare variation between the Y-linked and non Y-linked loci within and among individu ....Evolution in microsatellite DNA: testing models of mutation in an Australian marsupial. We aim to compare mutational events between microsatellite loci that vary in their exposure to recombination. We are able to do this because of a remarkable finding that Australian brushtail possums have multiple occurrences of a single microsatellite repeat element within the Y-chromosome and among autosomal loci. We will compare variation between the Y-linked and non Y-linked loci within and among individual possums and use those comparisons to distinguish between recombinant and non- recombinant mutational mechanisms. These data will provide new insights into the mutational mechanisms that drive variation in these most important molecular markers.Read moreRead less