Bacterial Cell Division: Discovering how it begins and the network of protein interactions it requires. All cells must coordinate cell division with chromosome replication to ensure that the DNA is partitioned equally into newborn cells. We will establish the defect of a novel mutant blocked in the earliest stage of cell division in bacteria to obtain unique information about this vital regulatory step. We will use our newly discovered protein interaction network to establish what role protein i ....Bacterial Cell Division: Discovering how it begins and the network of protein interactions it requires. All cells must coordinate cell division with chromosome replication to ensure that the DNA is partitioned equally into newborn cells. We will establish the defect of a novel mutant blocked in the earliest stage of cell division in bacteria to obtain unique information about this vital regulatory step. We will use our newly discovered protein interaction network to establish what role protein interactions play in integrating cell division with other biological pathways in the cell to ensure its tight regulation. Our discoveries will facilitate the design of new antibiotics that target cell division to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bioterrorism organisms.Read moreRead less
Establishing how bacterial cells position the division site. Cell division is essential for life. It is required for bacterial infections and, if uncontrolled, causes diseases such as cancer. We will establish how bacterial cells position the division site precisely to ensure faithful production of newborn cells. We will use the latest technology in bacterial cell biology to provide novel, clear-cut information to maintain Australia at the leading edge of this important area of research. There i ....Establishing how bacterial cells position the division site. Cell division is essential for life. It is required for bacterial infections and, if uncontrolled, causes diseases such as cancer. We will establish how bacterial cells position the division site precisely to ensure faithful production of newborn cells. We will use the latest technology in bacterial cell biology to provide novel, clear-cut information to maintain Australia at the leading edge of this important area of research. There is an alarming increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria and an imminent threat of bioterrorism. This research allows the opportunity for the development of new antibiotics to protect Australia protected from these dangerous bacteria. Read moreRead less
Regulating the earliest step in bacterial cell division: Z ring assembly. Cell division is essential for survival. What are the cues that signal cells to divide at the right place and at the right time? How do cells ensure that when division occurs to produce two newborn cells, each one receives the correct amount of DNA? The answers to these questions are essential to understand how organisms reproduce and grow. But they remain unknown. This research addresses these questions in bacteria. Our d ....Regulating the earliest step in bacterial cell division: Z ring assembly. Cell division is essential for survival. What are the cues that signal cells to divide at the right place and at the right time? How do cells ensure that when division occurs to produce two newborn cells, each one receives the correct amount of DNA? The answers to these questions are essential to understand how organisms reproduce and grow. But they remain unknown. This research addresses these questions in bacteria. Our discoveries will have a significant impact on our understanding of the regulation of this vital process and will facilitate the design of novel antibiotics that target it.Read moreRead less
Plasmid maintenance and interactions with the host cell and its genome. Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that play a central role in the evolution of bacteria. They are the most dynamic component of the bacterial genome, augmenting the host chromosome by conferring a range of significant phenotypes that facilitate environmental adaptation. This project aims to elucidate fundamental aspects of the relationship between plasmids and their bacterial hosts. Significant outcomes include ....Plasmid maintenance and interactions with the host cell and its genome. Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that play a central role in the evolution of bacteria. They are the most dynamic component of the bacterial genome, augmenting the host chromosome by conferring a range of significant phenotypes that facilitate environmental adaptation. This project aims to elucidate fundamental aspects of the relationship between plasmids and their bacterial hosts. Significant outcomes include understanding the molecular basis of efficient plasmid inheritance in bacterial populations, and exploration of the innovative hypothesis that plasmids modulate expression of the host chromosome, a possibility that would profoundly alter our view of how plasmids influence host phenotype.Read moreRead less
Investigating the Ability of Honey to Inhibit Bacterial Biofilms Found in Chronic Wounds. Chronic (non-healing) wounds are a serious health problem in Australia. One quarter of our institutionalized aged population have pressure ulcers. The difficulty in treating these wounds is that most contain communities of bacteria, called biofilms, that are not killed by conventional antibiotics. Special honeys from Australia and NZ that are effective in chronic wound treatment can eradicate these biofilms ....Investigating the Ability of Honey to Inhibit Bacterial Biofilms Found in Chronic Wounds. Chronic (non-healing) wounds are a serious health problem in Australia. One quarter of our institutionalized aged population have pressure ulcers. The difficulty in treating these wounds is that most contain communities of bacteria, called biofilms, that are not killed by conventional antibiotics. Special honeys from Australia and NZ that are effective in chronic wound treatment can eradicate these biofilms. This project will identify the components in honey that do this and determine how they do it, to provide a more effective chronic wound treatment. It will decrease the prevalence of these wounds in Australia and the associated personal trauma and health costs.Read moreRead less
Bacterial Proteomics: From Cell Division to Novel Antibiotic Targets. When a cell divides it is essential that each newborn cell gets a complete copy of the DNA. To ensure that this happens, cell division must be tightly controlled. It is not known how this occurs in bacteria. However, if we knew what molecules were involved in this control, we could target them to kill harmful bacteria. This project aims to identify such regulatory molecules as candidate targets for antimicrobial agents, with a ....Bacterial Proteomics: From Cell Division to Novel Antibiotic Targets. When a cell divides it is essential that each newborn cell gets a complete copy of the DNA. To ensure that this happens, cell division must be tightly controlled. It is not known how this occurs in bacteria. However, if we knew what molecules were involved in this control, we could target them to kill harmful bacteria. This project aims to identify such regulatory molecules as candidate targets for antimicrobial agents, with a view to developing powerful, novel antibiotics to protect us from the imminent threat of bioterrorism and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Oxygenating the Earth: using innovative techniques to resolve the timing of the origin of oxygen-producing photosynthesis in cyanobacteria. The early Earth was a hostile place with little oxygen in the atmosphere. Then cyanobacteria ('blue-green algae') invented oxygen-releasing photosynthesis. That profound event affected many fundamental processes, from the course of evolution to the formation of ore deposits. However, estimates of when these bacteria originated are disputed with uncertainties ....Oxygenating the Earth: using innovative techniques to resolve the timing of the origin of oxygen-producing photosynthesis in cyanobacteria. The early Earth was a hostile place with little oxygen in the atmosphere. Then cyanobacteria ('blue-green algae') invented oxygen-releasing photosynthesis. That profound event affected many fundamental processes, from the course of evolution to the formation of ore deposits. However, estimates of when these bacteria originated are disputed with uncertainties of hundreds of millions of years. We will resolve those uncertainties. We have developed new analytical techniques that we will apply to well-preserved 2.7-2.8 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. We will couple that approach to the use of the latest genetic techniques to reveal the origins of living cyanobacteria.Read moreRead less
Cellular Gene Regulation Networks. The benefit to Australia will be scientific in terms of providing an understanding of how cells integrate transcriptional control systems and the networks that are involved. This will inform research on folate deficiency and aberrant human development and towards identifying genes that are important in improving efficiency of microbial fermentations. Additional and more practical major benefits will follow from the development of tools to analyse interaction ....Cellular Gene Regulation Networks. The benefit to Australia will be scientific in terms of providing an understanding of how cells integrate transcriptional control systems and the networks that are involved. This will inform research on folate deficiency and aberrant human development and towards identifying genes that are important in improving efficiency of microbial fermentations. Additional and more practical major benefits will follow from the development of tools to analyse interactions between control systems, including software of value to the research community. The work will provide postgraduate students with major training in up-to-date genomic technologies, and in the interface between application of bioinformatics and experimental science.
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Elucidating the genetic basis of newly evolved metabolic functions in yeast. Elucidating the genetic basis of newly evolved metabolic functions in yeast. This project intends to research how complex metabolic pathways originate and evolve. This project will use cutting edge genome sequencing and molecular techniques to elucidate the heritable genetic basis of Baker’s yeast, which has been the selectively evolved to use xylose as a sole carbon source: something vital for second generation biofuel ....Elucidating the genetic basis of newly evolved metabolic functions in yeast. Elucidating the genetic basis of newly evolved metabolic functions in yeast. This project intends to research how complex metabolic pathways originate and evolve. This project will use cutting edge genome sequencing and molecular techniques to elucidate the heritable genetic basis of Baker’s yeast, which has been the selectively evolved to use xylose as a sole carbon source: something vital for second generation biofuel production that wild yeast cannot do. This project will combine detailed molecular characterisation of highly adapted yeast strains with a novel "molecular palaeontology" approach to trace the evolutionary process and identify functionally significant loci under selection. Detailed characterisation of this trait will accelerate the development of future yeast strains and test fundamental evolutionary theories.Read moreRead less
Evolution and ecology of integron gene cassettes: exploring the protein universe. Bacteria rapidly adapt to new conditions by sharing diverse genes via lateral genetic transfer, best illustrated by the spread of antibiotic resistance. This study will characterise mobile genes, discovering new gene families and proteins, and will expand existing knowledge of bacterial evolution.