A new universal mechanism controlling body proportions in animals. This project aims to establish that a recently-discovered mechanism, the inhibitory cascade, determines the basic proportions of appendages and body segments in a diverse range of animal groups, particularly vertebrates and arthropods. The goals of the project are to reveal the molecular mechanisms in mice and insects, and build computer simulations to show how to manipulate the control of development by the inhibitory cascade. T ....A new universal mechanism controlling body proportions in animals. This project aims to establish that a recently-discovered mechanism, the inhibitory cascade, determines the basic proportions of appendages and body segments in a diverse range of animal groups, particularly vertebrates and arthropods. The goals of the project are to reveal the molecular mechanisms in mice and insects, and build computer simulations to show how to manipulate the control of development by the inhibitory cascade. The project should benefit bioengineering by establishing control mechanisms for the manipulation and regeneration of teeth and limbs.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary models and biodiscovery tools from neurotoxic snake venoms. This project aims to identify the selection pressures that shape snake venom neurotoxins and how they interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and to elucidate their biodiscovery potential. This project aims to test these important toxins on model systems that represent natural prey items in order to determine the molecular and functional evolution of neurotoxic peptides. Expected outcomes include substantial contri ....Evolutionary models and biodiscovery tools from neurotoxic snake venoms. This project aims to identify the selection pressures that shape snake venom neurotoxins and how they interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and to elucidate their biodiscovery potential. This project aims to test these important toxins on model systems that represent natural prey items in order to determine the molecular and functional evolution of neurotoxic peptides. Expected outcomes include substantial contributions to the body of evolutionary biology knowledge, while also having the applied benefit of discovering novel compounds with potential for use in drug design and discovery. These outcomes will benefit Australian science and society by elucidating fundamental processes while revealing biodisovery resources.Read moreRead less
Ancestral state reconstruction and the evolution of Australian marsupials. This project aims to investigate the diversification and evolvability of Australian marsupials, by enabling genomes, ecology and 3D skeletal shape to synergistically inform evolutionary inference. This project expects to generate new knowledge of the processes that have promoted and maintained marsupial biodiversity, by tracing their evolution across a fossil gap that spans half of their history. Expected outcomes of this ....Ancestral state reconstruction and the evolution of Australian marsupials. This project aims to investigate the diversification and evolvability of Australian marsupials, by enabling genomes, ecology and 3D skeletal shape to synergistically inform evolutionary inference. This project expects to generate new knowledge of the processes that have promoted and maintained marsupial biodiversity, by tracing their evolution across a fossil gap that spans half of their history. Expected outcomes of this project include improved methods for merging fossils into the tree of life and for reconstructing the ecology and morphology of ancestors on phylogenetic trees. This should provide significant benefits, such as a coherent evolutionary context for informing research on marsupial biology, ecology and conservation.Read moreRead less
Nettles & toxic toupees: the molecular weaponry of venomous caterpillars. This project aims to investigate the structure, function and evolution of peptide toxins in venoms made by caterpillars in superfamily Zygaenoidea. Caterpillars in this group are covered in spines that inject pain-causing venoms, and this protects them from vertebrate and invertebrate predators. This project will test if peptides in this venom cause pain by pharmacological modulation of mammalian ion channels and signallin ....Nettles & toxic toupees: the molecular weaponry of venomous caterpillars. This project aims to investigate the structure, function and evolution of peptide toxins in venoms made by caterpillars in superfamily Zygaenoidea. Caterpillars in this group are covered in spines that inject pain-causing venoms, and this protects them from vertebrate and invertebrate predators. This project will test if peptides in this venom cause pain by pharmacological modulation of mammalian ion channels and signalling receptors, and if they have insecticidal properties. The first three-dimensional structures of caterpillar venom peptides will also be solved. Genomes of representatives of two different zygaenoid families will be produced, and genomic techniques will be used to elucidate how venom use evolved at the molecular level.Read moreRead less
Understanding evolution of dominant bacteria inhabiting the rodent gut . The gut microbiome is central to animal health and immune function, however we have an incomplete understanding of how this important symbiotic ecosystem evolved. By approaching this knowledge gap from a historical perspective and using real-time observation, this project will address how the gut community evolved with the rodent host and how members of that community respond to new selective pressures. The significance of ....Understanding evolution of dominant bacteria inhabiting the rodent gut . The gut microbiome is central to animal health and immune function, however we have an incomplete understanding of how this important symbiotic ecosystem evolved. By approaching this knowledge gap from a historical perspective and using real-time observation, this project will address how the gut community evolved with the rodent host and how members of that community respond to new selective pressures. The significance of these findings is in their capacity to inform our understanding of the relationship between host and microbe, not only within a key model system, but by extrapolation to other host-microbe systems. Read moreRead less
A new class of sodium channel toxin from ant venoms . Ants are diverse and ubiquitous and the ability of certain species to sting is familiar to many of us. Yet we know remarkably little about the chemistry underlying these stings. We recently discovered that the venoms of ants, including common Australian species, harbour a novel and unique class of sodium channel toxins. Building on this discovery, the aim of this project will be to perform an in-depth characterisation of the effects of these ....A new class of sodium channel toxin from ant venoms . Ants are diverse and ubiquitous and the ability of certain species to sting is familiar to many of us. Yet we know remarkably little about the chemistry underlying these stings. We recently discovered that the venoms of ants, including common Australian species, harbour a novel and unique class of sodium channel toxins. Building on this discovery, the aim of this project will be to perform an in-depth characterisation of the effects of these toxins on sodium channels and to uncover the diversity and breadth of this toxin class in ant venoms. The outcome of this project will be novel insights into the chemistry of ant venoms and new insights into sodium channel function.Read moreRead less
Dissecting natural variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. This project aims to understand the origins of sex differences by dissecting heritable variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. Sexual dimorphism constitutes a large fraction of phenotypic diversity and arises mainly from sex differences in gene expression that permit males and females of a species to escape sexual conflict caused by a shared genome. The project uses multi-population quantitative genetics and allele-spec ....Dissecting natural variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. This project aims to understand the origins of sex differences by dissecting heritable variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. Sexual dimorphism constitutes a large fraction of phenotypic diversity and arises mainly from sex differences in gene expression that permit males and females of a species to escape sexual conflict caused by a shared genome. The project uses multi-population quantitative genetics and allele-specific expression assays to merge the studies of sex-specific local adaptation and sexually dimorphic regulatory variation. The project will help to understand how cis- and trans- regulatory factors can affect natural variation differently in males and females, shaping their phenotypic similarities and differences.Read moreRead less
Recombination and the genomic landscape of speciation. This project aims to evaluate how genomes become different during the origin of species by utilising an innovative system where multiple replicates of the speciation process exist. This project expects to generate knowledge in the area of speciation genetics by exploring the effects of sex, migration and selection on the diversity of hundreds of genomes from an Australian wildflower. Expected outcomes of this project include a deeper underst ....Recombination and the genomic landscape of speciation. This project aims to evaluate how genomes become different during the origin of species by utilising an innovative system where multiple replicates of the speciation process exist. This project expects to generate knowledge in the area of speciation genetics by exploring the effects of sex, migration and selection on the diversity of hundreds of genomes from an Australian wildflower. Expected outcomes of this project include a deeper understanding of the maintenance of genetic diversity in natural populations, and development of a model organism for studying the genetics and ecology of speciation. This project should provide significant benefits including enhanced capacity in evolutionary genetics in Australia.Read moreRead less
Why does the genetic nearly-null subspace exist? This project aims to determine why nearly-null genetic subspaces exist by simultaneously measuring the input of new mutational variance in these nearly-null subspaces and the selection that acts on these new mutations to result in the observed low levels of standing genetic variance. The ability of organisms to evolve in response to human disturbance, translocation to new environments, or climate variation is governed by the availability of geneti ....Why does the genetic nearly-null subspace exist? This project aims to determine why nearly-null genetic subspaces exist by simultaneously measuring the input of new mutational variance in these nearly-null subspaces and the selection that acts on these new mutations to result in the observed low levels of standing genetic variance. The ability of organisms to evolve in response to human disturbance, translocation to new environments, or climate variation is governed by the availability of genetic variation. Recent advances in multivariate genetic analysis have demonstrated that a substantial proportion of a phenotype described by quantitative traits has very little genetic variance associated with it, and will therefore tend to be subjected to evolutionary limitsRead moreRead less
Evolution of environmental regulation of cell states in animal life cycles. This project seeks to understand how the environment influences the fate of cells over an animal's life, and how this influence originated in animal evolution. Using a homegrown Australian model, a sea sponge from the Great Barrier Reef, and advanced multi-omic approaches (genomics plus cell biology), this project aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying global cell state changes that are induced through the interplay o ....Evolution of environmental regulation of cell states in animal life cycles. This project seeks to understand how the environment influences the fate of cells over an animal's life, and how this influence originated in animal evolution. Using a homegrown Australian model, a sea sponge from the Great Barrier Reef, and advanced multi-omic approaches (genomics plus cell biology), this project aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying global cell state changes that are induced through the interplay of environmental and endogenous signals at metamorphosis. Because of the evolutionary position of sponges, outcomes of this project expect to reveal the cardinal rules governing environmentally-induced cell state changes that are obligatory for most animals to complete their complex life cycles.Read moreRead less