Molecular Genetics And Evolution Of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococci
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,545.00
Summary
Potentially life-threatening infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, commonly known as Golden Staph, often arise as complications in patients within hospitals. These infections compromise the health of the patient and jeopardise their recovery from the condition for which they were initially admitted, which significantly increases healthcare costs. Hospital-acquired infections caused by Golden Staph are a major problem in Australia and globally. The problem is largely due to the pre ....Potentially life-threatening infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, commonly known as Golden Staph, often arise as complications in patients within hospitals. These infections compromise the health of the patient and jeopardise their recovery from the condition for which they were initially admitted, which significantly increases healthcare costs. Hospital-acquired infections caused by Golden Staph are a major problem in Australia and globally. The problem is largely due to the presence in hospitals of strains that have become resistant to most clinically-useful antibiotics and are therefore very difficult to eradicate. This research project will reveal detailed information about strains of Golden Staph that are currently prevalent in hospitals in Australia, USA, Europe, and South East Asia. It will also provide important insights into the mechanisms that enable this organism to become resistant so readily, and identify factors that promote the development of resistant strains. The results of this research project will lead to improved methods for the characterisation of clinical strains and the monitoring of antibiotic resistance. The findings will also be of relevance to other types of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Most importantly, the application of knowledge arising from these studies has potential to minimise the emergence of strains that are even more resistant, thereby extending the effectiveness of existing and future antibiotics. The design and implementation of strategies to limit the proliferation of resistant bacteria are essential if we are to avoid a scenario similar to that prior to the introduction of antibiotics, when serious infectious diseases were often untreatable.Read moreRead less
Does Mobile DNA Activity Contribute To Reproductive Failure?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,076.00
Summary
One in four pregnancies in Australia will end in miscarriage. Infertility affects about 15% of Australian couples and is highly correlated with increasing maternal age. In this study, we will use cutting edge single-cell genomic approaches to investigate the activity of mobile DNA elements or “jumping genes” as a previously unexplored cause of reproductive failure, including spontaneous miscarriage and age-related female infertility.
Schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 people, and yet its causes remain largely unclear. To improve understanding, treatment and management of the disease, the team performing this research will evaluate whether mobile DNA elements found in our genome are activated by stress and thereby alter how brain cells work in individuals affected by schizophrenia. They will also test whether mobile DNA can be blocked by drugs, perhaps revealing new strategies to treat the disease.
The cross-disciplinary team performing this research will examine how mobile DNA elements found in brain cells move in response to learning and memory exercises in mice, and whether these changes generate an address system for parts of the brain to be turned on by specific experiences. This work has major implications for our fundamental understanding of how the brain works in healthy individuals, as well as people affected by neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions.
L1 Retrotransposition In Human Development And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,085.00
Summary
Retrotransposons are mobile genes that copy-and-paste themselves in the human genome. Previously thought to represent ñjunk DNAî, retrotransposons are increasingly being found to play important roles in biology. This fellowship will allow Dr Faulkner to research the consequences of retrotransposons being active in the body during development, and in adulthood, as a potential cause of cancer.
A Three-tiered Strategy To Prevent Destabilisation Of The Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Genome By L1 Retrotransposition
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$708,707.00
Summary
Retrotransposons are mobile genes that copy-and-paste themselves in our genome. Previously thought to represent “junk DNA”, retrotransposons are increasingly recognised to play major roles in biology. In recent publications in Cell and Nature, we found that retrotransposons move in mature human cells. In the current study, we will determine whether the same activity occurs when these cells are reprogrammed to become stem cells, possibly impacting stem cell based therapies.
Epigenetic Regulation Of L1 Retrotransposition In Mouse Models Of Abnormal Human Neurobiology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,812.00
Summary
Retrotransposons are mobile genes that copy-and-paste themselves to spread in DNA. Until very recently, they were thought to only be active in sperm and egg. In our recent work, we demonstrated that they also move in the brain. In the current study, we will use cutting-edge technologies to determine how retrotransposons change the genetic makeup of neurons in neurodevelopmentally impaired mice to predict whether these mutations would also be present in human brain disorders.