EMBL Australia group leaders Professor Eduardo Eyras and Associate Professor Robert Weatheritt, as well as recent alumnus group leader Professor Chen Davidovich, have been awarded four Discovery Project grants, totalling more than $3 million collectively.
Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute researcher Prof Davidovich is the sole investigator on a $720,000 grant that involves humanizing yeast to study and apply multicellular gene repression.
Prof Eyras – based at the Australian National University – is the chief investigator on a $655,000 interdisciplinary project that will decode mRNA modifications to reveal and leverage their role in protein production.
He is also co-investigator on a $700,000 project led by A/Prof Weatheritt, based at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, that aims to map RNA modifications to understand their role in mammalian evolution.
As well as leading that project, A/Prof Weatheritt is co-investigator on a project that received more than $1 million in funding to study how the immune system forms tiny liquid droplets in cells and its impact on cell function.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) announced more than $342 million in funding for 536 new projects under the Discovery Projects scheme on Tuesday.
ARC Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Johnson said the scheme supports excellent basic and applied research to expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability.
“Discovery grants support individual researchers and research teams in research projects that provide economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits to the Australian community,” Dr Johnson said.
More information of the supported projects of EMBL Australia researchers:
Humanizing facultative heterochromatin in yeast
Professor Chen Davidovich (Monash University)
$720,000
In all multicellular organisms, cell type-specific genes are maintained repressed, unless their product is needed. The robust gene repression system of multicellular organisms has been completely or partially lost in unicellular organisms. Yeast is a unicellular organism commonly used for fundamental research and biotechnology. This project aims to develop yeast strains that carry similar gene repression machinery as in multicellular organisms. By doing so, the project will allow gaining new knowledge into the way genes are turned off and maintained in a repressed state within cells during countless cell divisions. By generating methods for robust gene control in yeast, this project will also open paths for new biotechnology applications.
The Evolutionary Landscape of RNA Modification in Mammals
Associate Professor Robert Weatheritt; Professor Eduardo Eyras; Dr Nikolay Shirokikh; Dr Ksenia Skvortsova; Dr Katharina Zarnack; Dr Nuno Barbosa-Morais (UNSW)
$699,465
This proposal aims to unveil ancestral and species-specific programs of RNA regulation driving mammalian evolution. By combining our latest artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with direct RNA long-read sequencing, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the role of RNA modifications in evolution. Anticipated outcomes include an atlas of RNA modifications across species and tissues, and new computational algorithms in RNA biology. This project should provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, strengthen international collaborations in the study of RNA, and catalyse innovations in research and industry, helping to build Australia’s capability in the exciting field of RNA biology.
Defining and harnessing the code of messenger RNA modifications
Professor Eduardo Eyras; Dr Gaetan Burgio; Associate Professor Amee George; Dr Nikolay Shirokikh; Assistant Professor Kathrin Leppek; Dr Katharina Zarnack (ANU)
$655,000
This project aims to define and harness a hidden layer of genetic control that guides protein production. Using interdisciplinary approaches combining cell biology, synthetic biology and artificial intelligence, the project expects to generate new knowledge and tools that will enhance our understanding of how biological systems enact their genetic program through messenger RNA to produce the proteins that sustain life. Anticipated outcomes include an improved ability to elucidate key cellular mechanisms and new molecular tools with broad applications in biotechnology. This should realise global benefits across industry and agriculture, fostering economic growth and advancing interdisciplinary training and research in Australia.
Beyond virus sensing: Rig-like receptors in biomolecular condensates
Associate Professor Cecile King; Associate Professor Robert Weatheritt; Dr Thomas Gonatopoulos Pournatzis (UNSW)
$1,094,000
The immune system has receptors to detect viruses that trigger an anti-viral response. The only known function of Rig-like receptors, such as Rig-I, is to detect RNA viruses. However, our studies reveal a unique role for Rig-I in the formation of biomolecular condensates. Biomolecular condensates, rich with proteins and RNA, are liquid droplets, not unlike oil droplets in water. Within the spatial confines of a cell, these droplets provide dynamic compartments that control important cellular processes. In this proposal, we define the novel role of Rig-I in the formation of biomolecular condensates and determine how this impacts cellular function.