The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
The Apicomplexa parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium spp are responsible for a tremendous human health burden. Despites powerful genetic tools and high quality genomic databases, half of the predicted genes have no known function or similarity outside the Apicomplexa phylum. I will present two approaches to assign and study function of those novel proteins.
In T. gondii, cellular differentiation from the replicating stage to the bradyzoite tissue cyst stage is the underlying cause of chronic toxoplasmosis. The molecular mechanisms responsible for this developmental switch have long been sought. We identified 11 novel AP2 domain-containing proteins whose mRNA levels are induced in bradyzoites. Knock out, conditional expression, protein binding microarrays and transcriptomics defined one of those factors, AP2IX-9, as a transcription factor apparently acting as a gatekeeper to bradyzoite differentiation.
Despite strong evolutionary winds, recent transcriptome work reveals a similar gene expression cascade unfolding during the replication of Apicomplexa. We hypothesized that functionality, inferred by expression timing, could be utilized to identify novel pan-apicomplexan cell division cycle (panApi-CDC) genes. We identified 649 panApi-CDC genes of which ~25% encode unknown proteins. Those orthologs exhibit a remarkable preservation of timing and abundance suggesting important functions required for all apicomplexan cell division. Folding predictions revealed these proteins as highly disordered and, consistent with this observation, some act as interaction hubs as revealed by mining the Plasmodium interactome. Our ongoing experimental approach is validating and assigning function to those novel proteins.
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting ‘novel’ communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems
Scientists say a ‘portfolio’ of protected areas within marine parks such as the Great Barrier Reef can help secure sustainable fish populations. Dr Hugo Harrison from the ARC Centre of Excellen
Scientists have developed a new genetic tool that can help them better understand and ultimately work to save coral reefs. “Surprisingly, we still don’t know how many coral species live on the
Abstract: How can we care about something we never see or experience? Virtual reality has the potential to connect people with far-away places, and is an effective medium to generate empathy and sel
Abstract: When abundant, seabirds feeding in the open ocean transport large quantities of nutrients onto islands, enhancing the productivity of island fauna and flora. These nutrients can leach int
Abstract: Current-day populations of coral reef fish suffer when exposed acutely to elevated temperatures, but future warming will occur over greater timescales. Recent studies show that developmenta
Abstract: There is often a mismatch between the scales at which ecosystems are threatened by human impacts and those at which management and policy are implemented. Better understanding the scales ov
Abstract: Ocean warming and acidification are challenging the tolerance limits of scleractinian corals. However, beneficial acclimation and stress-hardening via phenotypic plasticity may be pathw
Abstract: Globally, coral reefs are under threat. Unfortunately, the rate of ecosystem degradation often surpasses the rate of generation of knowledge required to support management. Despite the consi
Abstract: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing threatens resource sustainability and equity. A major challenge with such activity is that most fishing vessels do not broadcast their positions
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au