Dr. Ruiting Lan's use of minimum-spanning trees has enabled detailed analysis of the diversity of Bordatella pertussis genotypes in Australia.
To Eat or Not to Eat: The Molecular Bases of Sponge-Bacteria Symbiosis
Sponges are primitive and ancient metazoan that pump 1000s of litres of seawater per day through their bodies to filter out bacteria for food. Astonishingly sponges also carry bacterial symbions that permanently escape digestion. How food and symbionts are discriminated in the sponge has been a mystery for decades.
Through metagenomic analysis of uncultured sponge bacteria we have recently discovered a range of molecular factors that could allow the symbiotic bacteria to “manipulate” the sponge’s behaviour. We postulate that this is a key mechanism that enables bacteria to persist in the sponge and establish a symbiotic relationship.
The aim of this Honours project is to characterise the expression and bio-molecular properties of these symbiosis factors. The outcome will provide important insights into the mechanisms and evolution of ancient symbiotic systems.
BABS personnel that are responsible for this project