4 results

SCRC: SCRC RTG 3.12: Micromon recombinant DNA techniques course (Dr James Harris: Students Paula Lima and Celeste Knowles)

Project number: 2009-768
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $0.00
Principal Investigator: James O. Harris
Organisation: Flinders University
Project start/end date: 9 Oct 2009 - 29 Dec 2009
Contact:
FRDC

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-925982-18-3
Author: Celeste Knowles
Final Report • 2009-12-30 • 131.15 KB
2009-768-DLD-RTG.pdf

Summary

This research travel grant allowed two PhD students: Paula Lima and Celeste Knowles to travel to Melbourne to undertake the Micromon Recombinant DNA Course conducted by Monash University. This course taught essential techniques and skills which may be used by both students in the course of the PhD studies and throughout their careers.

The Monash Recombinant DNA Techniques Course is widely recognised as the leading course of its type in Australia, which consists of a series of tutorials, lectures and hands on laboratory work.

These students aimed to use the techniques learned to investigate amoebic gill disease in Atlantic Salmon which costs the industry $20-25 million annually. Both students have reported that the techniques learned during the course have been used on a regular basis since returning from Melbourne.

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PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-714
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: PDRS: Use of next generation DNA technologies for revealing the genetic impact of fisheries restocking and ranching

Several initiatives by the Australian Seafood CRC’s Future Harvest theme involve some form of stocking or enhancement of fisheries. In Western Australia, populations of Roe’s Abalone (Haliotis roei) are currently being restocked after the occurrence of a catastrophic mortality event,...
ORGANISATION:
Flinders University

SCRC: PhD Extension : RNA interference (RNAi) as a means to control Neoparamoeba perurans, the causative agent of amoebic gill disease (AGD). (Student: Paula Lima)

Project number: 2012-716
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $0.00
Principal Investigator: James O. Harris
Organisation: Flinders University
Project start/end date: 14 Mar 2012 - 13 Mar 2013
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Paula Lima began her PhD within project 2007/750 ‘AGD Vaccine Phase III: Sea-based trials, refinement and commercialisation’. Paula began in 2009 and her full stipend, travel and operating funds were paid out of this project. Paula was adopted into the Seafood CRC in late 2009, with no further financial support for her stipend or operating expenses. In 2010 at a meeting of the project’s Management Advisory Committee (MAC), a decision was made to redirect research as it was apparent that the vaccine was not a commercial reality. This occurred one full year into her PhD. This had an effect on Paula’s PhD which was subsequently changed to investigating the use of RNAi as either a research tool and/or a control strategy for AGD. This meant that the entire 1st year’s work was made redundant and Paula had to effectively ‘start over’. Paula has effectively been working in her new area for almost two years. However, the project which funded her stipend is no longer operating. Therefore, Paula still has effectively one year of her PhD left to run. For this reason we sought support from the Seafood CRC to enable Paula to complete her research. This application has the full support of Adam Main, the CEO of the Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association (TSGA).

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-925982-30-5
Author: Paula Cristina Walger de Camargo Lima
Final Report • 2013-03-14 • 2.50 MB
2012-716-DLD-PhD.pdf

Summary

RNA interference has emerged as a powerful tool for rapid analysis of gene function in non-model organisms and has the potential to identify candidate targets for interventions against diseases of economic importance to aquaculture. The main purpose of the study was to use functional and comparative genomics approaches to investigate whether the RNAi mechanism has been retained or lost in species from the Neoparamoeba genus.

The results provide strong evidence that both infective and non-infective species from Neoparamoeba spp. have evolutionarily retained key genes involved not only in the canonical RNAi mechanism, but also in the mirNA and PiRNA pathways. Despite being promising, these findings are still preliminary and the reality of applying RNAi technology to develop new treatment strategies against AGD still needs further effort.

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PROJECT NUMBER • 2010-725
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: PhD 6.06 – Capturing and maintaining genetic variation when initiating selective breeding programs for aquaculture

Barramundi is naturally a mass spawning species, which can be induced to spawn in captivity under conditions that attempt to replicate the natural environment. The Australian Barramundi industry has on hand a large number of mature broodstock that are currently supplying the grow-out market,...
ORGANISATION:
Flinders University