The authors of this work, published this week in the prestigious journal Science, say this provides insight into the evolution of embryo growth regulation in mammals.

Associate Professor Briony Forbes and Associate Professor Frank Grützner, both from the University of Adelaide’s School of Molecular & Biomedical Science, are co-authors of this work, which has been led by researchers at the universities of Oxford and Bristol.

“This research is a great example of how Australia’s unique native animals can shed light on mammalian evolution,” Associate Professor Grützner says.

“Echidnas and platypuses are unique egg-laying mammals that evolved much earlier than humans, but interestingly they still feature a period of fetal maternal exchange during their short 2-3 week ‘pregnancy’. The unique Australian monotremes can therefore be regarded as ‘intermediates’ between egg-laying birds and intrauterine mammalian development and have been crucial for this discovery.”

The change from egg-laying to extended pregnancy sparked the evolution of what scientists describe as a “parental conflict” over the maternal resources provided to the fetus in mammals.

“On the molecular level, the growth factor IGF2 and its inhibitor, the IGF2 receptor, play a central role in this conflict between father and mother, which is thought to result in parent-of-origin dependent gene activity. This means that of the two igf2 gene copies, the one inherited from the father is active, thereby promoting growth and energy extraction from the mother, whereas the mother’s copy is inactive, to limit growth of the embryo and save her energy for future offspring,” Associate Professor Forbes says.

“For the growth-inhibiting IGF2 receptor, the switch settings are opposite: off from the paternal gene and on from the maternal gene.

“Until now it was unclear how IGF2 and its receptor became involved in this parental ‘tug-of-war’ found uniquely in mammals.

“This new paper in Science reports the detailed structure of the igf2 receptor in birds, monotremes, opposum and humans, and reveals how the structure of the igf2 receptor protein has changed in mammals in a way that has enabled IGF2 binding and inhibition of its action,” she says.

“It is amazing that egg-laying monotremes provide us with such a fascinating new insight into the molecular basis of embryo growth regulation during pregnancy.

“This is the first molecular evidence about how these two genes became the means of a parental conflict over embryo growth in mammals. It is a major stepping stone in understanding why some genes are regulated differently between fathers and mothers.”

“Low immune gene diversity in modern devils has been linked to the spread and devastating impacts of Devil Facial Tumour disease (DFTD),” said senior author Katrina Morris, a PhD candidate at the University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science and senior author of the study published in the journal Biology Letters today.

“It is well known that low genetic diversity is a major extinction risk factor, but when and how devils lost their immune diversity has remained a mystery until now.”

“Devils once lived across much of mainland Australia, but became extinct sometime in the last few thousand years,” said Dr Jeremy Austin, from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide.

“We looked at subfossil bones of these extinct mainland devils, as well as museum specimens of Tasmanian devils collected over the last 200 years. They capture the genetic diversity of the past allowing us to see how the immune gene diversity has changed over thousands of years.”

The genes the researchers studied included the oldest marsupial genes to have ever had their genetic code sequenced, taken from mainland devil specimens at least 3000 years old.

Surprisingly, the immune diversity in devils was low in all Tasmanian samples dating from the 1980s back to before European arrival in 1800. Mainland devils, isolated from the Tasmanian population by sea level rises at the end of the last ice age, also had low and very similar diversity to Tasmanian devils.

“Low immune diversity would have made devils susceptible to disease outbreaks,” said Katrina Morris. “This may explain their history of population extinctions, population crashes and disease outbreaks in the 1800s and early 1900s.”

The research was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council, the Save the Tasmanian Devil Foundation and Zoos SA. Associate Professor Kathy Belov from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney is team leader.

• How soil science is used to solve criminal investigations
• How we can feed the world sustainably
• Why junk food is so hard to resist
• How hot rocks in the earth can provide energy

Also new are short research bytes on recent scientific discoveries, links to hot Apps and websites!

We listened to what you want, and you can now view Issue 2 in A (portrait) or B (landscape) page formats.

Download it for free here: iPad  or Web version

The Waite Research Institute was pleased to be working with the Cooperative Research Centres Association to present a debate in celebration of the Australian Year of the farmer as part of their Collaborate Innovate 2012 conference this week. The debate topic was: “Innovation in agriculture has led to fast food. It’s time to slow down”. 
To read further [...]

The Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide has created a free Science magazine, e-Science.   e-Science, designed primarily for teachers, appears to be unique not only nationally but internationally. It is a free magazine that offers:

• Feature articles written by key researchers linked to the 10 Big Questions in science
• Interactive elements in each article which bring the science to life
• Resources available “at your finger tips”, ready for use in the classroom
• Interactive links to other useful science resources and information
• Availability on multiple platforms: iPad and web

 Access e-Science Magazine here via iPad or web/android formats

The effects are remarkable, with the fluorescence adding splendour to beauty.

Bioconst also aims to develop luminescent plants, which will emit light without the need for any external illumination. These plants will be used for lighting in a range of environments, reducing the use of electricity and thus help our planet for future generations.

For more information, visit Katrina Stokes’ article in the Advertiser on 01.02.2012:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/flowers-that-brighten-up-anyones-night

How can we help to feed the world sustainably?

Many of the crops we grow, such as wheat, are dependent on natural rainfall to provide enough water for growth and eventually good grain production.

By investigating growth genes we aim to understand how to help wheat grow better and produce more food with less water.  In drought conditions, this may help alleviate a food crisis.

John Harris is a University of Adelaide PhD student at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG).  To find out more about how Scientists aim to develop wheat so that it can grow better and produce more grain with less water go to John Harris’ article < Link > or to read further on Faculty of Sciences’ 10 Big Questions, go to: http://ua.edu.au/sciences/10bq

For more detail on how people are infected by Hepatitis B and C, what the symptoms are and more specifically how these viruses attack our immune system, go to Thomas Tu’s Advertiser article ‘Research needed for Hep C cure‘.
Or for more information on the University of Adelaide‘s 10 Big Questions head to the following website: 10 big Questions

Tatiana P. Soares da Costa is a PhD student in the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide. For more about the 10 Big Questions, go to: http://ua.edu.au/sciences/10bq

Justin Bray is a PhD student in the School of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Adelaide talks about the use of telescopes both on the ground and in space which are able to help us unravel the mysteries of the universe.

To find out more about this 10 Big Questions, go to Justin Bray’s Advertiser article: Secrets revealed in waves or for more information on the University of Adelaide’s 10 Big Questions go to: 10 BQ -Faculty of Sciences