We utilise the exquisite advantages of model organisms
such as Drosophila, yeast and mice to explore the
relationship between genomes and biological function and
evolution. We have been very successful in using the genetic
information obtained from model organisms to understand
how genes function in other animals such as corals, other
insects and humans.
Our aim is to understand
how the function of genomes relates to the function of biological
systems from the cellular to the evolutionary level. Our multidisciplinary
research utilizes genomic, molecular genetic and cell biological
techniques to probe important developmental, cell biological and
evolutionary questions.
Current Research
Prof Rob Saint's and Dr Michael Murray's Lab
Developmental Genetics and Cell Biology
We are investigating cell division and embryonic development
in the versatile model organism, Drosophilamelanogaster.
We study the dynamic behaviour of the cytoskeleton during cell
division, in particular, the role of Rho family small G proteins
and their regulators in these events. We use a range of approaches
including genetic analysis, functional genomics, cell biology
and molecular biology.
The OzDros Facility is supported by an NH&MRC Enabling grant and aims to provide efficient, low cost support for Drosophila-based biomedical research. Primarily OzDros will act as a national stock centre to maintain and distribute a core set of genetically defined commonly used stocks. OzDros also; maintains and distributes collections of EST clone libraries; will hold a national record of stocks held within Australian laboratories; will provide a micro-injection service to generate custom transgenic Drosophila stocks; act as a point for non-Drosophila researchers to find information about Drosophila; and coordinate and streamline importation of the thousands of genetically defined stocks of Drosophila that are brought into Australia each year.
Research within this programme is focused on the identification and characterisation of genes that are required for mammalian embryonic development. Because adult form and function is dependent upon the events of embryogenesis this research is relevant to a wide variety of malformations and diseases. The in utero development of the mammalian embryo precludes the detailed study of embryogenesis in humans, making the recovery of mouse models for congenital defects essential for progress in understanding congenital anomaly syndromes.
We study the molecular control of embryonic development in corals and how the genes that control this development have evolved in structure and function. Other interests include comparative genomics, particularly of the lower Metazoa, and stress responses in corals. A recent major emphasis is the use of microarray technology to study the molecular bases of coral stress responses.
Dr
Hugh Campbell's Lab (Dr. Campbell is currently on long service leave and is not taking any students)
Mammalian Molecular Genetics and Evolution
We study homologues of developmental and brain genes first discovered
in Drosophila melanogaster. We aim to identify and clone
mammalian homologues of genes and uncover their roles using techniques
such as gene targeting and transgenics.
Our goal is to understand how gene function translates to phenotype and ultimately to behaviour. We are taking advantage of easily manageable adult development and high mnemonic fidelity of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to unravel molecular changes occurring in the brain during behavioural maturation, learning and memory formation. We also are studying the mechanism of epigenetic influences that allow the colony to produce organisms with contrasting phenotypic and behavioural characteristics (queens and workers) from the same genome.
Please note: Prof. Clark-Walker retired in 2006 and is no longer taking students.
We are investigating the interaction between the nuclear and mitochondrial genome. The organisms best suited to these investigations are yeasts because of their well understood genetics and biochemistry. We can use these model organisms to identify genes involved in mitochondrial replication and maintenance and better understand human mitochondrial disease.
We are studying the evolution of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
transcription in insects, particularly Drosophila. We
are also interested in the molecular basis of transvection at
the Gpdh locus and ethanol tolerance in Drosophila.
Ball, E.E., Hayward, D.C., Saint, R. and Miller, D.J. (2004)
A Simple Plan - Cnidarians and the Origins of Developmental Mechanisms,
Nature Reviews / Genetics. 5: 567-577. (PDF)
Somers, W.G. and Saint,
R. (2003) “A RhoGEF and Rho Family GTPase-Activating Protein
Complex Links the Contractile Ring to Cortical Microtubules at
the Onset of Cytokinesis” Dev. Cell 4, 29-39.
Shandala, T., Takizawa, K. and Saint, R. (2003) The dead ringer/retained
transcriptional regulatory gene is required for positioning of
the longitudinal glia in the Drosophila embryonic CNS. Development
130, 1505-1513.
Hayward, D.C., Samuel, G., Pontynen, P.C., Catmull, J. Saint,
R., Miller, D.J. and Ball E.E. (2002) Localised expression of
a DPP/BMP2/4 ortholog in a coral embryo. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
(USA) 99, 8106-8111.
Samuel, G., Miller, D.J. and Saint, R. (2001) Conservation of
a DPP/BMP signalling pathway in the non-bilateral cnidarian, Acropora
millepora. Evolution and Development. 3, 241-250.
Knox, R.B., Ladiges, P.B., Evans, P. and Saint, R. (2001) Biology
(2nd Edition). McGraw-Hill.
L. O'Keefe, W.G. Somers, A. Harley, and R. SAINT (2001) The Pebble
GTP Exchange Factor and the Control of Cytokinesis. Cell Struct.
Function 26:619-626
L. Jones, H. Richardson and R. SAINT. (2000) cyclin E transcription
is regulated by multiple tissue specific regulatory elements during
Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis. Development, 127:4619-4630.
Hayward, D.C., J. Catmull, J.S. Reece-Hoyes, H. Berghammer, H.
Dodd, S.J. Hann, D.J. Miller, & E.E. Ball (2001) Gene structure
and larval expression of cnox-2Am from the coral Acropora millepora.
Dev. Genes Evol. 211, 10-19.
Grasso, L.C., D.C. Hayward, J.W.H. Trueman, K.M. Hardie, P.A.
Janssens & E.E. Ball (2001) The evolution of nuclear receptors:
Evidence from the coral Acropora. Molecular Phylogenetics and
Evolution 21, 93-102.
Kamei, M., Webb, G.C., Heydon, K., Hendry, I.A., Young, I.G.
and Campbell, H.D. (2000). Solh, the mouse homologue of the Drosophila
melanogaster small optic lobes gene: organization, chromosomal
mapping, and localization of gene product to the olfactory bulb.
Genomics 64, 82-89.
[Abstract]
Campbell, H.D., Kamei, M., Claudianos, C., Woollatt, E., Sutherland,
G.R., Suzuki, Y., Hida, M., Sugano, S. and Young, I.G. (2000).
Human and mouse homologues of the Drosophila melanogaster
tweety (tty) gene: A novel gene family encoding predicted transmembrane
proteins. Genomics 68, 89-92. [Abstract]
X.J. CHEN and G.D. CLARK-WALKER (1999). The petite mutation in
yeasts: 50 years on. International Review of Cytology 194, 197-238.
G.D. CLARK-WALKER, P.M. HANSBRO, F. GIBSON, and X.J. CHEN (2000).
Mutant residues suppressing ro-lethality in Kluyveromyces lactis
occur at contact sites between subunits of F1-ATPase. Biochim.
Biophys. Acta. 1478, 125-137.
