Host-microbe biology
About
Several groups in RSB, spanning all three Divisions, work on topics at the interface between microbes and their host. The School has expertise in both plant and animal hosts, pathogenic, parasitic and symbiotic microbes and projects investigating host-microbe interactions at the genomic, cellular, organismal and ecological level. Fundamental knowledge about the interactions between microbes and their hosts is critical for understanding natural ecosystems and their evolution, improving plant biomass for food production and development of vaccines and drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Groups
The Altin group on tumour immunology and liposome targeting.
We use powerful biological resources provided by C. elegans to study aspects of nematode biochemistry, molecular biology and behaviour, and control methods.
The Brock lab loves membrane proteins; looking at them in atomic detail, discovering new drug molecules, and engineering them to create new biosensors. Join us!
Sustainable food security is of utmost importance to the future of the planet.
We are working on a very simple and inexpensive cancer immunotherapy treatment, and a bioinformatics study looking for novel proteins in different genomes.
The aim of our research is to understand the ecology and evolution of interactions between plants and animals in the Australian biota.
We aim to identify new potential targets for antibacterial agents, using structural biology, biochemistry and bacteriology methods.
The group investigates the cellular and molecular basis of the infection of plants by Phytophthora and fungal pathogens.
We investigate the molecular basis of disease and disease resistance in tomato (leaf mould and Fusarium wilt resistance) and flax (flax rust resistance).
We study membrane transport processes in the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria.
Our main research interest is in fungal-plant-interactions, both applied and pure research, on a range of important pathogens.
The Maier Group focusses on the identification of molecules involved in malaria pathogenesis and transmission.
We are interested in the molecular mechanisms controlling nodule development in legumes, and how this is linked to other aspects of root architecture.
Our research actually spans may study systems and research questions. But the evolution of honey bee parasites and diseases and is a major focus.
The principal interest of the lab is gene silencing mediated by microRNAs, with a focus on microRNAs that control plant disease resistance.
Rathjen group focuses on all aspects of plant immunity, characterising the fascinating interplay between host and pathogen.
The Saliba Group is investigating vitamin utilisation pathways in the red blood cell stage of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
Our team focuses on questions around plant biosecurity in Australia by studying the interaction between plants and their fungal pathogen.
The Solomon group focuses on pathogens of wheat that threaten food security and stability.
We study the basic biology of parasites, with the hope that such knowledge can be used in developing new treatment options against these formidable foes.
We investigate the molecular mechanism of the O-antigen modification in S. flexneri by studying the structure proteins responsible for these changes.
We aim to understand the molecular basis of the interactions between plant hosts and the microorganisms, particularly fungi, that colonise them.
Projects
News
While Angus Rae focuses intently on a captivating microscopic world, he is actually working towards a solution for an environmental catastrophe occurring on a global scale.
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have exposed a fatal flaw in the deadly parasite that causes malaria - one of the world's biggest killers.
Some clever detective work by an international team of scientists has uncovered how a deadly fungus - a stem rust called Ug99 - came about through some unusual breeding habits. The discovery will help protect wheat crops around the world from devastating fungal diseases.