Dr Melanie Massaro, UC
The black robin project: combining science, conservation and outreach
The black robin (Petroica traversi) is an endangered bird endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. Following isolation of a small population of 20-30 individuals on a remote island for over a century, the black robin population declined to five individuals in 1980, including only a single breeding pair. Conservation measures rescued the species from the brink of extinction, however, 30 years after the species passed through a severe bottleneck maladaptive behaviours and deformities have emerged in the population. Here, I present the latest findings from our study, the conservation implications of some of our results as well as the outreach component that is an important part of this project.
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http://www.communityed.canterbury.ac.nz/course.php?course=YMM78

Dr Laura Boykin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University
Species Delimitation and Global Biosecurity

The capacity to delimit species is a critical element in the decisions made by national governments in regards to trade and the biosecurity measures imposed to protect countries from the threat of invasive species.  Here we assess species delimitation for two highly invasive insect pests, Bemisia tabaci (sweetpotato whitefly) and Lymantria dispar (Asian gypsy moth), which display different levels of genetic variability and phylogenetic resolution and are of concern to global biosecurity.  Species delimitation was addressed using the standard Kimura two-parameter (K2P) inter-species distance plus three more stringent measures of taxon distinctiveness, 1) Rosenberg’s reciprocal monophyly, P(AB) 2) Rodrigo’s P(randomly distinct)  and 3) Genealogical sorting index, gsi.  The sensitivity to detect taxonomic distinctiveness for the three measures is discussed with respect to the B. tabaci and L. dispar datasets. Overall, the results indicate a need for thoughtful application of species delimitation measures for economically important taxa such as these where crucial biosecurity decisions rely heavily on accurate species identification.
Laura is a postdoctoral fellow at the Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand.  She is interested in the intersection of mathematical biology and global biosecurity.  She earned her Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Laura also worked with the Theoretical Biology and Biophysics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory studying Influenza and Hepatitis C evolution.

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Dr Ant Poole, RSNZ Rutherford Discovery Fellow & Senior Lecturer, UC
The early evolution of life on Earth
The RNA world hypothesis, that RNA genomes and catalysts preceded DNA genomes and genetically-encoded protein catalysts, has been central to models for the early evolution of life on Earth. A key part of such models is the preservation in extant lineages of RNA 'relics' from the earliest stages in the evolution of life. I present some recent analyses which indicate that 99% of RNAs do not show evidence of early origins. This leaves only a handful of RNA families that are sufficiently ancient to be considered RNA world relics, and closer inspection reveals that half of these show evidence of horizontal gene transfer. Given sparse evidence for the earliest chapters in the history of life being preserved in the genes of extant organisms, it may be challenging to further improve our understanding using the comparative approach. I will therefore consider how we might improve our current understanding of how life on Earth evolved through the experimental investigation of evolutionary mechanisms, and genetic and biochemical processes.

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Dr David Aragao, Research Fellow, Australian Synchrotron, Victoria
Membrane proteins structure determination: from the ant to the elephant using the lipid cubic phase methodology

Membrane proteins are encoded by 30% of all genes and currently targeted by 70–80% of all pharmaceutical drugs. Structural studies on this class of proteins continue to open a world of new medical relevant breakthroughs. Unfortunately, membrane protein expression and isolation are not only expensive but difficult to achieve due to their often toxic effects in the expression host but also their large size and hydrophobic properties hampering crystal or NMR structural determination. These special characteristics probably explain why structural information is lacking and the relative low number of membrane proteins structures available - only ~1 % of the total in the Protein Data Bank are membrane proteins. Recently, using the lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallisation methodology and advances in micro-beam technology we have successfully determined structures for: i) Gramicidin - a small 15-residue long single crossing membrane peptide routinely used as antibiotic; ii) Cytochrome c oxidase caa3 - special form of electron transfer chain complex IV where the terminal oxidase is covalently threaded to its electron donor Cytochrome c building a complex of ~1200 residues with 23 transmembrane crossings. Structural information on these required screening of non-standard LCP hosting lipids, improvements on the techniques to locate and centre crystals, and very carefully data reduction. The LCP technology, although not new, is picking up pace and providing an important alternative to conventional crystallization for macromolecular structure determination.

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