(Project Code: FFIRFP1-1)
Project Lead: Dr. Caterina Selva (Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health)
Collaborators: Dr. Julian Schwerdt, Dr. Long Yu, Prof. Vincent Bulone (Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health)
Project summary: Mucormycosis is a severe fungal infection caused by species within the Mucorales order and is associated with extremely high mortality rates. This project will generate whole-genome sequencing and transcriptomic datasets from Australian clinical and environmental strains of Rhizopus arrhizus, the most common mucormycosis agent. These datasets will be used to investigate the underlying invasiveness and pathogenicity of this fungus and identify novel targets for disease control.
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-2)
Project Lead: Dr. Alistair McTaggart (Funky Fungus)
Collaborators: Christopher Appleyard (Funky Fungus), Dr. Donald Gardiner (University of Queensland), Assoc. Prof. Esteban Marcellin Saldana (Metabolomics Australia)
Project summary: Magic mushrooms are fungi that produce psilocybin, a compound with breakthrough potential for treatment of mental health disorders such as addiction, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and patients who are terminally ill. Designer magic mushrooms were bred based on allelic differences in the psilocybin secondary metabolite pathway. The project aims to identify whether genetic differences in the genes that control production of psilocybin translate to phenotypic differences in concentration of psilocybin and its related tryptamines. The outcome of this research is to identify the best genotypes of magic mushroom for clinical use.
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-3)
Project Lead: Dr. Ernest Lacey (Microbial Screening Technologies)
Collaborators: Assoc. Prof Andrew Piggott (Macquarie University), Assoc. Prof. Heng Chooi (University of Western Australia), Dr Yu Pei Tan (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries), Prof. Roger Shivas (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-4)
Project Lead: Dr. Ernest Lacey (Microbial Screening Technologies)
Collaborators: Assoc. Prof Andrew Piggott (Macquarie University), Dr Yu Pei Tan (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries), Prof. Roger Shivas (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-5)
Project Lead: Dr Belinda Ferrari (University of New South Wales)
Collaborators: Prof. Brett Summerell (Royal Botanic Gardens Domain Trust, Sydney), Dr Nicole Benaud (UNSW), Dr Priyanka Majumdar (UNSW), Dr Xabier Vazquez Campos (UNSW)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-6)
Project Lead: Dr Camille Truong (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)
Collaborators: Dr Teresa Lebel (State Herbarium of South Australia), Prof Anne Pringle (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA), Dr Gareth Holmes (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria), Dr Ed Biffin (State Herbarium of South Australia)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-7)
Project Lead: Isobel Colson (Western Sydney University)
Collaborators: Meagan Hinds (NSW Department of Planning and Environment), Dr Jordan Bailey (NSW Department of Primary Industries), Prof. Jeff Powell (Western Sydney University), Dr Tom May (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-8)
Project Lead: Agnieszka Mudge (The University of Queensland)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-9)
Project Lead: Ema Corro (Mycommunity Applied Mycology Inc.)
Collaborators: Sapphire McMullan-Fisher (Fun Fungi Ecology), Gayle Osborne (Wombat Forestcare), Amanda Morgan (Fungi Solutions), Allison Wiseman (PlanTek), Terrence Ross (AT Mushrooms), Alexander Idnurm (The University of Melbourne)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-10)
Project Lead: Dr Rita Busuttil (Monash University/ Alfred Hospital)
Collaborators: Prof Alex Boussioutas (Monash University/ Alfred Hospital), James Fuller (Fable Foods)
Project summary:
The Cordyceps spp. are species-specific entomopathogenic fungi that have long been used in traditional Chinese Medicine. The most well-known and characterised of these is Cordyceps sinensis (caterpillar fungus), which is commonly found in Asian countries and is reported to have significant pharmacological and biological benefits. Australia has several naturally occurring species of Cordyceps, with Cordyceps gunnii being the most common and abundant. This species is of interest for human consumption, however, unlike its Chinese counterpart the medicinal properties of C. gunnii have not been well characterised. This project seeks to use untargeted metabolomic techniques to identify functionally active compounds of C. gunnii which confer cancer cell-killing properties and could ultimately be used in a clinical setting.
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-11)
Project Lead: Dr Cécile Gueidan (CSIRO, Australian National Herbarium)
Collaborators: Dr Lan Li (CSIRO, Australian National Herbarium), Dr Camille Truong (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria), Dr Gareth Holmes (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria), Dr Teresa Lebel (State Herbarium of South Australia), Dr Tom May (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria), Dr Matt Barrett (Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-12)
Project Lead: Nonthakorn (Beatrice) Apirajkamol (PhD Candidate – Macquarie University)
Collaborators: Dr. Tom Kieran Walsh (CSIRO), Dr. Wee Tek Tay (Food standards Australia and New Zealand), Mark Rullo (Australian Wild Herbs & Mushrooms)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-13)
Project Lead: Dr Kylie Agnew-Francis (The University of Queensland)
Collaborators: Nigel Fechner (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Herbarium), Mickey Pascoe (Future Farms Australia), Prof Ben Schulz (The University of Queensland), Prof James Fraser (The University of Queensland), Wayne Boatright (Queensland Mycological Society), Prof Avril Robertson (The University of Queensland), Dr Rhys Parry (The University of Queensland)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-14)
Project Lead: Dr Kylie Agnew-Francis (The University of Queensland)
Collaborators: Nigel Fechner (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Herbarium), Mickey Pascoe (Future Farms Australia), Prof Ben Schulz (The University of Queensland), Prof James Fraser (The University of Queensland), Wayne Boatright (Queensland Mycological Society), Prof Avril Robertson (The University of Queensland), Dr Rhys Parry (The University of Queensland)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-15)
Project Lead: Assoc. Prof. Yit Heng Chooi (University of Western Australia)
Collaborators: Dr Nicolau Sbaraini (University of Western Australia), Prof Megan Ryan (University of Western Australia), Prof Martin Barbetti (University of Western Australia), Dr Mingpei You (University of Western Australia), Dr Kar-Chun Tan (Curtin University, Centre for Crop and Disease Management)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-17)
Project Lead: Dr Paul Dennis (University of Queensland)
Collaborators: Dr Roger Shivas (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-19)
Project Lead: Chris McLoghlin (Rainstick)
Collaborators: Dr Alistair McTaggart (Funky Fungus), Assoc. Prof Esteban Marcellin Saldana (Metabolomics Australia), Christopher Appleyard (Funky Fungus), Dr Mic Black (Rainstick)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-20)
Project Lead: Chris McLoghlin (Rainstick)
Collaborators: Assoc. Prof Esteban Marcellin Saldana (Metabolomics Australia), Dr Mic Black (Rainstick)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-21)
Project Lead: Peter Wenzel (Fungi Co)
Collaborators: Dr Andrzej Killian (Diversity Array Technologies – DArT)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-22)
Project Lead: Prof. Celeste Linde (Australian National University)
Collaborators: Dr Benjamin Schwessinger (ANU), Dr Rod Peakall (ANU), Dr Darren Wong (ANU)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-23)
Project Lead: Prof. John Rathjen (Australian National University)
Collaborators: Jack Wess (Australian National University)
(Project Code: FFIRFP1-24)
Project Lead: Sherie Bruce (PhD Candidate – University of Queensland)
Collaborators: Prof. Yasmina Sultanbawa (UQ), Dr Alistair McTaggart (UQ), Ben Lee (Djurrubu Rangers), Kym Brennan (NT Botanist), Anna Boustead (Indigenous Carbon Industry Network), Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, Parks Australia – Kakadu