![\"Posters](\"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/files\/2022\/03\/20220307_143412.jpg\")
<\/a> ![\"Posters](\"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/files\/2022\/03\/20220307_143442.jpg\")
<\/a>We thought we’d share these posters with you. They feature seven of our current and recent PhD students and give a quick overview of what they are studying.<\/p>\nThe pictures are based on the amazing photos that Sharron Bennett took in the department last year. Thanks Sharron! www.sharronbennettphotography.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Cells are like the deepest oceans or outer space \u2013 we have so much yet to explore and discover within them. Every microscopic cell is packed full of hundreds of thousands of tiny molecules, each doing its own job and coordinating to create life. We still know very little about these molecules and how they work.
\nCam is one of the explorers voyaging into these miniscule worlds.
\nHe is fascinated by chromatin, the complex packaging that cells use to stuff metres of DNA into each tiny nucleus. In order to turn on a gene, a cell needs to unwind the part of the chromatin where the gene is found, making it accessible. Cells know exactly where to start unwinding thanks to tags called epigenetic marks, which are attached to the chromatin in the right spots.
\nCam \u2018lifts the hood\u2019 on proteins that make and remove these epigenetic marks, figuring out how they work with techniques like TurboID mass spectrometry, chromatin localisation sequencing, and X-ray crystallography.
\nThese investigations help us to understand the molecules that regulate genes, and what happens when they stop working and cause diseases like cancer.<\/p>\n<\/a>Meghan unravels the mysteries of how our brains develop by studying the genetics of children with rare brain development disorders.
\nThese disorders, which cause conditions such as autism, developmental delay, microcephaly (reduction in head size), intellectual disability or epilepsy, are sometimes not well understood. Meghan uses molecular detective work and DNA sequencing to track down the mutation that causes a patient\u2019s disorder.
\nWhen nothing is known about the gene that the mutation occurs in, she recreates the mutation in cells grown in the lab. Using functional cellular assays, she can see what effects the mutation has on the cells, pinning down the proteins and other molecules involved with that gene, and how they work.
\nKnowledge gained from this research helps us to understand how brain development works at the molecular level, and what happens when that goes wrong. It can also help families to understand the causes of their child\u2019s condition and help guide expectations for the future.<\/p>\n<\/a>Being able to fertilise yourself is a good thing – in plants used as crops. It makes breeding high performing plants much easier. In New Zealand, our cows and sheep eat ryegrass more than any other crop, but the ryegrass on our farms can\u2019t self-fertilise, so it\u2019s hard to breed more resilient and productive types of grass.
\nScientists have found a variant of ryegrass that is self-fertile, and mapped the genetic locus responsible.
\nCaitlin aims to transfer this locus into ryegrass for farms. She uses a range of techniques, including marker-assisted breeding, genotyping-by-sequencing, and RNAseq, so spends a lot of time both in the lab with the plants themselves and on her computer, analysing results.
\nUltimately she will help to make self-fertilising ryegrass, an essential step towards farming more efficiently and effectively in a changing climate.<\/p>\n<\/a>Photosynthesis is the ultimate source of metabolic energy for all biological systems. It allows plants, algae, and cyanobacteria to harvest energy from sunlight and use it to drive the synthesis of glucose from CO2<\/sub> and H2<\/sub>O.
\nPhotosystem II is one of the key enzymes in photosynthesis.
\nFaiza is helping to understand how the different components that make up this beautifully complex enzyme are put together and are replaced as parts wear out.
\nShe works with cyanobacteria, using molecular cloning and biophysical techniques to measure the effects of photosystem II mutations on photosynthesis in this model laboratory organism.
\nResearch like this will pave the way to using these natural solar cells and CO2<\/sub> absorbers to produce biomass and biofuel sustainably.<\/p>\n<\/a>Hundreds of years ago, night-time across Aotearoa echoed with low-pitched booming noises \u2013 the mating call of a quirky nocturnal parrot called the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d. Our nights are now quiet and this special bird is critically endangered, thanks to the devastating impact of introduced predators.
\nWith an intensive recovery programme, the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d population is growing, but all of the birds are descended from just 32 individuals, so inbreeding is causing problems. Many eggs are infertile and many chicks die during development. K\u0101k\u0101p\u014d need more help.
\nMarissa is part of a team that is sequencing the genomes of every living k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d, revealing their remaining genetic diversity.
\nUsing models based on this genomic data, she predicts the impact of different breeding management strategies on k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d inbreeding.
\nMarissa is also testing a new portable sequencing device, the Nanopore, which is less expensive and will allow conservationists to gather k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d genetic data in the wild. This will provide important information such as the sex and parentage of chicks where and when it is needed.
\nMarissa\u2019s research will help guide k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d breeding management strategies, and provide easier access to genetic data for conservation, hopefully increasing numbers of the treasured parrot.<\/p>\n